Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier

by Ray Allen Billington, Martin Ridge

When it appeared in 1949, the first edition of Ray Allen Billington's Westward Expansion set a new standard for scholarship in western American history, and the book's reputation among historians, scholars, and students grew through four subsequent editions. This abridgment and revision of Billington and Martin Ridge's fifth edition, with a new introduction and additional scholarship by Ridge, as well as an updated bibliography, focuses on the Trans-Mississippi frontier. Although the text sets out the remarkable story of the American frontier, which became, almost from the beginning, an archetypal narrative of the new American nation's successful expansion, the authors do not forget the social, environmental, and human cost of national expansion. While most Americans take pride in the nation's frontier heritage and its associated myths, they also share that history with others--especially with people of color--in whose collective memories the story of the American west is rendered both dark and painful. Westward Expansion encourages an understanding of American "westering" that is mindful of the racism and excessive nationalism that frequently marred the Western frontier experience. At the same time, the authors understand a sense of optimism, a profound faith in individuals' own abilities, the willingness to innovate, and an abiding trust in democracy to be the transcendent values of the frontier experience, traits that continue to influence the character of America's people long after the close of the western frontier.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Westerns

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Ray Allen Billington was an American historian focusing his work on the history of the American frontier and the American West, becoming one of the leading defenders of Frederick Jackson Turner's "Frontier Thesis" from the 1950s to the 1970s, expanding the field of the history of the American West. He was a co-founder of the Western History Association in 1961.

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the expansion of the United States into the West is incredibly fascinating. It's a story adaptability, perseverance, success, failure, bravery, empire, war, economic competition, death, and suffering. Billington and Ridge tell that story well in this excellent survey of American frontier history. They do not overly glorify this history or cast it off as purely horrific and murderous. The praiseworthy and the evil are covered here.

It is a great launching point for further study on the numerous subtopics in this field of American history. The selected bibliography for each chapter at the end is very helpful for that purpose. Choosing what part to investigate more deeply first will be a challenge!

[Hilary · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a textbook, this was a really spotty resource. There were pages and pages on the Mormons, but like, 2 paragraphs, if that, on the Indians. Doesn't "Westward Expansion" include Indians by definition? I mean, even if you're a believer in Manifest Destiny and saw the Indians solely as obstacles to progress (as Billington obviously does), you still have to talk about them. This book is too dense, too strangely organized, and is like a crappy, little survey class in a book. A boring book. Avoid it.

[Jordan Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the American West. Focuses mostly on the 19th century movements west. Great combination of statistics and narrative. One complaint I do have about this book is that it approaches Native Americans as little more than obstacles to overcome.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was ok. Not the best, but had to read it for a class. Instructor sucked. Have read better on the subject.

[Jefferson Coombs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own the 5th edition and there is a newer one now available. This is a good overall historical treatise on the expansion of the US west of the Mississippi.