Explorers of the American West: Mapping the World through Primary Documents

With original primary source documents, this anthology brings readers into the vast unknown 19th-century American West-through the eyes of the explorers who saw it for the first time.

This volume brings together book excerpts, maps, and illustrations from 12 explorers from the 19th century, highlighting their lives and contributions. Arranged chronologically, the 10 chapters focus on individual explorers, with biographies and background information about and document excerpts from each person. The chapters offer analyses of each document’s relevance to the historical period, geographic knowledge, and cultural perspective.

This guide shares the important contributions from explorers like Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, Jedediah Smith, James P. Beckwourth, John C. Fremont, Susan Magoffin, and John Wesley Powell. It also nurtures readers’ historical literacy by modeling historians’ methods of analyzing primary sources. Readers will see new and familiar events from different perspectives, including that of a woman traveling along the Santa Fe Trail, one of the most famous African American mountain men, and a Civil War veteran, among many others.

Collects primary source materials such as journal entries, book excerpts, and maps from various 19th-century American explorers, enabling readers to discover the vast unknown American West, as seen for the first time by those of European descent

Includes a topical guide to aid readers in cross-referencing entries

Presents illustrations and photographs as well as original textual documents and maps