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Timeline of Events in Westward Expansion from Westward Expansion Reference Library. ©2005-2006 by U*X*L. Adapted from http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedfiles/schools/ridees/classroom/grade5/timelinewestwardexpansion.pdf May 1803: The United States purchases from France more than 800,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the United States.

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History and lore of the American frontier have long been dominated by an iconic figure: the grizzled, gunslinging man, going it alone, leaving behind his home and family to brave the rugged, undiscovered wilderness.

But as scholars of the American West continue to explore the complex realities of the frontier, two facts become increasingly clear: It was anything but empty when white men from the east went to "discover" it; and few frontiersmen succeeded alone. Women were in the picture much more than traditional histories have told.

The frontier was occupied not only by indigenous people, but also by African Americans, Spanish colonialists and others of European descent, offering skeletal social networks for white explorers and settlers from the east. By tapping into these networks, they learned survival skills (like how to find food) and made alliances, often through marriage. White frontiersmen often wed Native American women who could act as intermediaries, helping navigate the political, cultural and linguistic gulf between tribal ways and those of the white men.

In fact, says Virginia Scharff, distinguished professor of history at the University of New Mexico, men could not have likely succeeded in these unknown lands without connections to indigenous communities-or without women, who provided networks, labor and children. Placing frontiersmen in context of these networks doesn't diminish their individuality, she says, but adds much needed dimension to their stories.

Case in point: Daniel Boone, one of the most celebrated folk heroes of the American frontier, renowned as a woodsman, trapper and a trailblazer. Twice captured by native warriors, he earned the respect of the Shawnee for his backwoods knowledge, and was even adopted by the tribe's Chief Blackfish while being held captive. In several encounters, the tribal connections he had forged helped him save the lives of white cohorts the Indians wanted to kill. And with Boone traveling frequently, surveying land and blazing trails, his wife Rebecca provided much-needed stability and labor: bearing him 10 children, while keeping homefires burning as they moved from Virginia to ever more rugged settlements in North Carolina, Kentucky and Spanish-controlled Missouri.

"If we start to think of these individual heroic men as participants in really rich sets of social relations, it makes them come to life in ways that are more than just running around with a rifle in their hand and a knife in their teeth looking for trouble," says Scharff. "They are people who have to live in a world and survive day-to-day, doing things besides having to rip flesh with their bare hands."

So how does the traditional understanding of the American frontier shift when women's experiences are accounted for? Below, a look at several women who-while birthing babies, managing homes and businesses, and engaging in the political lives of their communities-quietly made their mark on the American frontier.

1. MOLLY BRANT: Native American Diplomat and Spy

The daughter of a Mohawk chief in upstate New York and consort of a British dignitary, Molly Deganwadonti went on to become an influential Native American leader in her own right and a lifelong loyalist to the British crown before, during and after the American Revolution.

Born in 1736 at a time when the Mohawk, part of the larger Iroquois federation of tribes, were increasingly subject to European influence, Molly grew up in a Christianized family. In 1754, at the age of 18, she accompanied a delegation of Mohawk elders to Philadelphia to discuss fraudulent land transactions-a moment that is cited as her first political activity.

Molly met Sir William Johnson, a British officer during the French and Indian War who had been appointed superintendent for Indian affairs for the Northern colonies. After his wife died, she became his mistress. And although her race and class prevented them from being officially wed, they were common-law married and had nine children together. Johnson had acquired 600,000 acres of land in Mohawk Valley, and Molly, like other women of her time, came to manage a large and complex household, entertaining dignitaries both European and Indian. Their partnership proved politically fruitful, giving Johnson a familial connection to the powerful Iroquois tribes and earning Molly, who hailed from a matrilineal clan, increasing prestige as an influential voice for her people.

During the Revolutionary War, Molly and her family, like many Indians, sided with the British, who promised to protect their lands from colonists' encroachment. Known as a persuasive speaker, she is credited with convincing Iroquois leadership to fall in with the British camp. Throughout the war, she acted as a spy, passing intelligence about the movement of colonial forces to British forces, while providing shelter, food and ammunition to loyalists. When they ended up on the losing side, Molly and her family fled for Canada, where she and other loyalists established the town of Kingston. After the war, the British paid her a pension for her services.

2. 'MAD' ANNE BAILEY: Frontier Scout and Messenger

Anne Hennis Trotter Bailey, known as "Mad Anne," worked as a frontier scout and messenger during the Revolutionary War. Originally from Liverpool, England, Anne sailed to America at the age of 19, after both her parents died. She eventually married a veteran frontiersman and soldier named Richard Trotter and settled in Staunton, Virginia.

Richard, who joined the Virginia militia as tensions between frontiersmen and Native Americans grew, was killed in the Battle of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in late 1774. After learning of her husband's death, Mad Anne showed her mettle: She dressed in buckskin pants and a petticoat, left her son with neighbors-and sought revenge.

With rifle, hunting knife and tomahawk in hand, Anne became a scout and messenger recruiting volunteers to join the militia and sometimes delivering gunpowder to the soldiers. She couriered messages between Point Pleasant and Lewisburg, West Virginia-a 160-mile journey on horseback.

Her most famous ride took place in 1791. After soldiers at Fort Lee got word that the Native Americans were planning to attack, and discovered that their gunpowder supply was desperately low, Anne galloped to the rescue. She rode the 100 miles to Lewisburg, where she switched horses, loaded up with gunpowder and rode back to Fort Lee. Her journey was memorialized in an epic poem by militiaman Charles Robb, "Anne Bailey's Ride."

Anne remarried to John Bailey, a member of the Rangers, a legendary group of frontier scouts, in 1785. As the group worked to defend new settlements from Native American attacks, Mad Anne once again used her skills as a scout and courier. After her second husband's death, she spent the rest of her days living a solitary life in the woods.

3. JEMIMA BOONE: A Young Woman of the Woods

Rebecca Boone wasn't the only formidable female in Daniel Boone's family. His daughter Jemima earned her own spot in the history books on July 14, 1776. That's when a Cherokee-Shawnee raiding group abducted Jemima, aged 14, along with two other girls while they floated in a canoe near their Kentucky settlement. Demonstrating their own knowledge of frontier ways, the quick-witted teens left trail markers as their captors took them away-bending branches, breaking off twigs and leaving behind leaves and berries.

Their rescue team, led by Daniel Boone himself, took just two days to follow the trail and retrieve the girls. The rescuers included Flanders Callaway, Samuel Henderson and Captain John Holder, each of whom later married one of the kidnapped girls. This event became such an integral part of frontier lore, author James Fenimore Cooper included it in his classic novel The Last of the Mohicans.

4. SACAGAWEA: Translator and Guide

One of the best-known women of the American West, the native-born Sacagawea gained renown for her crucial role in helping the Lewis & Clark expedition successfully reach the Pacific coast.

Born in 1788 or 1789 in what is now Idaho, Sacagawea was a member of the Lemhi band of the Native American Shoshone tribe. At the age of 12, she was kidnapped by a war party of Hidasta Indians (enemies of the Shoshone) and taken to their home in Hidatsa-Mandan villages, near modern-day Bismarck, North Dakota. Around 1803, Sacagawea, along with other Shoshone women, was sold as a slave to the French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau. She soon became pregnant, giving birth to son Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau in February 1805.

Meanwhile, after the U.S. government had completed the Louisiana Purchase, which added 828,000 square miles of "unexplored" territory to America, President Thomas Jefferson dispatched Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to chart the new land and scout a Northwest Passage to the Pacific coast. After more than a year of planning and initial travel, the expedition reached the Hidatsa-Mandan settlement. Here they met Sacagawea and Charbonneau, whose combined language skills proved invaluable-especially Sacagawea's ability to speak to the Shoshone.

