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The Forgotten Founders: Rethinking The History Of The Old West
"…an impressive new book… [The Forgotten Founders] is a gem that encompasses virtually every aspect of the development of our region." -ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
"[Udall] offers a convincing argument that it wasn't the cavalry, fur traders, prospectors, gunslingers or railroad builders who tamed the West; it was 'courageous men and women who made treks into wilderness and created communities in virgin valleys.' Udall's spare prose adds impact to his words." -THE SEATTLE TIMES
"The West is so cluttered with misconceptions that it is hard to have a serious discussion about its history." --Wallace Stegner.
For most Americans, the "Wild West" popularized in movies and pulp novels -- a land of intrepid traders and explorers, warlike natives, and trigger-happy gunslingers -- has become the true history of the region. The story of the West's development is a singular chapter of history, but not, according to former Secretary of the Interior and native westerner Stewart L. Udall, for the reasons filmmakers and novelists would have us believe.
In The Forgotten Founders, Stewart Udall draws on his vast knowledge of and experience in the American West to make a compelling case that the key players in western settlement were the sturdy families who travelled great distances across forbidding terrain to establish communities there. He offers an illuminating and wide-ranging overview of western history and those who have written about it, challenging conventional wisdom on subjects ranging from Manifest Destiny to the importance of Eastern capitalists to the role of religion in westward settlement.
Stewart Udall argues that the overblown and ahistorical emphasis on a "wild west" has warped our sense of the past. For the mythical Wild West, Stewart Udall substitutes a compelling description of an Old West, the West before the arrival of the railroads, which was the home place for those he calls the "wagon people," the men and women who came, camped, settled, and stayed. He offers a portrait of the West not as a government creation or a corporate colony or a Hollywood set for feckless gold seekers and gun fighters but as primarily a land where brave and hardy people came to make a new life with their families. From Native Americans to Franciscan friars to Mormon pioneers, these were the true settlers, whose goals, according to Stewart Udall were "amity not conquest; stability, not strife; conservation, not waste; restraint, not aggression." The Forgotten Founders offers a provocative new look at one of the most important chapters of American history, rescuing the Old West and its pioneers from the margins of history where latter-day mythmakers have dumped them. For anyone interested in the authentic history of the American West, it is an important and exciting new work.
"[Udall] offers a convincing argument that it wasn't the cavalry, fur traders, prospectors, gunslingers or railroad builders who tamed the West; it was 'courageous men and women who made treks into wilderness and created communities in virgin valleys.' Udall's spare prose adds impact to his words." -THE SEATTLE TIMES
"The West is so cluttered with misconceptions that it is hard to have a serious discussion about its history." --Wallace Stegner.
For most Americans, the "Wild West" popularized in movies and pulp novels -- a land of intrepid traders and explorers, warlike natives, and trigger-happy gunslingers -- has become the true history of the region. The story of the West's development is a singular chapter of history, but not, according to former Secretary of the Interior and native westerner Stewart L. Udall, for the reasons filmmakers and novelists would have us believe.
In The Forgotten Founders, Stewart Udall draws on his vast knowledge of and experience in the American West to make a compelling case that the key players in western settlement were the sturdy families who travelled great distances across forbidding terrain to establish communities there. He offers an illuminating and wide-ranging overview of western history and those who have written about it, challenging conventional wisdom on subjects ranging from Manifest Destiny to the importance of Eastern capitalists to the role of religion in westward settlement.
