Fletcher US History

I read a diary of George Edwin Bushnell from 1863 and a memoir of Luzena Stanley Wilson from 1881. The diary takes place as George is traveling "across the plains" for six months, moving out west from Missouri to California. This diary is very technical, more like a journal perhaps. As he is traveling, he will write in this journal exactly what is happening every few days or so: "Mary borrowed a pair of Emma’s shoes so she could go to church. Lost Valley, Mr. Rich went with us to Sacramento and treating all to beer but Nancy, she took buttermilk. Mr. Rich went back (about 40 miles)... We went on." This takes place toward the end of his journals and is an example of his technical writing. Throughout the many journal entries, he continues to just say what has happened, like where they settled for a night, prices of certain goods, and how the weather was. The entries were not filled with any emotion, just as a record of his travels. On the other hand, the Memoir wri...

After reading the article, " Letters of Westward Expansion " from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, I see how many people who moved out to the western frontier continued to come into contact with their families back east: " Letters connected all of these migrants with the homes they had left behind, and helped to build an interconnecting network of people across the vast new country that was developing." These people moving out West saw a chance for a new life and wanted a fresh start while being able to remain connected to their families. However, though these migrants going out West wrote letters constantly, the letter coming from the east were more quickly distributed than  those in the west as the delivery service was more active and accessible. As the article is further analyzed, it begin with a paragraph regarding the importance of this single method of communication. The commonality of Americans spreading throughout the expanding country was significant...

     I read the Dodge City Times taking place in Dodge City, Kansas. I saw this city on the board and it caught my eye as it was also mentioned in 3:10 to Yuma . This was a weekly newspaper that was used from 1876 to 1892, as Dodge City was founded in 1872. While reading this newspaper, I found that it was more focused on local issues rather than national. The edition of the Dodge City Times that I read began by talking about local immigration to Arkansas because of railroad work that was taking place very abruptly in the city. It continued to discuss matters of medicines, current technology involving the plow, a decline in the cattle business regarding to a demise in the health of the grass, and stories of horse thieves. The matter of horse thieves was a large part of the crime portion of the newspaper and continued on to discuss how the problem was resolved and the thieves were captured. I feel that this would have been a very useful source of learning for ...