Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Taming the American West
Comprehensive teaching unit that explores the settling of the American West in the late 1800s and the challenges these settlers faced. Contains video and text materials, web interactives, student oriented activities, and a timeline of...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Other
National Museum of Wildlife Art
From the home page, click on the elk icon to enter, then go to "collections". The National Museum of Wildlife Art holds works of the American West from 1819 to the present, with themes of explorer art, sporting art, Romanticism,...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Colonization of Utah
This resource provides a detailed discussion of the colonization of Utah.
PBS
American Experience: Buffalo Bill
This 1-hour documentary presents a portrait of William Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill. A western frontier legend in the 1880s, his Wild West Show travelled the globe making the American West into the American story.
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.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Outlaws in Utah
This site discusses the cultural icon of the western "outlaw" in the context of the state of Utah.
George Eastman Museum
Photographers of the American West
Original pictures of Westward expansion. Great activities and discussion questions for cross-curricular learning.
Library of Congress
Loc: Global Gateway: Meeting of Frontiers
From cossacks to cowboys, this Library of Congress special online collection looks at American westward exploration and expansion, and Russia's eastward reach into and conquest of Siberia. Includes historical information and timelines,...
Art Cyclopedia
Artcyclopedia: Artists by Movement: Hudson River School
Survey the career and paintings of the Hudson River School in American painting (1835-1870).
Library of Congress
Loc: The American West: Images of Its People
Different peoples have contributed to the history of the western United States. To gain an understanding and appreciation of this history, middle schoolers investigate the region's cultures and identify the contributions that each make...
Library of Congress
Loc: Explorations in American Environmental History
These lessons introduce students to historical perspectives of nature and the environment, drawing on the American Memory collections, other digital resources, readings, and writing exercises. Students examine materials in a variety of...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Book: The Young Forester by Zane Grey
This site features the full text of the novel The Young Forester by Zane Grey.
Other
The Great Plains in Midwestern Culture
Discusses the history of the people on the Great Plains, both the Native Americans and early settlers.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Lure of the West
An exhibit from the Smithsonian includes 70 paintings and sculptures by famous American Western artists such as Catlin, Baker, Bierstadt, and Remington.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Lure of the West
Beautiful artwork from the more famous artists who depicted the people, places and things of the American West.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Pony Express: History and Culture
A good article from the National Park Service which recounts the history of the brief existence of the Pony Express. Read about the route, what caused the demise of the Pony Express, and what part of the trail can still be seen.
Legends of America
Legends of America
"A Travel Site for the Nostalgic and History Minded". If you love history, you'll love this site. Featured is much detailed information on history, people, legends, ghost towns, outlaws, and so much more.
Kansas Historical Society
Beyond Lewis & Clark: The Army Explores the West
This website looks at military explorers from Lewis and Clark (1804) to George Custer (1874).
Other
Colorado Historical Society: Kit Carson: A Hero in Fact and Fiction [Pdf]
A short biography of the legend of the West, Kit Carson. PDF (requires Adobe Reader).
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Westward Expansion and Reform
Part of a longer time line describing the history of the American West, this section covers the period 1829 to 1859 with hyperlinks to stories and people of this time period.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Catlin, the White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas
George Catlin's paintings and illustrations show Native-Americans as real people as opposed to noble savages as Europeans often viewed them. View examples of his paintings and read their backstory in this essay.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Moving West, Natural Disasters
Assign reasons from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to explain pioneers' migration to and return from the American plains in the 1800s. Research, write and produce a newspaper dedicated to a natural disaster such as the 19th-century drought.