American Old West Essays

for ten years. He struggled with his past of being a soldier during the Civil War and felt guilty about the numerous men he had killed. Button, a small-framed, sixteen-year-old boy did not speak a word of English when he was hired by Boss. Button was a boy who was always looking for excitement in the quiet, simple life of the West. Contrastingly, Mose was unbothered by most matters of life and content with any given situation. He was large and shabby, yet kind and soft-spoken. They were leading a herd

The western culture and American Wild West in beliefs of many mean cowboys, guns, violence, lands, horses, cattle and gunshots. As Stegner mentioned” The western culture and western character with which it is easiest to identify exist largely in the West of make-believe, where they can be kept simple” (Stegner, pg 101). Based on this statement what majority believe about the West and western culture is just a portray of the West and cowboy by the mass media and western novels which are not true and

On the one hand, Wyatt Earp is often considered to be one of the biggest he-roes in the history of the American frontier, the “most admired lawman in the Old West” . Because of that view, he was portrayed in numerous movies and books as the personification of “good”, winning over his “evil” enemies. But behind that facade, there is obviously more. You can generally say that the main focus of Wyatt’s eighty-year-long life is laid on the years 1881 and 1882, especially on the infamous “30 seconds”

Stagecoach follows the journey of nine passengers, each with his/her own unique background. Among them are a prostitute, an alcoholic doctor, a pregnant lady, a whiskey salesman, the stagecoach driver, a U.S. Marshal, a banker, a Southern gambler gentleman, and a fugitive. While they are all headed for Lordsburg as their final destination, each has a different purpose. The Ringo Kid’s entrance scene in Stagecoach begins with an extreme long shot that gradually shifts closer to a long shot of the

The pre-industrial Wild West was a dangerous, dangerous place – chalk full of murderers, savages – and lawless territories. Can you imagine that? A world without laws… Well, it was a reality at one point – and to reflect upon it now is enough raise the hair on your neck. And, with that said – it would only make sense for the rough and tumble terrain of the Old West to be the backdrop for a unforgiving gore-fest. In the new western-horror flick, Bone Tomahawk, directed by S. Craig Zahler (directorial

the purpose of the Act. Some historians have said the Homestead Act encouraged settlers to leave their previous homes and move into areas of the United States. In The American Pageant it states, “Shattering the myth of the Great American Desert opened the gateways to the agricultural West” (Kennedy 646). Areas like the “Great American Desert” that was said to be barren and had previously not been settled this was an amazing way to expand the country and use more of the land, bringing it new hope. The

men crisscrossing across the Wild West in search of the big score. As rumors of wealth in new places came about, whole towns were deserted and alas, the Wild West ghost town was born. Today, hundreds of ghost towns lie scattered throughout the Old West, here are 5 worth a visit: 1. Bodie, California Head East of the Sierra Nevada, about 75 miles South-East of Lake Tahoe, and you 'll stumble upon the abandoned ghost town of Bodie, California. A former Wild West boom town propelled by the discovery

Many characters in the movie demonstrate specific archetypes common to the time period in history. Shane, a former gunfighter/cowboy turned town hero. Joe, who is a homesteader/farmer, refuses to back down from opposition, and leads the revolt against the Ryker crew. Marian is your typical farm wife, who does not want to see her husband hurt. Stonewall Torey, hot headed confederate war veteran with a bad temper, has little concern for the Ryker game, and says he can go to town when he pleases. He

During the times of the lawless wild west, the people did not need people protesting wether or not the death of a criminal was necessarily justified or not. What the people needed was a man of action that was unafraid to do what was needed to be done. If it weren’t for Wild Bill Hickok, many

beginning. Farmers and Freemen were among the groups of individuals that saw in the Homestead Act the kind of opportunity that led them to the West. This means that the farmers and Freemen were the ones who saw this new opportunity of free land. The Homestead Act brought a uniquely diverse range of settling out the west, making it the key factor of opening the West. It wasn 't only people with land, but people who wanted to own land because if you owned land you had some type of power. In providing individuals

makes the reader feel sympathy for Scratchy and the disappearing Old West amidst the humor of the story. Meanwhile, Twain takes a completely different attitude toward Jacob Blivens in “The Story of the Good Little Boy” by drawing out the absurdity of Jacob’s actions to satirize society. Although these two stories are at first glance simply humorous

¨Pow Pow,” there are many famous outlaws from the old west and many to choose from. One of the many infamous people of our world is an outlaw of the wild west by the name of Jesse James well known for robbing bank, stagecoaches, and banks. Jesse was born on Jesse was born on September 5th, 1847 and died on 3 April 1882 at age 34. He was born in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri, USA. Jesse was involved in two gangs the first one was the Quantrill's Raiders and the second was the James-Younger gang

form Penn Central. There was a ceremony for the driving of the “Last Spike” at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869. Railroads played a large role in the development of the United States from the industrial revolution to the settlement of the West. For the first time the opposite ends of the nation had been linked and it was possible to reach distant California. Although the South started early to build railways, it concentrated on short lines linking cotton regions to oceanic or river ports

Wild bill Hickok had a very interesting life. He had a career as a stagecoach driver and rose all the way up to a sheriff. He had many bad habits as a drinker, a gambler, and a gun slinger.His bad habits lead to his death. Wild Bill Hickok was a very controversial law man. James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok also known as “man-killer”, was born on May 27, 1837 in Troy Grove, Illinois (infoplease.com). Troy Grove also referred to as “home” by wild bill, was then and still is now a small clean agricultural

late 19th century was a time of exploration, innovation, and continued westward expansion. The West, however, was not as glorified as people today like to think it was. Westward expansion had many benefits, the main being lots of new land for both the Americans and immigrants, but many ideas of the West have been altered throughout the years. The West was romanticized in many ways, people moved to the West in the pursuit of happiness, but today many hardships of westward expansion have been ignored

This helped them transport the goods that found and it also helped to transport the miners there. The big one that happened during the old west is the California Gold Rush. Other places they discovered gold was in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and some in Canadian Klondike.1 The railroads brought good things to the old west, but when they were building the tracks for it, they had many difficulties and hard times. During the making of the transcontinental railroad, which was

The movie Tombstone is based on the legendary historical event that made Wyatt Earp famous, the shooting at the O.K. Corral. But what if the movies got it wrong, history has just been altered to fit the big screen, that’s the real question. Tombstone is a small town in Arizona. People believed the only thing you would find there was your own grave. Tombstone was founded in 1877 when Edward Schlieffen “discovered a motherlode of sliver eventually yielded millions of dollars in silver; soon the

The Westerns were born out of a violent part of the American history. The Southwest of America was invaded by white settlers, and the lands that belonged to the Indians were forcefully taken away from them. The U.S. cavalry was used to snatch those lands. Thus, the American Civil War opened the Southwest to the white settlers. The conflict of the Southwest became the most common theme of the Western genre of literature and movies. Violence was a very integral part of this theme. One of the reasons

Murderous Gunman As wild as the days were in the Wild West I could say that the last thing anyone needed was a sadistic and murderous gunman. Unfortunately there was one such man named William Preston Longley who was born on October 16, 1815 in Austin County, Texas. Longley was nicknamed “Wild Bill” and before he was even 20 years old he had already killed several men. Today most likely they would have referred to him as a psychopath. He never killed for a really good reason but simply because

Homesteading where you are NOW It’s easy to think that you can’t be a homesteader because of where you live. I get it. That was totally me, too. There are different ways to homestead - no matter where you live. Don’t think location. Homesteading is a lifestyle. As a matter of fact, the very definition of homesteading, according to Webster’s is: “a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may or may not also involve the