Contents:

Preface / Clyde A. Milner, II

CHAPTER 1: FRONTIER AND THE MEANING OF THE WEST
ESSAYS
The Significance of the Frontier in American History / Frederick Jackson Turner
New West, True West / Donald Worster

CHAPTER 2: NATIVE LANDS
DOCUMENTS
A Chippewa Narrative, Recorded in 1855
A Chinook Story, Recorded in 1894
The Count of Paredes' Report on the Pueblo Indians' Revolt, 1681 / Tomás de la Cerda
Pedro Naranjo's Testimony, 1681 / Pedro Naranjo
William Bradford on the Great Sickness Among New England Indians, 1633 / William Bradford
Francis Chardon on the Destruction of the Arikaras and Mandans by Smallpox, 1837 / Francis Chardon
ESSAYS
Indians in the Spanish Southwest / Elizabeth A.H. John
Virgin Soil Epidemics / Alfred W. Crosby
Colonial America Without the Indians / James Axtell

CHAPTER 3: COLONIAL FRONTIER SOCIETIES
DOCUMENTS
Don Luis de Velasco's Manifest, 1597 / Don Luis de Velasco
Nicolas de Aguilar's Worldly Goods, 1663 / Nicolas de Aguilar
Bishop Tamaron Visits New Mexico, 1760 / Bishop Pedro Tamarón y Romeral
Peter Kalm Vistis Rural Canada, 1749 / Peter Kalm
Henry Marie Brackenridge's Life With a French Family, 1792-1795 / Henry Marie Brackenridge
ESSAYS
Honor and Marriage in New Mexico / Ramon A. Gutierrez
The French in Rural Canada / R. Cole Harris

CHAPTER 4: EXPLORATION AND LAND POLICY
DOCUMENTS
President Jefferson's Instructions to Meriwether Lewis, 1803 / Thomas Jefferson
Meriwether Lewis at the Great Falls of Missouri, 1805 / Meriwether Lewis
The Stephen Long Expedition's Report of a Frontier Barrier, 1821 / Stephen Long
ESSAYS
Exploration and Expectations / William H. Goetzmann
American Land Policy / Paul W. Gates

CHAPTER 5: FUR TRADE AND COMMERCE
DOCUMENTS
George Ruxton on Life Among the Trappers, 1847 / George Ruxton
Ruxton on the Trappers' View of Women, 1849 / George Ruxton
Austin Grignon on Native Wives for Green Bay Trappers, Recorded in 1857 / Austin Grignon
An Indian Girl's Story, 1841
Joseph Thing's Letter from the Rocky Mountains, 1834 / Joseph Thing
N.J. Wyeth's Instructions for the Fort Hall Trading Post, 1834 / N.J. Wyeth
ESSAYS
Marriage and Rocky Mountain Trappers / William R. Swagerty
The Trader: Myth's Victim / Howard R. Lamar

CHAPTER 6: RACISM AND WESTWARD EXPANSION
DOCUMENTS
Charles Eaton Haynes on Indian Removal, 1836 / Charles Eaton Haynes
Andrew Jackson on Indian Removal / Andrew Jackson
Statement of the National Council of the Cherokees, 1838 / National Council of the Cherokees
T. Hartley Crawford's Report on Indian affairs, 1838 / T. Hartley Crawford
John C. Calhoun on Incorporating Mexico, 1848 / John C. Calhoun
John A. Dix on Expansion and Mexican Lands, 1848 / John A. Dix
An Emigrants' Guide Describes the Mexicans in California, 1845
Edwin Bryant's View of Hispanic Californians, 1848 / Edwin Bryant
ESSAYS
Racial Destiny and the Indians / Reginald Horsman
Scientific Racism and Indian Policy / Francis Paul Prucha
Anglo-American Stereotypes of Mexicans / David J. Weber

CHAPTER 7: OVERLAND MIGRATION AND FAMILY STRUCTURE
DOCUMENTS
Kitturah Belknap Prepares for the Trip to Oregon, 1847-1848 / Kitturah Belknap
Virginia Reed Writes of the Donner Party's Ordeals, 1846-1847 / Virginia Reed
Sir Richard Burton Examines Mormon Polygamy, 1860 / Richard Burton
Helen Mar Whitney Defends Plural Marriage, 1884 / Helen Mar Whitney
"Brigham, Brigham Young," An Anti-Mormon Folk Song, Collected in 1932
ESSAYS
The Traveling Community of the Overlanders / John D. Unruh, Jr.
Men's and Women's Work on the Overland Trail / John Mack Faragher
Polygamy and Mormon Women / Lawrence Foster

CHAPTER 8: MINERS AND COWBOYS
DOCUMENTS
Henry Bigler's Account of Gold at Sutter's Mill, 1848 / Henry Bigler
Granville Stuart in the California Gold Camps, 1852-1853 / Granville Stuart
Chinese Accounts of the Killings at Rock Springs, 1885
James S. Briskin on How to Make Money Raising Cattle, 1881 / James S. Briskin
Charles Siringo Returns to Texas, 1880 / Charles Siringo
ESSAYS
Chinese Miners in the Far West / Randall E. Rohe
The Labor of Negro Cowboys / Kenneth W. Porter

