Ten Events that Shaped the West
And the list doesn't include the California Gold Rush.
By: Marshall Trimble 02/01/2007
The men and women of the Old West are among the most cherished figures in Americana—the symbols of the making of a country and of hard work, honest determination, elemental existence, rugged independence and self-reliance. The frontier provided a place where a man or a woman could re-invent themselves, or as Bret Harte said, “A place where you could get a fresh deal, all around.”
The West brought out the best, and sometimes the worst in mankind. It came to symbolize hope, opportunity and freedom, and today, America is defined by the ideals that grew out of that westward expansion.
The time was brief—crammed into less than a century. Other parts of the world had a frontier existence, but this could have only happened in America. It was the right time and place. In this vast land of superlatives were brawny mountains that held untold riches in gold and silver, untamed rivers, forbidding deserts, fertile plains and virgin forests.
The human inhabitants were as diverse as the land. It was the perfect environment for the creation of bigger-than-life individuals. They had an aura of romantic daring that clings to them still. The splendid grandeur of the proud Indians, the rough and tumble Mountain Men, optimistic gold prospectors, hard rock miners and the hard-riding, devil-may-care cowboys. Trying to keep the peace between this raucous group were the blue-coated soldiers and dedicated lawmen. They were all flamboyant figures, bigger than life. They are idols of an age turned to legend.
The dust has settled on the Chisholm Trail and the false front saloons are seen only on movie sets or in tourist towns, but the Old West lives on. In the words of the immortal cowboy artist, Charlie Russell: “You may lose a sweetheart, but you’ll never forget her.”
I’ve listed my favorite top 10 events that shaped the making of the American West. It’s dang near impossible to list by importance or significance because that’s mostly in the eye of the beholder, so I’m following a chronological order. Go to the TWMag.com forum and tell us which event you feel had the most impact in shaping the West.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: 1804-1806
At the time of the Louisiana Purchase, Americans had little knowledge of what lay “across the wide Missouri.” A superbly-led expedition, which aptly called itself the “Corps of Discovery,” literally opened the way for others to follow. Though William Clark, Meriwether Lewis and their men didn’t find the fabled Northwest Passage, they did return with vast scientific information about the new land.
Ashley-Henry Expedition of 1822
An advertisement in a St. Louis newspaper began with, “To all enterprising young men” who would be willing to ascend the Missouri River to its source. That ad attracted the likes of what became a who’s who in the annals of the lore of the Mountain Man, including Jim Bridger, Antoine Leroux, Tom Fitzpatrick, Hugh Glass, Jim Beckwourth, David Jackson and Jedediah Smith. They blazed a trail up the Missouri River, and when Indian hostility made it unprofitable, blazed a new trail to the central Rockies, creating that uniquely American reckless breed known as Mountain Men.
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As for Tombstone nothing has changed.
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