Sign-In
Cart
Creating the American West: Boundaries and Borderlands
Hardcover
General World HistoryRegional: West
ISBN13: 9780806144467
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Published: May 27 2014
Pages: 322
Weight: 1.20
Height: 1.00 Width: 6.40 Depth: 9.20
Language: English
Awards: Colorado Book Award
Boundaries--lines imposed on the landscape--shape our lives, dictating everything from which candidates we vote for to what schools our children attend to the communities with which we identify. In Creating the American West, historian Derek R. Everett examines the function of these internal lines in American history generally and in the West in particular. Drawing lines to create states in the trans-Mississippi West, he points out, imposed a specific form of political organization that made the West truly American.
Everett examines how settlers lobbied for boundaries and how politicians imposed them. He examines the origins of boundary-making in the United States from the colonial era through the Louisiana Purchase. Case studies then explore the ethnic, sectional, political, and economic angles of boundaries. Everett first examines the boundaries between Arkansas and its neighboring Native cultures, and the pseudo war between Missouri and Iowa. He then traces the lines splitting the Oregon Country and the states of California and Nevada, and considers the ethnic and political consequences of the boundary between New Mexico and Colorado. He explains the evolution of the line splitting the Dakotas, and concludes with a discussion of ways in which state boundaries can contribute toward new interpretations of borderlands history.
A major theme in the history of state boundaries is the question of whether to use geometric or geographic lines--in other words, lines corresponding to parallels and meridians or those fashioned by natural features. With the distribution of western land, Everett shows, geography gave way to geometry and transformed the West. The end of boundary-making in the late nineteenth century is not the end of the story, however. These lines continue to complicate a host of issues including water rights, taxes, political representation, and immigration. Creating the American West shows how the past continues to shape the present.
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Regional: West
Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West
Hyde, Anne F.
Hardcover
Tin Can Coast: A History of Industry, Greed, and Fishing in the Golden State
Ogilvy, Joseph
Hardcover
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Likes to Walk Outside
Offerman, Nick
Paperback
City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco
Weber, Jonathan
Hardcover
Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
Sevigny, Melissa L.
Paperback
We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher
Smith, Helena Huntington
Abbott, E. C. Teddy Blue
Paperback
Cowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of the Wild West
Mayo, Matthew P.
Paperback
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
Reisner, Marc
Paperback
Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love
Talbot, David
Paperback
Bay Curious: Exploring the Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area
Allen-Price, Olivia
Paperback
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
Egan, Timothy
Paperback
A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World's First National Park
Wilson, Randall K.
Paperback
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
Los Angeles Central Library Pops: Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning
Rice, Christina
Hardcover
Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta: The Bandit Chief Who Terrorized California and Launched the Legend of Zorro
Boessenecker, John
Hardcover
Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West--One Meal at a Time
Fried, Stephen
Paperback
Wakara's America: The Life and Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West
Mueller, Max Perry
Hardcover
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873
Madley, Benjamin
Paperback
Outlaw Tales of Utah: True Stories Of The Beehive State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, And Cutthroats
Rutter, Michael
Paperback
Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon
Clayton, John
Paperback
The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
Levy, Shawn
Paperback
A History of Montana in 101 Places: Sites and Stories from the Montana Historical Society
Kohl, Martha
Baumler, Ellen
Brown, Christine
Paperback
Life Without Reservations: Growing Up at the Famed Ambassador Hotel 1921 to 1938
Gilmour, Lisa Benjamin
Benjamin, Carlyn Frank
Paperback
Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy
Nerburn, Kent
Paperback
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West
Wolman, David
Smith, Julian
Paperback
September 2026 Revision: What to see in Palm Springs - Sights, History & Stories
Stark, John
Paperback
Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin: Nature and History Over the Last 10,000 Years
Marks, Robert B.
Hardcover
Saving the Big Sky: A Chronicle of Land Conservation in Montana
Bugbee, Bruce A.
Kiesling, Robert J.
Wright, John B.
