Daily life on the nineteenth century American frontier

by Mary Ellen Jones

The 19th-century American frontier comes alive for students and interested readers in this unique exploration of westward expansion. This study examines the daily lives of ordinary men and women who flooded into the Trans-Mississippi West in search of land, fortune, a fresh start, or a new identity. Their daily life was rarely easy. If they were to survive, they had to adapt to the land and modify every aspect of their lives, including housing, transportation, education, defense, food gathering and preparation, and the establishment of rudimentary laws and social structures. They also had to adapt to the Native Americans already on the land - whether through acculturation, warfare, or coexistence.