Chapter 17: The Development of the West, 1877-1900





The following activities accompany the Legacy for a People and a Nation on "The West and Rugged Individualism" in Chapter 17. Refer to page 484 of Norton, A People and a Nation, Sixth Edition for the complete text of this Legacy. There are three parts to this web page: Questions to Consider, Investigation, and Further Exploration.




Questions to Consider
1. What would you identify as western values? How similar are these values to your own?

2. Is the American sense of individualism significantly different than the western world's emphasis upon the individual?

3. Why has popular culture and even international culture linked itself closely to the west rather than to the Washington Beltway or to New York’s Wall Street? Or, is this a misperception?

4. Does American nostalgia about the west and individualism represent an inclusive or exclusive perception of our culture?


Investigation
You are producing a new movie on U.S. westward expansion. What are the characteristics of the people you would cast (gender, age, race, occupation, religion, etc.)? Who is generally excluded from this image? What would be historically accurate? You will be assisted in your efforts by reviewing the film documentary The West directed by Ken Burns for PBS. Be sure to use the timeline feature to review highlights from 1500 to World War I.




Further Exploration
1. For early cartoon images (in short video clips) of Theodore Roosevelt that spoof him as a rugged individual and a big game hunter, go to the Library of Congress's American Memory Project. Enter "Theodore Roosevelt cartoon" in the search field.

2. In a closing campaign speech in 1928 Herbert Hoover invoked the idea of the need for American rugged individualism to keep America going forward. Think about the appeal to American voters.