Stewart Udall argues that the overblown and ahistorical emphasis on a "wild west" has warped our sense of the past. For the mythical Wild West, Stewart Udall substitutes a compelling description of an Old West, the West before the arrival of the railroads, which was the home place for those he calls the "wagon people," the men and women who came, camped, settled, and stayed. He offers a portrait of the West not as a government creation or a corporate colony or a Hollywood set for feckless gold seekers and gun fighters but as primarily a land where brave and hardy people came to make a new life with their families. From Native Americans to Franciscan friars to Mormon pioneers, these were the true settlers, whose goals, according to Stewart Udall were "amity not conquest; stability, not strife; conservation, not waste; restraint, not aggression." The Forgotten Founders offers a provocative new look at one of the most important chapters of American history, rescuing the Old West and its pioneers from the margins of history where latter-day mythmakers have dumped them. For anyone interested in the authentic history of the American West, it is an important and exciting new work.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Stewart L. Udall
66 books3 followersStewart Lee Udall was an American politician and later, a federal government official. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 26, 2019
Homesteaders, Religion, And The Winning Of The West
Stuart Udall, the author of "The Forgotten Founders: Rethinking the History of the Old West", served four terms as a Congressman from Arizona. He served eight years as the Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He is also, as this book shows, a thoughtful student of the history of the American West. He combines a breadth of study with a personal touch and with stories from the experience of his family in the West that adds to the eloquence of his book.
"The Forgotten Founders" covers a great deal of terrain in a brief compass. Udall's goal is to show the importance of individual settlers in establishing the American West. Udall writes: "A shortcoming of histories that concentrate on broad outlines of events is the absence of human faces and stories of ordinary folk that would reveal what animated individuals and families and indicate the experiences they had. Yet only by considering individual human experience can we begin to develop a sense of what these men and women faced and an idea of the magnitude of their achievements."
Udall's approach has a distinctly Jeffersonian cast in emphasizing the role of small yeoman farmers to an independent citizenry. He discusses and quotes Thomas Jefferson to good effect. Jefferson said:
"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests, by the most lasting bonds."
Udall also emphasizes the importance of religion as a motivating and civilizing force in the West's early development. He focuses poignantly upon the experience of his own ancestors, early adherents of the Mormon Church and influential in the development of the Mormon Church in Utah. His discussion culminates in a lengthy and forthright discussion of the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. John D. Lee, Udall's great-grandfather was instrumental in this unhappy event and was executed in 1875 for his role in the massacre.
Udall gives substantial attention to Catholic and Protestant efforts as well. He correctly points out that in a secular age, many people tend to denigrate the importance of religion as a motivating factor for people. The settlers of the West did not share some of the modern skepticism and cannot be understood apart from a consideration of the importance of religion to their lives. I was reminded particularly of Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop." Udall discusses Cather briefly (p 187) but might have considered her picture of Catholicism in the West in more detail as it supports his argument.
In emphasizing the role of the small settler and of religion, Udall downplays the role of explorers such as Lewis and Clark and fur traders. He also tends to denigrate the role of the California gold rush of 1849 as having a lasting impact on Western development. He criticizes and downplays the importance of capitalist development of the West in mining, grazing and other large-scale activities following the Civil War. He is critical of the U.S. Military's efforts in "pacifying" the Indians. He also debunks popular stereotypes of the West that Hollywood and popular culture has fashioned elevating characters such as Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp to a legendary status.
Udall has important things to say about the human and environmental costs of the gold rush and of the mining and grazing industries. In particular, he points repeatedly to the mistreatment of the American Indians and also to the mistreatment of Chinese immigrants in the early history of the West. But at times he seems to me to confuse his point that Western development, in terms of the gold rush and the development of capitalism, say, had deleterious effects on the West's development with the point that they had no role to play in this development at all. This latter position appears to be overstated, even on the evidence of Udall's book. Udall also gives too little attention to the integration of the efforts of the settlers with the efforts of the capitalists, the gold-rushers, and the Army. These parties may have been working with related goals and not separately as Udall too often assumes.
Professor David Emmons of the University of Montana has written a fine introduction to Udall's book. Professor Emmons's own book, "The Butte Irish: Class and Ethnicity in an American Mining Town, 1875-1925" figures prominently in Udall's discussion of alternatives to the development of the profit-obsessed company mining town which various communities in the West were able to use on occasion.
