Before the West Was Won: Exploration & Encounter on the Frontier, 1789-1848

This set of 4 lectures explores the first encounters between Americans in the United States and Native Americans in the western territories from 1789 to 1848. We will focus on the society and culture of native tribes in the west such as the Sioux, the Commanche and the Apache as well as notable white explorers, trappers and mountain men. These included figures such as Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, Zebulon Pike, and John C. Frémont. This was an era marked by social and political clashes, accommodation, acculturation, and (ultimately) tragedy.