From a chapter on America's expansion westward in a history textbook. This section looks at how Americans felt about westward expansion in the mid-1800s, and ways that the federal government promoted migration. Includes review questions.

Original photos and images highlighting the impact that the Transcontinental Railroad had on the lives and perspectives of Americans and Native Americans.

This resource provides a wealth of information about the period of American literature from 1860-1914. There are eight good articles discussing the movements of realism, regionalism, and naturalism, the rise of black American literature,...

A program from the Buffalo Bill Wild West show that depicts the thrills of the American West and illustrates how American influence was spreading beyond the nation's borders.

This article explores the story of the Pony Express, the "speedy" mail service that once connected the Eastern U.S. with the West.

Learning module with a variety of video and other resources on the expansion westward as pioneers settled new frontier in the 1800s.

Based on the theory that because the King had given the colonists so many freedoms, and he had problems on the home-front, the colonists' will was strengthened. This contributed to the Revolution. There are links to Virginia's First...

Text of the book "The Last Trail" by Zane Grey. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)

Article explores the domestic policies of the Kennedy administration with a focus on civil rights.

Discusses the transition of the United States in the late 19th century from an isolationist country into an imperial power with colonies of its own and the reasons for this abrupt change in foreign policy. Includes questions for students...

Biographical summary of the life and career of William Glackens, American frontier painter and politician known as "the Missouri Artist."

By the 1890's, the status of Indian people seemed to validate Frederick Jackson Turner's claim that "the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history." Natives ceased to threaten the Republic...

From the extensive site about African-American migrations, this part of the site focuses on Exodusters and African-Americans who moved to Kansas after the Civil War. Read first-person accounts and see photographs of these hardy...

George Catlin made extensive observations on the various native peoples that he encountered on his travels in the West. He recorded his experiences in letters and notes. These documents provide us with critical information on the culture...

A biography of Annie Oakley which traces her childhood, her stardom in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, her long marriage to Frank Butler, and her life after the show. Part of a larger PBS American Experience site about Annie Oakley.

Article on the era of westward expansion and the resulting Mexican American War. The author demonstrates how Manifest Destiny and frontier settlement led to the annexation of Texas and ultimately war with Mexico over the territory.

Part of the main feature called "Lost in the Grand Canyon," follow scientific explorer John Wesley Powell on his expedition down the Colorado River in 1869. This interactive map with its accompanying journal entries details the course of...

Imagine moving into a house made out of sod that you and your family had to build in the middle of a prairie! Find great information and activities that will help you understand how it felt to live on the prairie.

The site of the PBS documentary "Lost in the Grand Canyon," features the story of John Wesley Powell and his famed trip down the Colorado River.

Exhibit about family life in Illinois from 1700 to the present lets visitors experience the kinds of changes that an environment can undergo over several hundred years. Uses historical narratives, images of objects, timelines, maps, and...

This companion article from the PBS series, "New Perspectives on the West," offers a lesson plan which approaches the Dawes Act from the perspective of the Nez Perce.

A history of the earliest versions of the Winchester rifle, which found a ready market in the American West after the Civil War.

With this activity, learners create models of carbohydrates and proteins using pieces of candy in order "to visualize the atomic arrangements of nutrient molecules."

This resource, from an exhibition called "The Frontier in American Culture" shows how the frontier on the Northwest Coast differed from the frontier in the rest of the West. Differences include the forests and the development of logging...