This is a good study which is valuable in its emphasis on the efforts of individuals and on the importance of religion to the settlement of the West. It is an introduction to this important area of American history.
Robin Friedman
Stuart Udall, the author of "The Forgotten Founders: Rethinking the History of the Old West", served four terms as a Congressman from Arizona. He served eight years as the Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He is also, as this book shows, a thoughtful student of the history of the American West. He combines a breadth of study with a personal touch and with stories from the experience of his family in the West that adds to the eloquence of his book.
"The Forgotten Founders" covers a great deal of terrain in a brief compass. Udall's goal is to show the importance of individual settlers in establishing the American West. Udall writes: "A shortcoming of histories that concentrate on broad outlines of events is the absence of human faces and stories of ordinary folk that would reveal what animated individuals and families and indicate the experiences they had. Yet only by considering individual human experience can we begin to develop a sense of what these men and women faced and an idea of the magnitude of their achievements."
Udall's approach has a distinctly Jeffersonian cast in emphasizing the role of small yeoman farmers to an independent citizenry. He discusses and quotes Thomas Jefferson to good effect. Jefferson said:
"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country, and wedded to its liberty and interests, by the most lasting bonds."
Udall also emphasizes the importance of religion as a motivating and civilizing force in the West's early development. He focuses poignantly upon the experience of his own ancestors, early adherents of the Mormon Church and influential in the development of the Mormon Church in Utah. His discussion culminates in a lengthy and forthright discussion of the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. John D. Lee, Udall's great-grandfather was instrumental in this unhappy event and was executed in 1875 for his role in the massacre.
Udall gives substantial attention to Catholic and Protestant efforts as well. He correctly points out that in a secular age, many people tend to denigrate the importance of religion as a motivating factor for people. The settlers of the West did not share some of the modern skepticism and cannot be understood apart from a consideration of the importance of religion to their lives. I was reminded particularly of Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop." Udall discusses Cather briefly (p 187) but might have considered her picture of Catholicism in the West in more detail as it supports his argument.
In emphasizing the role of the small settler and of religion, Udall downplays the role of explorers such as Lewis and Clark and fur traders. He also tends to denigrate the role of the California gold rush of 1849 as having a lasting impact on Western development. He criticizes and downplays the importance of capitalist development of the West in mining, grazing and other large-scale activities following the Civil War. He is critical of the U.S. Military's efforts in "pacifying" the Indians. He also debunks popular stereotypes of the West that Hollywood and popular culture has fashioned elevating characters such as Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp to a legendary status.
Udall has important things to say about the human and environmental costs of the gold rush and of the mining and grazing industries. In particular, he points repeatedly to the mistreatment of the American Indians and also to the mistreatment of Chinese immigrants in the early history of the West. But at times he seems to me to confuse his point that Western development, in terms of the gold rush and the development of capitalism, say, had deleterious effects on the West's development with the point that they had no role to play in this development at all. This latter position appears to be overstated, even on the evidence of Udall's book. Udall also gives too little attention to the integration of the efforts of the settlers with the efforts of the capitalists, the gold-rushers, and the Army. These parties may have been working with related goals and not separately as Udall too often assumes.
Professor David Emmons of the University of Montana has written a fine introduction to Udall's book. Professor Emmons's own book, "The Butte Irish: Class and Ethnicity in an American Mining Town, 1875-1925" figures prominently in Udall's discussion of alternatives to the development of the profit-obsessed company mining town which various communities in the West were able to use on occasion.
This is a good study which is valuable in its emphasis on the efforts of individuals and on the importance of religion to the settlement of the West. It is an introduction to this important area of American history.