Sacagawea, along with her newborn baby, was the only woman to accompany the 31 permanent members of the Lewis & Clark expedition to the Western edge of the nation and back.

Sacagawea proved invaluable to the explorers not just for her language skills, but also for her naturalist's knowledge, calm nature and ability to think quickly under pressure. When a squall nearly capsized a vessel they were traveling in, Sacagawea was the one who saved crucial papers, books, navigational instruments, medicines and other provisions, while also managing to keep herself and her baby safe. In appreciation, Lewis and Clark named a branch of the Missouri River for Sacagawea.

Sacagawea died at the age of 25, not long after giving birth to a daughter. Clark became legal guardian to both her children.

5. MARY DONOHO: Southwest Innkeeper

While a woman named Susan Shelby Magoffin is often credited as the first white woman to travel the Santa Fe Trail, Mary Donoho made the trek 13 years prior. Leaving Independence, Kentucky in 1833, Mary and her husband, William Donoho, headed to Santa Fe, bringing along their 9-month-old daughter.

Together, the Donohos created La Fonda, an inn for travelers at the end of the trail. It was here that Mary gave birth to two more of her five children-all of whom she eventually outlived.

Because married women of the time couldn't legally own property without significant negotiation, it's unlikely that Mary Donoho owned La Fonda. But with William gone on frequent trading trips, it's believed that she operated the business largely on her own. In the west, women were gaining rights more quickly than back east, says Jane Simonsen, associate professor of history and women's and gender studies at Augustana College. Despite the restrictive laws, "Women were still property owners-or sought to be-especially in the west. Later in the 19th century, with the allotment of land to Native Americans, women are given pieces of property that they owned in their own right."

6. NARCISSA WHITMAN: Oregon Missionary

Believed to be one of the first two white women to cross the Rocky Mountains on foot, Narcissa Whitman left behind accounts of her life as a missionary in the Oregon territory with her prolific letters home to her family in New York State. She, her husband and others were killed by Indians in a savage attack on the mission.

Soon after marrying Marcus Whitman, a physician and fellow missionary in 1836, they left for Oregon Country and settled in what would later become Walla Walla, Washington. She wrote of the travails of rugged travel, such as fighting the current while fording strong rivers, and getting all of her belongings soaked each time. And she described learning of Indian ways: "There is a manner of crossing which Husband has tried, but I have not... Take an Elk Skin and streach (sic) it over you spreading yourself out as much as possible. Then let the Indian women carefully put you on the water, & with a cord in the mouth they will swim & drag you over."

The Whitmans' mission, officially begun in 1837, ministered to the Cayuse Indian tribe. Marcus held church services and practiced medicine while Narcissa taught school and managed their home. Already struggling with the unfamiliar customs of the Native Americans, she fell into a deep depression after her beloved toddler daughter drowned in the river behind her house. Her sorrow eased somewhat when she and her husband adopted a family of mixed-race children.

On November 29, 1847, tensions between the missionaries and the local Cayuse turned deadly. Accounts say that after Narcissa refused to share milk with some tribespeople-and shut the door in their face-they struck Marcus with a tomahawk in the back of his head, and shot and whipped Narcissa. In total, nine white people were killed and two more died days later. Scores were held hostage as the conflict, known as the "Whitman Massacre," escalated into the Cayuse War.

7. SUSAN SHELBY MAGOFFIN: Chronicler of the Dusty Trail

In June 1846, after just eight months of marriage, 18-year-old Susan Shelby Magoffin and 45-year-old Irish immigrant Samuel Magoffin set off on a trading expedition along the Santa Fe Trail, a 19th-century transportation route connecting present-day Missouri to New Mexico. After Mary Donoho, Susan Magoffin was one of the first white women to travel that trail.