Hardcover
Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp
Slater, Tracy
Hardcover
Spooky Colorado: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore, First Edition
Schlosser, S. E.
Hoffman, Paul G.
Paperback
Hush of the Land: A Lifetime in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
Maggi, Eva-Maria
Elser, Arnold Smoke
Paperback
Spooky Yellowstone: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore
Hoffman, Paul G.
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer
Roberts, David
Paperback
Monsters of the Rocky Mountains: Stories about Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, and Other Legendary Creatures
Freeburg, Jessica
Fowler, Natalie
Paperback
While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students
Appelman, J. Reuben
Paperback
Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History
Thompson, Kalee
Paperback
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic
Salisbury, Laney
Salisbury, Gay
Paperback
Lost Kingdom: Hawaiia's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and Americaa's First Imperial Venture
Siler, Julia Flynn
Paperback
This Is Chance!: The Great Alaska Earthquake, Genie Chance, and the Shattered City She Held Together
Mooallem, Jon
Paperback
The Whole Country Was... 'One Robe': The Little Shell Tribe's America
Vrooman, Nicholas C. P.
Hardcover
Tearing Down the Orange Curtain: How Punk Rock Brought Orange County to the World
Jackson, Nate
Kohn, Daniel
Hardcover
River Master: John Wesley Powell's Legendary Exploration of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon
Kuhne, Cecil
Paperback
The White Boy and the Indians: A Memoir of Reservation Life, the Depression, and the Okies
Jennings, Paul Austin
Paperback
The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-Mile Horseback Journey Into the Old West
Grant, Will
Hardcover
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
Offerman, Nick
Hardcover
Alaska's History, Revised Edition: The People, Land, and Events of the North Country
Ritter, Harry
Paperback
This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption Are Ruining the American West
Ketcham, Christopher
Paperback
Life Without Reservations: Growing Up at the Famed Ambassador Hotel 1921 to 1938
Gilmour, Lisa Benjamin
Benajmin, Carlyn Frank
Hardcover
A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief: The Island Civilization of Ancient Hawai'i
Kirch, Patrick Vinton
Paperback
Myths and Legends of Yellowstone: The True Stories behind History's Mysteries
Therriault, Ednor
Paperback
Black Robes Enter Coyote's World: Chief Charlo and Father de Smet in the Rocky Mountains
Thompson, Sally
Hardcover
Theodore Roosevelt in California: The Presidential Adventure That Saved the Wilderness
Chris Epting
Paperback
Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, And Little-Known Stories From History
Wagner, Tricia Martineau
Paperback
Tassajara Stories: A Sort of Memoir/Oral History of the First Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West--The First Year, 1967
Chadwick, David
Hardcover
Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce: Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu
Evans, Steven R.
Pinkham, Allen V.
Paperback
Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer's View of a Trailblazing Architect
Ireland, Janna
Hardcover
Navigating Western Colorado: Early Expeditions and the Birth of Transportation on the Frontier
Bailey, David P.
Paperback
Black Rock Dead: True Tales From One of Nevada's Most Treacherous Deserts
Preston, Christina
Brooks, Christopher
Paperback
Black Lives in Alaska: A History of African Americans in the Far Northwest
Hartman, Ian C.
Reamer, David
Paperback
The Father of Glacier National Park: Discoveries and Explorations in His Own Words
Grinnell, Francis Hugh
Paperback
No Forgiveness: Family, Polygamy, Murder, and Justice among Idaho's pioneering Mormons
Neal, Daniel H. H.
Paperback
The Age of the Borderlands: Indians, Slaves, and the Limits of Manifest Destiny, 1790-1850
Isenberg, Andrew C.
Hardcover
The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation
Gardner, Mark Lee
Paperback
Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers
Bardacke, Frank
Paperback
In the Scent of Horses, Hay, and Old Barns: The Story of Eleanor Prince, Intrepid American Horsemanship Educator
Galbreath, Pamela
Paperback
Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco
Krist, Gary
Hardcover
The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny
Wallis, Michael
Paperback