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

Gold Rush

Crime

Reform

Entertainers

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