CHAPTER 9: WESTERN VIOLENCE
DOCUMENTS
Robert Bent on the Sand Creek Atrocities, 1864 / Robert Bent
James Bradley on Custer's Disaster on the Little Bighorn, 1876 / James Bradley
Three Ballads of Outlaw Heroes: Jesse James, Cole Younger, and Gregorio Cortez
The Death of Jesse James, 1882
An Arkansas Newspaper on the Killing of Bill Dalton, 1894
ESSAYS
Outlaw Gangs and Social Bandits / Richard White
Violence on a Mining Frontier / Roger D. McGrath

CHAPTER 10: RESERVATIONS AND HOMESTEADS
DOCUMENTS
John Stands-in-Timber and Ella C. Deloria Recall the Early Days of Reservation Farming, 1877-1900 / John Stands-in-Timber, Ella C. Deloria
Jorgen and Otto Jorgenson Remember the Decision to Homestead in Montana, 1906 / Jorgen Jorgenson, Otto Jorgenson
Rufus Jones on the Rush for Dryland Farms in Montana, 1913 / Rufus Jones
Elinore Stewart Advocates Homesteading for Women, 1913 / Elinore Stewart
Catherine Calk McCarty and Her Cattlemen Neighbors, 1916 / Catherine Calk McCarty
"Idaho Land," A Parody Folk Song, 1917
W.M. Black's Plea for Aid for Montana Farmers, 1921 / W. M. Black
The Bell Family Tries Dry Farming, 1911-1923
ESSAYS
Farming on the Northern Plains Reservations / Thomas R. Wessel
Women Homesteaders on the Northern Plains / Mary W.M. Hargreaves
A Farm Family Chronicle / Gilbert C. Fite

CHAPTER 11: THE POPULAR IMAGINATION
DOCUMENTS
Theodore Roosevelt Praises Owen Wister's Stories, 1895 / Theodore Roosevelt
Owen Wister's Introduction to The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains, 1902 / Owen Wister
"When You Call Me That, Smile"
The New York Times Reviews The Virginian, 1929
Sitting Bull Praises General Custer, 1877 / Sitting Bull
Custer, an Epic Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1896 / Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Frederic F. van de Water's Glory Hunter (excerpt), 1934 / Frederic F. van de Water
The New York Times Reviews They Died With Their Boots On, 1941
John Wayne Receives a Congressional Gold Medal, 1979
The Duke: "More Than Just a Hero," 1979
ESSAYS
The Shared Memory of Pioneers / Clyde A. Milner II
Custer's Changing Image / Paul A. Hutton
The Modern Popular Western / Michael T. Marsden, Jack Nachbar

CHAPTER 12: CULTURAL COMPLEXITIES
DOCUMENTS
Selected Statistics of Western Population, 1980: Three Tables
The National Farmworkers' Association's El Plan de Delano, 1966 / National Farmworkers' Association
The Chicano Liberation Youth Conference's El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan, 1969 / Chicano Liberation Youth Conference
A Call for Amnesty for Undocumented Workers, 1977
Patricia Nelson Limerick on the Border Never Controlled, 1985 / Patricia Nelson Limerick
The National Indian Youth Council's Statement of Policy, 1969 / National Indian Youth Council
Ramona Bennett and Gerald Wilkinson Remember Activism and Red Power, 1983 / Ramona Bennett, Gerald Wilkinson
Philip S. Deloria's Suggestions for Ronald Reagan, 1983 / Philip S. Deloria
ESSAYS
Minorities in California / Moses Rischin
Tribalism Rejuvenated / William T. Hagan
Aztlan Rediscovered / John R. Chavez

CHAPTER 13: THE FEDERAL WEST
DOCUMENTS
The Impact of World War II on Western Growth: Four Tables
Roger Daniels's Quantitative Note on the Forced Migrations of Japanese Americans, 1942-1946 / Roger Daniels
Joseph L. Lyon on Leukemia and Atom Bomb Tests in Southern Utah, 1979 / Joseph L. Lyon
Orrin Hatch Considers the Fallout Victims, 1979 / Orrin Hatch
Two Reports from Nevada on the Sagebrush Revolution, 1979
Two Cartoons, 1979-1980
James Coates Asks, Is the Sagebrush Revolution Dead?, 1986 / James Coates
ESSAYS
World War II and Economic Transformation / Gerald D. Nash
Colonialism: The Enduring Dilemma / Robert G. Athearn
National Parks in Alaska / Alfred Runte

CHAPTER 14: THE CHANGING WEST
DOCUMENTS
A. Edward Newton Spends a Few Days in Los Angeles, 1932 / A. Edward Newton
Carey McWilliams on the Postwar Growth of California and Greater Los Angeles, 1949 / Carey McWilliams
David Brodsly on Los Angeles Freeways as Monumental Structures, 1981 / David Brodsly
A Public Forum on Coal and Energy Development in Montana, 1973
Michael Zielenziger on the West's economy, 1987 / Michael Zielenziger
ESSAYS
The Altered Landscape of the Pacific Northwest / Richard White
An Urban View of the Southwest / Bradford Luckingham
The Collapse of Western Metal Mining / Michael Malone

CHAPTER 15: NEW MEANINGS OF THE WEST
ESSAYS
The Strange Case of the Contemporary American Frontier / Frank J. Popper
Revisiting Turner's Vanishing Frontier / William Cronon

MAPS
The West: A Reference Map
The Northern Frontier of New Spain, Late Eighteenth Century
Chinese and the Mining Frontier
The Urban Southwest
The American Frontier, 1980: Counties with Fewer than Two People per Square Mile
The American Frontier and Its Borderlands, 1980: Counties with Fewer than Six People per Square Mile