Susan, born into a wealthy Kentucky family ( her grandfather was Kentucky's first governor), kept a detailed travel diary that vividly chronicled the hazards of traveling the rugged byways of the American frontier. She detailed the plant life and terrain of her journey, as well as her personal challenges. On her 19th birthday, July 31, 1846, she lost a pregnancy, possibly due to a carriage accident. She wrote in her diary: "In a few short months I should have been a happy mother and made the heart of a father glad."

Susan's diary also discusses encounters with Native Americans and Mexicans who already occupied these lands. While initially disinclined toward the unfamiliar people she encountered, she writes about learning and adapting to their culture, including taking a "siesta" on a "buffalo skin with the carriage seats for pillows," which she quite enjoyed.

Throughout Susan's diary, she recounts the burdens of womanhood on the trails of the American West. She contracts yellow fever, loses another child, is responsible for setting up and maintaining homes, and finds herself repeatedly pregnant and uncomfortable. Susan writes, "I do think a woman emberaso [pregnant] has a hard time of it, some sickness all the time, heartburn, headache, cramps, etc, after all this thing of marrying is not what it is cracked up to be."

By July 1847, 13 months after their journey began, Susan contracted yellow fever and gave birth to a son who died shortly thereafter. That September, Susan's diary abruptly stopped. The Magoffins eventually abandoned their trading life and settled back in Kirkwood, Missouri. Susan Shelby Magoffin died in October 1855 at age 28.
Tune in to the docuseries The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen Wednesdays at 9/8c on HISTORY.

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7 of the Gutsiest Women on the American Frontier

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History and lore of the American frontier have long been dominated by an iconic figure: the grizzled, gunslinging man, going it alone, leaving behind his home and family to brave the rugged, undiscovered wilderness.

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Wild West Legendary Women - The Wild West

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The stories of heroism, tenacity, and courage of the American West weren't just reserved for the cowboy: long before him was the Native American, whose cultural and spiritual diversity, as well as deep-rooted connection to the land, revealed an entirely different way of living that Americans are able to admire today. But during the 19th and 20th centuries, the U.S.-motivated by its political and economic agendas-had a hostile perspective on its older neighbors, believing them to be inferior and even more, a threat to its plans of westward expansion. Notably during the Gold Rush of the 1800s, these two opposing world views clashed into violence, but in turn, gave birth to legendary Native American war leaders. Biography.com takes a look at five notable Native Americans who admirably fought for the survival of their culture and land and left a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Geronimo (1829-1909) An Apache leader who fought fiercely against Mexico and the U.S. for expanding into his tribe's lands (now present-day Arizona), Geronimo began inciting countless raids against the two parties, after his wife and three children were slaughtered by Mexican troops in the mid-1850s. Born as Goyahkla, Geronimo was given his now famous name when he charged into battle amid a flurry of bullets, killing numerous Mexicans with merely a knife to avenge the death of his family. Although how he got the name "Geronimo" is up for debate, white settlers at the time were convinced he was the "worst Indian who ever lived." On September 4, 1886, Geronimo surrendered to U.S. troops, along with his small band of followers. During the remaining years of his life, he converted to Christianity (but was kicked out of his church due to incessant gambling), appeared at fairs, and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade in 1905. He also dictated his own memoir, Geronimo's Story of His Life, in 1906. On his deathbed three years later, Geronimo reportedly told his nephew he regretted surrendering to the U.S. "I should have fought until I was the last man alive," he told him. Geronimo was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery in Fort Still, Oklahoma.

Sitting Bull (1831-1890) As a holy man and tribal chief of the Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux tribe, Sitting Bull was a symbol of Native American resistance against U.S. government policies. In 1875, after an alliance with various tribes, Sitting Bull had a triumphant vision of defeating U.S. soldiers, and in 1876, his premonition came true: He and his people defeated General Custer's army in a skirmish, now known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in eastern Montana territory. After leading countless war parties, Sitting Bull and his remaining tribe briefly escaped to Canada but eventually returned to the U.S. and surrendered in 1881 due to lack of resources. He later joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, earning $50 a week, and converted to Catholicism. On December 15, 1890, prodded by Indian agents who feared Sitting Bull was planning an escape with the Ghost Dancers, an emerging Native American religious movement that predicted a quiet end to white expansion, police officers attempted to arrest him. Amid the commotion, the officers ended up fatally shooting Sitting Bull, along with seven of his followers. Although he was originally buried at Fort Yates-the North Dakota reservation where he was killed-in 1953, his family moved his remains near Mobridge, South Dakota, the place of his birth.

