The Rise and Fall of the Donner Party

Think of the Wild West, and you’ll imagine cowboys, shootouts, bank robberies and saloons. But it was also a time of massive resettlement, new technology and communications. But what the white settlers’ westward migration mean for the native people who had lived on the land for centuries? What inspired so many to move west in the first place? And if the era only lasted a few decades, what makes it so iconic to Americans and the rest of the world? 

This is a Short History of…The Wild West

Written by Emma Christie. With thanks to Chris Wimmer, host and creator of the Legends of the Old West podcast.

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