PBS
Pbs: Archives of the West: Songs of the Plains a Selection of Cowboy Folk Songs
Explore the lyrics of five cowboy songs from 1860's and 1870's.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Who Were the Cowboys Behind 'Cowboy Songs'?
This article and audio report [9:05] covers the origins of American cowboy folk songs. Uses popups. Also includes a brief video clip of a 19th century folk song being performed.
Other
Epcc Libraries: Borderlands: Black Cowboys Rode the Trails, Too 21 (2002)
Faculty-edited college student articles on the US-Mexico border giving insight to what life was like for black cowboys in the late 1800s. The article explains how many were ex-slaves that became cowboys after Emancipation, what their job...
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.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Ways of the Cowboy
The cowboys were the background of the cattle boom in the 19th century. Read about their life, and their demise.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Us History: The American Cowboy
Looks at the origins of American cowboy culture, at the lives of cowboys and at the responsibilities they had, such as herding cattle to market.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: u.s. History/literature Lesson Plan: Cowboys
Here is a lesson plan on cowboys and cowboy literature. Students are asked to dissect an old cowboy song and point out the elements of old Western dialect. Also, students are asked to get into small groups and point out characteristics...