The Road to Virginia City: the Diary of James Knox Polk Miller

The Road to Virginia City: the Diary of James Knox Polk Miller PDF Author: James Knox Polk Miller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description

The Road to Virginia City: the Diary of James Knox Polk Miller

The Road to Virginia City: the Diary of James Knox Polk Miller PDF Author: James Knox Polk Miller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description


The Saloon on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier

The Saloon on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier PDF Author: Elliott West
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803297845
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Elliott West’s careful analysis of the role and development of the saloon as an institution on the mining frontier provides unique insights into the social and economic history of the American West. Drawing on contemporaneous newspapers and many unpublished firsthand accounts, West shows that the physical evolution of the saloon, from crude tents and shanties into elegant establishments for drinking and gaming, reflected the growth and maturity of the surrounding community.

Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1825-1915

Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1825-1915 PDF Author: Glenda Riley
Publisher: UNM Press
ISBN: 9780826307804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
The first account of how and why pioneer women altered their self-images and their views of American Indians.

Montana: A Bicentennial History (States and the Nation)

Montana: A Bicentennial History (States and the Nation) PDF Author: Clark C. Spence
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393348563
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
At three times the size of Pennsylvania, with a county bigger than the whole state of Connecticut, Montana is a large place, once described as "bounded on the west by the Japan current, on the north by the aurora borealis, on the south by Price's Army, and on the east by the Day of Judgement." Montana has a rich story, in which different people have sought both great fortune and modest prosperity. How well they succeeded is part of the story told in this engaging history.

Indians and Emigrants

Indians and Emigrants PDF Author: Michael L. Tate
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806182040
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
In the first book to focus on relations between Indians and emigrants on the overland trails, Michael L. Tate shows that such encounters were far more often characterized by cooperation than by conflict. Having combed hundreds of unpublished sources and Indian oral traditions, Tate finds Indians and Anglo-Americans continuously trading goods and news with each other, and Indians providing various forms of assistance to overlanders. Tate admits that both sides normally followed their own best interests and ethical standards, which sometimes created distrust. But many acts of kindness by emigrants and by Indians can be attributed to simple human compassion. Not until the mid-1850s did Plains tribes begin to see their independence and cultural traditions threatened by the flood of white travelers. As buffalo herds dwindled and more Indians died from diseases brought by emigrants, violent clashes between wagon trains and Indians became more frequent, and the first Anglo-Indian wars erupted on the plains. Yet, even in the 1860s, Tate finds, friendly encounters were still the rule. Despite thousands of mutually beneficial exchanges between whites and Indians between 1840 and 1870, the image of Plains Indians as the overland pioneers’ worst enemies prevailed in American popular culture. In explaining the persistence of that stereotype, Tate seeks to dispel one of the West’s oldest cultural misunderstandings.

Montana Vigilantes, 1863–1870

Montana Vigilantes, 1863–1870 PDF Author: Mark C. Dillon
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 0874219205
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
A history and legal analysis of vigilantism in Montana in the 1860s, from a state Supreme Court justice and legal historian. Historians and novelists alike have described the vigilantism that took root in the gold-mining communities of Montana in the mid-1860s, but Mark C. Dillon is the first to examine the subject through the prism of American legal history, considering the state of criminal justice and law enforcement in the western territories and also trial procedures, gubernatorial politics, legislative enactments, and constitutional rights. Using newspaper articles, diaries, letters, biographies, invoices, and books that speak to the compelling history of Montana’s vigilantism in the 1860s, Dillon examines the conduct of the vigilantes in the context of the due process norms of the time. He implicates the influence of lawyers and judges who, like their non-lawyer counterparts, shaped history during the rush to earn fortunes in gold. Dillon’s perspective as a state Supreme Court justice and legal historian uniquely illuminates the intersection of territorial politics, constitutional issues, corrupt law enforcement, and the basic need of citizenry for social order. This readable and well-directed analysis of the social and legal context that contributed to the rise of Montana vigilante groups will be of interest to scholars and general readers interested in Western history, law, and criminal justice for years to come. “[Justice Dillon’s] book reads like a Western. Dillon masterfully sets the stage for the rise of the Montana vigilantes by bringing alive the people who created and lived in [mining] towns. There are heroes, villains, shady characters, and more than a few politicians, businessmen, lawyers and judges. What sets Dillon’s book apart from historical texts and fictional tales is that he provides legal analyses and explanations of the trials, sentences, due process and procedures of the day . . . And shed[s] grisly light on the details of the hangings. Dillon’s unique background as an attorney and judge and his downright dogged research are what makes this complex story so engaging. The prose is clear, crisp and gets to the point. . . . The book is satisfying because it answers contemporary nagging questions about the law regarding the vigilantes and the hangings.” —Gregory Zenon, Brooklyn Barrister “Dillon’s analysis of the vigilantes of Bannack, Alder Gulch, and Helena in Montana Territory is the most detailed, insightful, and legally nuanced yet produced. . . . This book is a model for historians to follow when dealing with 19th-century criminal proceedings. Establishing historical context includes examining the laws in books as well as the law in action.” —Gordon Morris Bakken, Great Plains Research