Robin Friedman
January 8, 2018
I think this is a well written, well researched history of the west that gets behind the myths and exaggerations of life in the West. I liked how early in this book the author uses his family's history in Utah & Arizona to illustrate how the West was developed by settlers, everyday people who were the backbone to settling and developing the West. I liked this because it personalized this history. The author, a Mormon, does not make excuses for the Mountain Meadows Massacre which is not only an unsettling black mark in the Mormon's history in Utah, but serves also as a reminder that the pioneer western settlers were not saints. Mr. Udall reminds the reader how it was the common folk - the farmers, miners, storekeepers, who brought order to the West, and that the West had its wild parts but it wasn't the Wild West as depicted by Hollywood, western writers like Zane Grey, and historians like Bernard De Voto. I found Mr. Udall's debunking of "Manifest Destiny" as a driving force behind the settling of the west very enlightening as this is the opposite of what I was taught. He also makes a good case why Manifest Destiny goes against the founding principles of our nation. Readers who are familiar with the history of settling the West will likely find this book too generalized. It is, though, a good starting point for readers who are not familiar with this aspect of American history, and especially for readers who think the West is just a history of mountain men, prospectors, gunslingers, shootouts, etc. The author makes a clear and compelling case that the development of the West was a complex effort of many people who had to start from scratch. Mr. Udall writes that "History has been shortchanged by writers who use a fast-forward approach to blur the seminal contributions of the early settlers, whose deeds laid the foundations for the social, political, and cultural development of the West." In this book, he tries to correct some of this.
March 19, 2025
A short, wonderful book chock full of some of the most important figures who made up the history of the American West. Udall rebukes progressive anti-settlement thinkers and those who glorify the senseless violence of federal troops and outlaws alike, arguing that settlement was largely a peaceful endeavor that involved cooperation; the Trail of Tears and the massacre at Wounded Knee were not inevitable outcomes of settlement, but terrible decisions which violated the dignity of Indians and spoiled the very real promise of peaceful cooperation and collaboration. (Cooperation that did occur in many instances, most notably between Spanish priests and local Indians in New Mexico.)
Moreover, Udall sketched the biographies of the real founding fathers of the West: characters ranging from Saint Junipero Serra to Brigham Young. Those who we now glorify in public discourse — Billy the Kid, Jesse James — in reality had very little to do with settling the West.
The real history of the West was messy and not conducive to any clear cut narrative. Those who established lasting settlements were those who embraced a spirit of cooperation, and put in tireless, often unrewarded, labor. The spade, not the six shooter, won the West. The community-minded builders — Mormon missionary settlers; Spanish bishops and friars; pragmatic Indian chieftains — are the true archetypes of Western greatness; not outlaws who were only out for themselves.
Moreover, Udall sketched the biographies of the real founding fathers of the West: characters ranging from Saint Junipero Serra to Brigham Young. Those who we now glorify in public discourse — Billy the Kid, Jesse James — in reality had very little to do with settling the West.
The real history of the West was messy and not conducive to any clear cut narrative. Those who established lasting settlements were those who embraced a spirit of cooperation, and put in tireless, often unrewarded, labor. The spade, not the six shooter, won the West. The community-minded builders — Mormon missionary settlers; Spanish bishops and friars; pragmatic Indian chieftains — are the true archetypes of Western greatness; not outlaws who were only out for themselves.
April 21, 2014
Gerry B's Book Reviews
4.0 Bees
“The real story of the settlement of the West was work, not conquest" ~ Stewart Udall. Your understanding of 'how the west was won' is not complete until you read this work.
Available at the Legends of America bookstore for $6.47 (basic).
4.0 Bees
“The real story of the settlement of the West was work, not conquest" ~ Stewart Udall. Your understanding of 'how the west was won' is not complete until you read this work.
Available at the Legends of America bookstore for $6.47 (basic).
January 20, 2009
Not sure why we have this or why I picked it up a year or two ago, but once begun I did want to finish it. I already agreed with his premise, 'that the key players in the early development of the American West were not the greedy gold diggers and warlike natives sensationalized in movies and pulp novels', but it was interesting to read about those who really did make the American West what it is, beginning with the earliest and on beyond the gold rushers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews