Neldon Ryan Hamblin
Professor Robb Kunz
History 2600
September 21, 2015
Compare/contrast Assignment A common theme is ever present in both The Legacy of Conquest by Patricia Limerick and The American West by Anne Butler and Michael Lansing: a profound feeling of responsibility by the authors to set the record of the west straight and to enlighten our minds with facts and depictions of the true west. They do this by using accounts from primary sources, not the fabrications of Hollywood or “John Wayne” that we are used to seeing. However, the books differ in explaining the origin of the romanticization of the west. Combined, these works invokes a change of paradigm within the reader as we learn the west was not merely tamed, but conquered. …show more content…
These works even go as far as to give examples of politicians who branded themselves as westerners to gain support from potential voters, riding on the preconceived beliefs of western strength to win presidential elections. But Butler/ Lansing and Limerick show us this myth was very far from the truth and the west was realistically tainted with “wide spread cultural conflicts, confrontations, racism and oppressive behaviors.” It is argued by both books that one must understand these many faces of the west, no matter how disturbing, to truly “understand American
Professor Robb Kunz
History 2600
September 21, 2015
Compare/contrast Assignment A common theme is ever present in both The Legacy of Conquest by Patricia Limerick and The American West by Anne Butler and Michael Lansing: a profound feeling of responsibility by the authors to set the record of the west straight and to enlighten our minds with facts and depictions of the true west. They do this by using accounts from primary sources, not the fabrications of Hollywood or “John Wayne” that we are used to seeing. However, the books differ in explaining the origin of the romanticization of the west. Combined, these works invokes a change of paradigm within the reader as we learn the west was not merely tamed, but conquered. …show more content…
These works even go as far as to give examples of politicians who branded themselves as westerners to gain support from potential voters, riding on the preconceived beliefs of western strength to win presidential elections. But Butler/ Lansing and Limerick show us this myth was very far from the truth and the west was realistically tainted with “wide spread cultural conflicts, confrontations, racism and oppressive behaviors.” It is argued by both books that one must understand these many faces of the west, no matter how disturbing, to truly “understand American