American Old West

The American Old West is generally considered to be located in western North America, usually the Western United States and usually occupying the timeperiod of the late 19th century, especially from the antebellum period to the turn of the century. It has played a significant role in history and fiction. The terms Old West and Wild West refer to life beyond the settled frontier. This terminology could place the setting as far back as the American colonial period, but is usually meant to signify the latter 1800s in the "Frontier Strip" (eg. six U.S. states from North Dakota south to Texas).

Overview

Many accounts of Old West life have been highly romanticized. In typical Western fiction, the Old West is a dry landscape populated by many archetypes, including:

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• Cowboys and Indians,
• Lawmen and various types of outlaws,
• Gold miners (usually at their gold mines),
• Trappers and,
• various other explorers.

Conflicts generally occurred, and still occur, over water, since land without water is of little value in the dry western states. The series of gold rushes in the Old West led to a feverish migration of workers into the frontier because of the dramatic discoveries of commercial quantities of gold. In the history of the United States and Canada, several gold rushes took place throughout the later 19th century, like in Sierra Nevada and Fraser Canyon.

Related Topics:
Water - Gold rush

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