The funny thing of it is, at the time of the Civil War, the west was being opened up. West of the Mississippi, there were vast territories that were basically on their own hook. People already out there had to choose whether they were sesesh or union, the gold rush was in full swing, and the Native Americans were still independent, for the most part.
The West was effectively lawless because the federal government was preoccupied with the war. Many people from both sides hoping to avoid the war moved west.
The economies for both the North and South were different, as you state, but the Western economy, especially the great mineral wealth, was very important to both.
The Hollywood concept of the wild west is pretty tame compared to what it really was. I liken it to a whitewater river. You can see it's pretty rough by looking down on it from above, but when you get nose to nose with those waves and rocks, it's a whole 'nother story. Same with the wild west.
Most Hollywood western dramas play out on the great plains or in the southwest, but a lot of people don't realize that quiet little Idaho had more massacres and more Indian battles than any other state. |
