Somewhat History Related, Issue 1:

‘‘Thinkin’ ’bout the Wild West againnnnn’’

Howdy munchkins, hope y’all’re doing half decent today.
This is the first issue of my history blog so I thought I may as well cover something random on my mind while we’re still at the throwing sh-t at the wall period of this blog series
(hell idk if this will even be a longterm thing ;_;).

One of my favorite time periods to talk about, both in general and in particular to North American history is the Wild West.
(Or apperantly referred to as the ‘‘Third Period of the American Frontier’’ by like Britannica, okk nerd like anyone calls it that.)

Although alot of the interest in the period is due to pop culture’s romanticized views of the era, with the period ultimately being marked by the encroaching native land, and the brutal genocide and resettlement against the Indian tribes that once inhabited the American West-
(I’m guessing you know that)
-but yet, I still feel this strong sentiment towards the Wild West, maybe I just like cowboys but I absolutely adore learning ’bout the period in general.

Whaddahell is the Wild West Anyways?

According to the Encylcopædia Britannica the period ‘‘began around 1840’’, around the period after the Civil War and ‘‘lasted to 1890 and beyond, when the federal census announced the end of the frontier era’’ although some sources such as Oxford University suggest the period lasted into the 20^th Century. The period is known for the settlement westward by Anglo-Americans triggered particularly after the Civil War by the opportunities of the wilderness of the South Western United States and heavy government support to encourage settling in the region by the Homestead act and railroad grants.

The Birth of ‘‘America’’

The period of the Wild West undoubtably shaped American identity as a whole. This period not only saw the Wilderness of the American West completely transformed through the establishment of entire states by settlement of Anglo-Americans westward, and the following industrialization but helped create a unified nation after the civil war through the trade and mineral wealth brought from the new Western territories
and the frontier culture of ‘‘Manifest Destiny’’, the ideology of the inevitable expansion of the United States.
(According to Encyclopædia Britannica.)

American Progress, John Gast

Arguably, this period is one of the most remembered times in American history because of this. For some people, it’s hard not to be sentimental around the nation building period of ones country and to fantasize about taking part in settling a nation.
(Not as if this period was all sunshine and rainbows for settlers, and especially the natives, but when do people care about that when the fantasize. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Final Words:

So maybe Westerns did a number on me, or maybe it was growing up rural, but I’ll never stop occasionally obsessing around the period of the Old West both out of that weird little fantasy view of the era, and how it defined American history.
(Or maybe I’m just yapping and I actually just like Westerns, you’ll never know...)

Calamity Jane basedbasedbasedbased Thanks for reading this if any y’all did, I was supposed to post this yesterday but life gets in the way I guess.
I’m planning to make the next issue of this on something to do with Halloween given the season,
(Hopefully more professional than this.), but I’m still happy as always to look into suggestions 

Cya munchkins!