Creating the American West

Boundaries and Borderlands

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Earth Sciences, Geography, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Creating the American West by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Derek R. Everett, Ph.D. ISBN: 9780806146133
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press Publication: May 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press Language: English
Author: Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
ISBN: 9780806146133
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Publication: May 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from University of Oklahoma Press

Cover of the book Coming Full Circle by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book The Sundance Kid: The Life of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Masquerade by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book The Billy the Kid Reader by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Zhukov by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Deadly Dozen: Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book First Manhattans by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book The Wrong Stuff by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book From Praha to Prague by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Doc Holliday by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Alfalfa Bill by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Army Life on the Western Frontier by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book The Greatest Show in the Arctic by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
Cover of the book Soldiering in the Shadow of Wounded Knee by Derek R. Everett, Ph.D.
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy