Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: Californio Society, 1830s 1880s
Collection of photos and drawings depicting early California elite and maps of land use from which students can learn about the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development in the 1800s.
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: 1870 1900: The Transcontinental Railroad
Original photos and images highlighting the impact that the Transcontinental Railroad had on the lives and perspectives of Americans and Native Americans.
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: 1870 1900: Everyday Life and People
Primary source photos depicting what life was like out west and in California in the late 19th century.
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
Other
Prairie Traveler: A Handbook for Overland Expeditions
Written in 1859, this handbook provided pioneers with valuable guidance on everything from choosing which route to gake to the west, to what kinds of tents to use, to how to deal with Indians. It was an invaluable source for those making...
University of Virginia
Uva Electronic Library: Letters of a Woman Homesteader
This site offers the full text of "Letters of a Woman Homesteader," by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. The work is a compilation of letters written by a young woman who was a homesteader in Wyoming.
Ibis Communications
Eye Witness to History: The Old West
This resource provides first-hand accounts and background information on the Old West. Content touches on crossing the plains, cowboys, train robberies, Dalton Gang's Last Raid, Custer's Last Stand, the Death of Billy the Kid, and much...
Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: Moving West
The National Postal Museum provides an intimate look at how America's postal service expanded to meet the needs of westward-moving settlers during the nineteenth century. Content includes a selection of letters written at the time, a...
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...
Indiana University
Victorian Women Writers Project: A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1881)
Provides the text of the book, "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains," by Isabella L. Bird.
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.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Texas Ranch House
What was it like to be a cowboy in 1867? Visit the Cooke Ranch and explore a cowboy's working and dwelling quarters. Play the interactive games to learn about the many aspects of daily life in the American West. (Click "Interactive...
Curated OER
National Park Service: Homestead National Monument: Exodusters
Read about the reasons for the extensive black migration to Kansas, especially in the 1870s. These emigrants were called Exodusters. From the National Park Service.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Our Story: Life in a Sod House
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.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Adeline Hornbeck and the Homestead Act
This Teaching with Historic Places instructional activity effectively depicts the life of a pioneer woman and ways in which the Homestead Act impacted her life. The site includes lesson plans, inquiry questions, and photos that may be...
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.
PBS
Pbs the West: The Homestead Act May 20, 1862
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," provides the text of the Homestead Act of 1862.
US National Archives
Laura Ingalls Wilder Teaching Unit: Pioneer Life With Laura
A great lesson using the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder to teach about pioneer life on the plains. Filled with before reading and during reading activities and questions.
Curated OER
National Park Service: National Historic Landmark Nomination: Bonanza Farm [Pdf]
On this site you will find the application to the National Park Service to include the Bagg Bonanza Farm as a National Landmark. The first part describes what is found on the land now, but if you'll scroll through the history of...
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: Building a Sod House
Here's great information on building sod houses. You can even watch a video of a famous two-story sod house that stood until 1967.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Seeds of Empirebuilding
Essay on European-American westward expansion and the conflict new settlement created with Native Americans. Author describes the development of a hierarchical structure in which indigenous peoples were exploited and unprotected.
US National Archives
Our Documents: Check for the Purchase of Alaska (1868)
Interactive images of two documents important in Alaska's history: the check written for its 1868 purchase from Russia and the Russian Treaty of Cession (an English transcript is provided), which concluded the deal.
US National Archives
Our Documents: Homestead Act (1862)
Original text (and transcription) of the 1862 Homestead Act, which granted land for a five-year residence for minimal fees. Accompanied by an overview of the act, including how it both helped and hindered farmers.
US Army Center
U.s. Army Center of Military History: Winning the West: The Army in the Indian Wars
This is a chapter excerpt from a book on military history which details the role of the United States Army in the Indian Wars for the years 1865 to 1890.