Books, art, and movies most often portray the frontier army in continuous conflict with Native Americans. In truth, the army spent only a small part of its frontier duty fighting Indians; as the main arm of the federal government in less-settled regions of the nation, the army performed a host of duties. The Frontier Army in the Settlement of the West examines the army’s nonmartial contributions to western development. Dispelling timeworn stereotypes, Michael L. Tate shows that the army conducted explorations, compiled scientific and artistic records, built roads, aided overland travelers, and improved river transportation. Army posts offered nuclei for towns, and soldiers delivered federal mails, undertook agricultural experiments, and assembled weather records for forecasting.
The "multipurpose" army also provided telegraph service, extended relief to destitute civilians, and protected early national parks.

The Frontier Army in the Settlement of the West

History

Tate, Michael L.

Americas

University of Oklahoma Press

Indians and Emigrants: Encounters on the Overland Trails

In the first book to focus on relations between Indians and emigrants on the overland trails, Michael L. Tate shows that such encounters were far more often characterized by cooperation than by conflict. Having combed hundreds of unpublished sources and Indian oral traditions, Tate finds Indians and Anglo-Americans continuously trading goods and news with each other, and Indians providing various forms of assistance to overlanders. Tate admits that both sides normally followed their own best interests and ethical standards, which sometimes created distrust. But many acts of kindness by emigrants and by Indians can be attributed to simple human compassion. Not until the mid-1850s did Plains tribes begin to see their independence and cultural traditions threatened by the flood of white travelers. As buffalo herds dwindled and more Indians died from diseases brought by emigrants, violent clashes between wagon trains and Indians became more frequent, and the first Anglo-Indian wars erupted on the plains. Yet, even in the 1860s, Tate finds, friendly encounters were still the rule. Despite thousands of mutually beneficial exchanges between whites and Indians between 1840 and 1870, the image of Plains Indians as the overland pioneers’ worst enemies prevailed in American popular culture. In explaining the persistence of that stereotype, Tate seeks to dispel one of the West’s oldest cultural misunderstandings.

Until their final military defeat in the Red River War of 1874 and subsequent removal to western Oklahoma reservations, Indian peoples played a major role in all phases of southern Plains history, yet no systematic bibliographical tool has ever been compiled to identify the diverse published source materials about their cultures and histories. This bibliography, including 3,791 entries, not only lists the monographic and journal citations but also assesses the quality and reliability of most of these sources. Furthermore, it includes tribes ranging from the well-known Comanche, Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita to the smaller, more obscure indigenous groups such as the Tonkawa, Karankawa, Jumano, Coahuiltecan, and Atakapa. The author also includes citations relevant to the Texas experiences of 'eastern removed tribes' such as the Cherokee, Alabama, Coushatta, Seminole, and Kickapoo.

Indians of Texas

Scarecrow Press

"...a valuable research tool...it is a handy device for anyone interested in Omaha research materials." ―GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY

The Upstream People

Crossing the Plains to Oregon in 1853

Belshaw, Maria Parsons

Belshaw, George

Ye Galleon Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tate, Michael L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tate, Michael L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tate, Michael L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Frontier Army in the Settlement of the West

Indians and Emigrants: Encounters on the Overland Trails

Indians and Emigrants: Encounters on the Overland Trails

Indians of Texas

The Upstream People

Crossing the Plains to Oregon in 1853