Western Hero In The 19th Century

Thinking about the ideal “Western Hero” in the 19th century brings to mind three important things which are, giving the United States more land, taking out the Native Americans, and bringing the start of industrialization. Now this is what the civilians of the States were thinking while the western expansion was going on, but people failed to see the struggles they put on the Native Americans. The myth that the western hero is a strong noble man who did their country right, is not entirely true. Yes, without the Indian Removal act of 1830 or the Louisiana purchase we may not be about to call America one of the most innovative country’s in the world, but Americans would have a cleaner conscience. So because western heroes are portrayed as people who were great for America, then Americans have used their image for public display throughout the 20th century despite knowing what they put the Native Americans through. Being a Cowboy meant a lot in the 19th century. Either it was riding horses to driving cattle across the town or being the town hero as …show more content…
This is how Americans see them now. If a person were to go turn on the television, they would be able to come across a show from the wild west like Gun smoke or Bonanza. These shows have men who are tough and will not take no for an answer. This is what the western heroes did to take the land of the Native Americans. They use showdowns as a form of violence to portray its either going to be one way or the other and there is no in between. They would carry a steel pistol that was ready to be withdrawn from their holster in less than a second. (Six Shooter) If these men were able take the lives of their same people then they would not think twice about doing so to the Native Americans. This all happened because of their bravery moving west and being fearless in the western