American Settlement of the Great Plains

References:

Books & Media

Boorstin, Daniel J. The Americans: The Democratic Experience. New York: Vintage Books, 1974.

Chapter 2 (pages 18 – 26) gives detailed information about how the Open Range was settled and what drew the cowboys to the area. This will provide useful background information for the entire unit.

Foner, Eric and John A Garraty, eds. The Reader’s Companion to American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

Chapter 9 (pages 203 – 230) by Richard White presents comparisons between the historical American West and popular understandings of it. This will help in the discussion of the cowboy in popular culture and the true cowboy life.

Garcia, Jesus. Creating America: A History of the United States. Evanston, Ill.: McDougal Littell, 2003.

Students’ textbook.

Gevinson, Alan, Kelly Schrum and Roy Rosenzweig. History Matters: A Student guide to US History Online. Boston: St. Martins, 2005.

Helpful online resource guide.

Websites

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ndfahtml/ngphome.html

Used for photos of the Great Plains.

http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu/

Used for first hand accounts of settlers.

http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010102/01010200frame.html

Used for great information on the history and technique of dry farming.

http://www.redhookcentralschools.org/FleischmanSocialStudies/WesternWebQuest/index.htm

Used for movie posters from Cowboy Movies.

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=296

Used for information on sodbusters.

http://websteader.com/wbstdsd1.htm

Used for photos and information about sod houses.

http://www.old-cowtown.org/PK-CowboyandCattle.html

Used for essay: Cowboys &Cattle Drives A Unique Piece of History