Possibilities
They agreed on one general object—that of bettering their condition, but the particular means by which each proposed to attain his end, were as various as can well be imagined.
– Jesse Quinn Thornton on the settlers who were migrating to Oregon, 1846
The American West during the latter half of the nineteenth century supported a remarkably heterogeneous population. Complementing the region’s diverse Native presence, settlers from throughout the United States—and many parts of the world—decided to make the West their home. These new inhabitants came for different reasons, but for many the possibility of achieving economic and religious freedom was most important. In the West it was believed that one could reinvent oneself, and often this dream was realized. Yet the arrival of so many people also caused new frictions that led to dissension, intolerance, and sometimes violence. It also prompted reform; movements such as populism, temperance, women’s suffrage, unionism, and Native American rights emerged as significant issues in the West. The individuals in this section played important roles in transforming the West’s identity and its relationship with the rest of the nation and the world.
Go West
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Brigham Young 1801–1877 Attributed to Marsena Cannon (1812–1900)
Sixth-plate daguerreotype, c. 1850
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Horace Greeley 1811–1872 Unidentified photographer
Quarter-plate daguerreotype, c. 1850
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Ann Eliza Young 1844–after 1908 Thomas Houseworth (1828–1915)
Albumen silver print, c. 1875
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Gold Rush
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Lola Montez 1818–1861
Meade Brothers Studio (active 1842–70)
Sixth-plate daguerreotype, c. 1851
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Seated Man with Chinese Servant
Unidentified photographer
Sixth-plate daguerreotype, c. 1855
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Domingo Ghirardelli 1817–1894
George H. Johnson (c. 1823–?)
Albumen silver print, 1860
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Crime
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Jesse James 1847–1882
Unidentified photographer
Albumen silver print, 1882
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James Butler Hickok 1837–1876
Unidentified photographer
Tintype, c. 1876
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Robert Dalton 1869–1892
J. F. Standiford (lifedates unknown)
Albumen silver print, c. 1889
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Calamity Jane 1852–1903
George W. Potter (lifedates unknown)
Printing-out paper print, c. 1896
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The Wild Bunch
John Swartz (lifedates unknown)
Gelatin silver print, 1900
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Laura Bullion 1876–1961
Unidentified photographer
Gelatin silver print, c. 1901
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Reform
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Richard H. Pratt 1840–1924
John N. Choate (1848–1902)
Albumen silver print, 1880
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Zitkala-Ša 1876–1938
Joseph T. Keiley (1869–1914)
Glycerine-developed platinum print, 1898
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Plenty Coups c. 1848–1932
Willem Wildschut (1883–1955)
Gelatin silver print, c. 1921
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Sara Bard Field 1883–1974
Johan Hagemeyer (1884–1962)
Gelatin silver print, 1927
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Carrie Nation 1846–1911
White Studio (active 1903–36)
Gelatin silver print, c. 1903
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Jeannette Rankin 1880–1973
L. Chase (lifedates unknown)
Gelatin silver print, c. 1917
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Entertainers
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Annie Oakley 1860–1926
John Wood (active 1865–1890)
Albumen silver print, c. 1885
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William S. Hart 1870–1946
Unidentified photographer
Gelatin silver print, c. 1917
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Gloria Swanson 1897–1983
Karl Struss (1886–1981)
Platinum print, 1919
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William F. Cody 1846–1917
Unidentified photographer
Woodburytype, 1887
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Tom Mix 1880–1940
Unidentified photographer
Gelatin silver print, 1918
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Cecil B. DeMille 1881–1959
Karl Struss (1886–1981)
Gelatin silver print, 1919
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