The twenty-nine historians that contributed to The Oxford
History of the American West finally achieved Ray Allen Billington’s
secondary goal in The Far Western Frontier, 1830-1960; to discuss
whether Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis that cheap and empty land in the
American West drew settlers and resulted in the creation of a uniquely American
character and democratic institutions.
Where Billington’s focus is the settlement of the West in the period
before the U.S. Civil War in a regional fashion, The Oxford History of the
American West approaches Western history thematically, allowing it to cover
a broader range of topics and a five hundred year span. Both texts challenge our modern conceptions
of the West; Billington clearly demonstrates that vibrant cultures existed in the
region before Americans arrived, while The Oxford History illustrates
the impact of westward migration into the 20th century.
The Far Western Frontier, 1830-1860 is by far the
older and more often reviewed of the two texts, and was generally well
received. The most negative comment made
was that in an effort to comprehensively cover the topic of migration to the
West, Billington sacrificed accuracy in small details such as the spelling of
names and places (Pomeroy, 666). In his review, Pomeroy also specifically
disputes Billington’s facts regarding Texas, saying that, “the Texans were
never Mexican subjects,” (Pomeroy, 667).
The key issue is whether to accept Billington or Pomeroy’s view of Texas
history. Given Billington’s seemingly
exhaustive detail on the conditions Mexican officials allowed Americans to
settle in Texas, it seems a stretch to believe that they were anything other
than subjects of the Mexican Republic.
Despite the issues surrounding spelling of place names and
interpretations of early Texas history, the only major flaw in The Far
Western Frontier is that, like Turner, Billington sees settlement of the
West as a “civilizing” influence that the Hispanic and Native American
inhabitants either did not, or could not achieve. Oscar Osburn Winthurn notes this in his
review, and it is evident in his description of Mexican settlement of
California that Billington sees the pastoral Californian lifestyle as lacking
in moral character when he described it as indolent (Winthurn, 638; Billington,
13) Strangely, this criticism of Mexican society in California comes at the
same time Billington describes it as reminiscent of the antebellum South with
an emphasis on hospitality, companionship, and honor (Billington, 9).
This criticism does not mean that The Far Western
Frontier is wholly without merit.
Once Billington’s Anglo bias is accounted for, there is a wealth of
valuable information regarding all of the different regions of the American
West. Billington begins his discussion
of American settlement in Texas with background information on the Spanish
government’s methods for using presidios and missions to occupy frontier areas
in an effort to defend the heart of Mexico.
After Mexican independence, the policy of trying to keep Americans out
of Texas changed as the government attempted to create a more dynamic economy
in the region. Billington moves beyond
his consideration of Texas to also delve into trade between the Mississippi
Valley and Santa Fe, the fur-trapping expeditions into the Rockies, which
devastated beaver populations before 1840, the development of Mormonism and
their settlement of Utah, and the “opening” of Oregon and California.
The vast breadth of available topics here inevitably means
that some aspects of Western settlement will be given a short shrift. However, it also allows Billington to provide
additional perspectives for some subjects.
The experiences of the “average” pioneer group in contrast to that of
Mormon emigrants is the most obvious example. Unlike groups that started out
for California or Oregon poorly equipped, led, and with no knowledge of the
terrain before them, the Mormons set out with a definite plan that would see
almost 15,000 people safely arrive in Utah.
The first party of Mormons blazed the trail, established camps, and
provided guides for the parties following them.
The chapter describing the complexity of the Mormon move to Utah and the
establishment of Salt Lake City stands in stark comparison to the hardships
faced by less organized groups.
The Oxford History of the American West is as
different from The Far Western Frontier as the Mormon migration was from
that of other settlers. Divided into
four thematically based sections, The Oxford History covers every
conceivable topic possible, from Native American beginnings, economic and
environmental issues, religion, Federal support in the region, urbanization,
and art. Where Billington’s The Far
Western Frontier is steadfastly in the realm of “traditional” history,
Julie Roy Jeffry writes of The Oxford History of the American West that
the major emphasis on Native Americans, the Federal government, environment,
and globalism, “make it clear at once that this volume reflects the
perspectives and concerns of the revisionists,” (Jeffry, 1026). The focus on areas considered “new” Western
history is a major difference between these two books.
Fortunately, The Oxford History of the American West
does not suffer from the vice usually attributed to “new” Western history: that
of blaming European-Americans for all conceivable problems. Instead, the volume attempts to strike as
balanced a tone as possible, while still acknowledging the negative impact of
European-Americans on Native American populations and the environment. In some ways this is quite subtle, as in
Richard White’s chapter he writes that both Indians and Europeans used animals,
but Europeans paid no attention to the long-term costs (Milner, O’Connor, and Sandweiss, 238). White also notes that the introduction of
large-scale cattle and sheep ranching to the West played a pivotal role in the
destruction of native species. If The Oxford History has any problem, it
is that the profusion of subjects and points of view make it difficult to
develop a narrative understanding of the West, a complaint that is often heard
from critics of “new” Western history.
Its strength is as a reference, which incorporates many different
aspects of Western history.
Works Cited
Jeffry, Julie Roy. “In Search of the New American West.” The
Historical Journal 38, no. 4 (1995): 1057-1065.
Pomeroy, Earl. “The Far Western Frontier, 1830-1860.” The
Mississippi Valley Historical Review 43, no. 4 (1957): 676-677.
Winther, Oscar Osburn. “The Far Western Frontier,
1830-1860.” The American Historical Review 62, No. 3 (1957): 638-640
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