The Winning of the West Volume I

by Theodore Roosevelt

In the year 1898 the United States finished the work begun over a century before by the backwoodsman, and drove the Spaniard outright from the western world. During the march of our people from the crests of the Alleghanies to the Pacific, the Spaniard was for a long period our chief white opponent; and after an interval his place among our antagonists was taken by his Spanish-American heir. Although during the Revolution the Spaniard at one time became America's friend in the sense that he was England's foe, he almost from the outset hated and dreaded his new ally more than his old enemy. In the peace negotiations at the close of the contest he was jealously eager to restrict our boundaries to the line of the Alleghanies; while even during the concluding years of the war the Spanish soldiers on the upper Mississippi were regarded by the Americans in Illinois as a menace no less serious than the British troops at Detroit. In the opening years of our national life the Western backwoodsman found the Spanish ownership of the mouth of the Mississippi even more hurtful and irksome than the retention by the British king of the posts on the Great Lakes. After years of tedious public negotiations, under and through which ran a dark woof of private intrigue, the sinewy western hands so loosened the Spanish grip that in despair Spain surrendered to France the mouth of the river and the vast territories stretching thence into the dim Northwest. She hoped thereby to establish a strong barrier between her remaining provinces and her most dreaded foe. But France in her turn grew to understand that America's position as regards Louisiana, thanks to the steady westward movement of the backwoodsman, was such as to render it on the one hand certain that the retention of the province by France would mean an armed clash with the United States, and on the other hand no less certain that in the long run such a conflict would result to France's disadvantage. Louisiana thus passed from the hands of Spain, after a brief interval, into those of the young Republic. There remained to Spain, Mexico and Florida; and forthwith the pressure of the stark forest riflemen began to be felt on the outskirts of these two provinces. Florida was the first to fall. After a portion of it had been forcibly annexed, after Andrew Jackson had marched at will through part of the remainder, and after the increasing difficulty of repressing the American filibustering efforts had shown the imminence of some serious catastrophe, Spain ceded the peninsula to the United States. Texas, New Mexico, and California did not fall into American hands until they had passed from the Spaniard to his half-Indian sons.

Genres: History, Westerns, Nonfiction, American History

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., also known as T.R., and to the public (but never to friends and family) as Teddy, was the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement.

He fathered Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a daughter.

He became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42. He served in many roles including Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, and soldier (posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 for his role at the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War).

Roosevelt is most famous for his personality: his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" persona.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read, and it offers a very different perspective that is not often shared by the "sentimental historian", as Roosevelt would describe it, in modernity. It is a perspective that surprisingly offers great detail and respect for many of the tribes that are highlighted in this westward history. Yet, it is profoundly unapologetic. Roosevelt obviously favors the settlers, and it shows in his writing, but I was surprised by how heroically he would describe many of the tribes and well-known Indians of this period. Of course, I did not know what to expect, but it was a surprise nonetheless.

Roosevelt writes remarkably well and this book has a timeless quality in its writing (besides the many names Roosevelt uses that are unacceptable today). Even though it was published well over a century ago, it still reads smoothly today. Furthermore, this book does much to describe the mindset of the settlers as they migrated west. Many who consider the displacement of Native Americans today do not take a step back and consider why the settlers considered the Natives to be an enemy (in some cases). Roosevelt examines letters and oral histories that describe the motives of some of the settlers and does much to explain the actions of these groups. It does not justify anything, but it explains it. Importantly, the main theme of this history is that the move westward was so fluid and so nuanced that it is dangerous for the sentimental historian to paint it with broad strokes. I think that this point is incredibly relevant today.

As Roosevelt writes, "Looking back, it is easy to say that much of the wrong-doing could have been prevented; but if we examine the facts to find out the truth, not to establish a theory, we are bound to admit that the struggle was really one that could not possibly have been avoided. The sentimental historians speak as if the blame had been all ours...For instance, there were a dozen tribes, all of whom hunted in Kentucky, and fought each other there, all of whom had equally good titles to the soil, and not one of whom acknowledged the right of any other; as a matter of fact they had therein no right, save the right of the strongest. The land no more belonged to them than it belonged to Boon and the white hunters who first visited it...."

A great, well written history, from the point of view of man with strong convictions.

[Jeff Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a lot of history is packed into Roosevelt's Winning of the West series. It is of course a white man's historical interpretation of Native Americans and their history regarding interactions with the United States, but TR includes quite a bit of history about the tribes, what lands they occupied, and even what type of sports and leisure the tribes were known to partake in. The book itself, though extremely informative, is obviously pretty racist, with TR's world view of Barbarism and Civilization present throughout the whole book - painfully put forth by his dropping of the word savages quite a bit. Nonetheless, an excellent read.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of The Winning of the West describes the beginnings of the westward expansion by the pioneers right before and during the Revolutionary war. This book tells of the exploring of Daniel Boone into nowadays Kentucky that would become a settlement and then a county of Virginia. It tells of the birth of the Watauga common-wealth and of such men as John Sevier and James Robertson who played a tremendous part in this. It also tells of the many different tribes of Indians and their chiefs, from the Iroquois to the Cherokee, and gives a summary of the war that would be known later as Lord Dunmores. This book is also worth the read because it shows the opinions of Roosevelt and many other Americans at the time on this topic. Further this book also gives the readers examples of what the Indians and Pioneers daily life consisted of. Overall a very good read.

[David Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most interesting story, for it not history in any sense. Largely conjecture on Roosevelt's part and with a very strong bias. It covers the moving west from the eastern coast over the mountain range into territory which today is Kentucky and a bit of Tennessee. You get a real sense of the stuggles it to to carve out from timbered land , open land for the planting of corn and the constant need to secure food from the land. A very tough life with constant battles between the backwoodsmen(and family ) against the Native Americans. I am ready to read Volume 2.

[Diana Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found that this book was quite interesting and educational. I have read some of the comments and I won't pretend that I can vouch for it being completely accurate but the author did give a complete accounting on his sources. It may contain what his opinion is for the most part but I enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more of the books in this four part series.

[Mark Mears · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fascinating to read the detail and impressions of my favorite President on such a wide subject.

Already impressed with the frenetic pace of his life, I am amazed at a mind which could collect, process and put down so much information while doing all of the other things he had done to this point in his life.

[Ross Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

TR was a man of his time, and his views on the white conquest of native lands reflects his age. So, while "The Winning of the West" cannot be called a balanced history, it stands as a remarkably-written paean to the American West of Roosevelt's mind.

[Stephen Masri · Rating 5 out of 5]

not this version

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this back in January but forgot to review. it was good but not great, would not want to read again, a bit dry

[Joseph Raborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good history of the West which does not take the part of the American Indians. Too many histories have a bias towards them, and it is good to read one which sides with the American pioneers. This book highlights another important facet about the American Revolutionary War: the British wanted to restrict American expansion into the West.

It is very interesting to read about the different American Indians and how the colonists related with them. The writing style is great and this history is an easy page turner.

[Roger W.]

I'm reading an original printing that belonged to my Dad, having by chance learned what a multifaceted character T. Roosevelt was. So far it's an interesting read but quite difficult, as his views on aboriginal peoples are horrendous to modern sensibilities.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read!