Burning the Breeze

Burning the Breeze PDF Author: Lisa Hendrickson
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496228766
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
In the middle of the Great Depression, Montana native Julia Bennett arrived in New York City with no money and an audacious business plan: to identify and visit easterners who could afford to spend their summers at her brand new dude ranch near Ennis, Montana. Julia, a big-game hunter whom friends described as “a clever shot with both rifle and shotgun,” flouted gender conventions to build guest ranches in Montana and Arizona that attracted world-renowned entertainers and artists. Bennett’s entrepreneurship, however, was not a new family development. During the Civil War, her widowed grandmother and her seven-year-old daughter—Bennett’s mother—set out from Missouri on a ten-month journey with little more than a yoke of oxen, a covered wagon, and the clothes on their backs. They faced countless heartbreaks and obstacles as they struggled to build a new life in the Montana Territory. Burning the Breeze is the story of three generations of women and their intrepid efforts to succeed in the American West. Excerpts from diaries, letters, and scrapbooks, along with rare family photos, help bring their vibrant personalities to life.

Navaho Expedition

Navaho Expedition PDF Author: James Hervey Simpson
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806135700
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
In 1849, the Corps of Topographical Engineers commissioned Lieutenant James H. Simpson to undertake the first survey of Navajo country in present-day New Mexico. Accompanying Simpson was a military force commanded by Colonel John M. Washington, sent to negotiate peace with the Navajo. A keen observer, Simpson kept a journal that provided valuable information on the party’s interactions with Indians and also about the land’s features, including important pueblo ruins at Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. His careful observations informed subsequent military expeditions, emigrant trains, the selection of Indian reservations, and the charting of a transcontinental railroad. Editor Frank McNitt discusses the expedition’s lasting importance to the development of the West, and his research is enriched by illustrations and maps by artists Richard and Edward Kern. Military historian Durwood Ball contributes a new foreword.

A Decent, Orderly Lynching

A Decent, Orderly Lynching PDF Author: Frederick Allen
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806179570
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
The deadliest campaign of vigilante justice in American history erupted in the Rocky Mountains during the Civil War when a private army hanged twenty-one troublemakers. Hailed as great heroes at the time, the Montana vigilantes are still revered as founding fathers. Combing through original sources, including eye-witness accounts never before published, Frederick Allen concludes that the vigilantes were justified in their early actions, as they fought violent crime in a remote corner beyond the reach of government. But Allen has uncovered evidence that the vigilantes refused to disband after territorial courts were in place. Remaining active for six years, they lynched more than fifty men without trials. Reliance on mob rule in Montana became so ingrained that in 1883, a Helena newspaper editor advocated a return to “decent, orderly lynching” as a legitimate tool of social control. Allen’s sharply drawn characters, illustrated by dozens of photographs, are woven into a masterfully written narrative that will change textbook accounts of Montana’s early days—and challenge our thinking on the essence of justice.

I Do

I Do PDF Author: Martha Kohl
Publisher: Montana Historical Society
ISBN: 0980129214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
I Do traces Montana weddings and circumstances that influenced them from the 1860s gold rush to the present day. Engaging stories, insightful analysis, and intriguing photographs provide an intimate and surprising look at an important tradition.