Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: Moving West
The National Postal Museum provides an intimate look at how America's postal service expanded to meet the needs of westward-moving settlers during the nineteenth century. Content includes a selection of letters written at the time, a...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Texas Ranch House
What was it like to be a cowboy in 1867? Visit the Cooke Ranch and explore a cowboy's working and dwelling quarters. Play the interactive games to learn about the many aspects of daily life in the American West. (Click "Interactive...
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Impact of Expansion on Chinese Immigrants and Hispanic Citizens
As white populations moved westward in the 19th century, Chinese immigrants and Hispanic Americans faced racism and discrimination and were unable to compete on an equal basis for land. Eventually, both groups settled into urban areas...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Reasons for Westward Expansion
Students will examine a variety of documents that reference reasons why Americans living in the East migrated west of the Mississippi immediately before, during, and right after the Civil War. Documents cover the mining industry, new...
Other
Pioneer Women: How the West Was Really Won
Learn about the varied roles that women played in the settling of the frontier, how those roles differed from women's roles in the 21st century, and, surprisingly, how much they were similar.
PBS
Pbs the West: Exodusters
Contains a description of the Exodusters and their impact on the American West through their immigration.
PBS
Pbs the West: The Grandest Enterprise Under God
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," depicts the coming of the railroad throughout the west and the consequences of the settling of the west.
US Army Center
U.s. Army Center of Military History: Winning the West: The Army in the Indian Wars
This is a chapter excerpt from a book on military history which details the role of the United States Army in the Indian Wars for the years 1865 to 1890.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Whose Land Is This? Webisode 8
From Joy Hakim's marvelous set of books, A History of US, this webisode offers narrative, pictures, and teaching guides for the settling of the West after the Civil War.
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: 1870 1900: Everyday Life and People
Primary source photos depicting what life was like out west and in California in the late 19th century.
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: African American Settlers
This presents an overview of African Americans moving and settling in the West.
Other
Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions
Written in 1859, this handbook provided pioneers with valuable guidance on everything from choosing which route to gake to the west, to what kinds of tents to use, to how to deal with Indians. It was an invaluable source for those making...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: Land Departments and Immigration
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section describes what the Land Department and the Bureau of Immigration did in order to attract new immigrants to settle along the railroad line. The...
![Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf] Lesson Plan](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410042/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0ymjm1lwl2exnyai5qcgc.jpg?1589985000 "Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Library of Congress
Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf]
As the United States expanded westward, many cultural groups came into contact with one another, such as Native American tribes, Chinese, and various Europeans. In this set of exercises, young scholars use primary source documents to...
University of Alberta
Atlas of Alberta Railways: Alberta's Early Non Indigenous Settlers
Presented by the University of Alberta, this resource contains information on the early non-indigenous settlement in the Alberta region. Information on the settlers themselves is provided as well as maps showing the growth in both...
University of Alberta
Atlas of Alberta Railways: Land Grant System
Presented by the University of Alberta, this resource contains information on the land grant system in the Alberta region. Information on how the Canadian government used land grants in the late 19th century to spur population growth in...
Curated OER
Etc: American Rev War Operations in the West, 1775 1782
A map of the Northwest Territory between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes to the Tennessee River showing the military operations and extent of settlement in the area during the American Revolutionary...
Other
Images of the American West: Oklahoma
This is a photo gallery of white homeseekers known as Boomers and other homesteaders settling the Oklahoma Territory in the late 1800's.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Adeline Hornbeck and the Homestead Act
This Teaching with Historic Places lesson effectively depicts the life of a pioneer woman and ways in which the Homestead Act impacted her life. The site includes lesson plans, inquiry questions, and photos that may be used in covering...
Other
Postbellum African American Society and Culture: Black Migration
From the Encyclopedia of American Social History. Read about the black migration to the West, primarily Kansas and Oklahoma after the end of Reconstruction and the institution of black codes in the South.
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Western Migration and Homesteading
Contains text and photos on the African-American exodus to the West. Includes primary source documents and maps from the era.
Oklahoma State University
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: All Black Towns
Read about the all-black towns that were settled in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory in the mid-19th century.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Heritage Gateways: Food
Click through eighteen pages of information about food and cooking as it was experienced by people traveling by wagon train to Utah, and as they began to settle into homesteads and communities. This site began as part of the 1997...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: u.s. & the Netherlands
This resource is an overview of the relationship of the Dutch West India Company and the settling of New Netherlands under the "patroon" system, which brought many Dutch colonists to the New World.
Other popular searches
- Settling the West 1865 1900
- Settling the Western Frontier
- Oregon Settling the West
- Settling the West Canada