Crazy Horse (1840-1877) Leader of the Oglala Lakota peoples, Crazy Horse was a courageous fighter and protector of his tribe's cultural traditions-so much so, that he refused to let anyone take his photograph. He is known to have played key roles in various battles, chief among them, the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, where he helped Sitting Bull defeat General Custer. Unlike his fellow Lakota leaders, Sitting Bull and Gall, who ended up fleeing to Canada, Crazy Horse remained in the U.S. to fight the American troops, but he eventually surrendered in May of 1877. In September of the same year, Crazy Horse met his end when he left his reservation without permission to take his sick wife back to her parents. Knowing he would be arrested, he initially didn't resist the officers, but when he discovered they were taking him to a guardhouse (due to rumors he was planning on hatching a rebellion), he fought them and tried to escape. With his arms detained by one soldier, another stabbed his bayonet into the war chief, eventually killing him. Although his parents buried his remains in South Dakota, the exact location of his remains is not known.

Chief Joseph (1840-1904) While many Native American war leaders and chiefs were known for their combative resistance towards the U.S.'s westward expansion, Chief Joseph, Wallowa leader of the Nez Perce, was known for his concerted efforts to negotiate and live peacefully with his new neighbors. Although his father, Joseph the Elder, had brokered a peaceful land treaty with the U.S. government that extended from Oregon to Idaho, the latter reneged on its agreement. To honor the memory of his father, who died in 1871, Chief Joseph resisted staying within the confines of the Idaho reservation that the government had mandated. In 1877, the threat of a U.S. cavalry attack made him relent, and he began leading his people to the reservation. However, the Nez Perce leader found himself in a difficult situation when some of his young warriors-angry that their homeland had been stolen from them-raided and killed neighboring white settlers; the U.S. cavalry began chasing the group down, and reluctantly, Chief Joseph decided to join the warring band. His tribe's 1,400 mile march and defense tactics impressed General William Tecumseh Sherman, and from then on, he was known as the "Red Napoleon." Tired of the bloodshed, Chief Joseph surrendered on October 5, 1877. His emotional surrender speech was etched into the annals of American history, and up until his death, he spoke against the U.S.'s injustice and discrimination against Native Americans. In 1904, he died, according to his doctor, of a "broken heart."

Red Cloud (1822-1909) Born in what is now North Platte, Nebraska, Red Cloud spent most of his young life at war. The Oglala Lakota Sioux leader's fighting skills made him one of the most formidable opponents of the U.S. Army, and in 1866-1868, he led a victorious campaign, known as Red Cloud's War, which resulted in his taking control over Wyoming and southern Montana territory. In fact, fellow Lakota leader, Crazy Horse, played an important role in that battle that led to many U.S. casualties. Red Cloud's win led to the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, which gave his tribe ownership of the Black Hills, but these protected expanses of land in South Dakota and Wyoming quickly became encroached upon by white settlers looking for gold. Red Cloud, along with other Native American leaders, traveled to Washington D.C. to persuade President Grant to honor the treaties that were originally agreed upon. Although he didn't find a peaceful solution, he did not participate in the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877, which was led by his fellow tribesmen, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Regardless, Red Cloud continued to travel to Washington D.C. to fight for his people and ended up outliving all the major Sioux leaders. In 1909 he died at the age of 87 and was buried at Pine Ridge Reservation.

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Native American Leaders of the Wild West

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The stories of heroism, tenacity, and courage of the American West weren't just reserved for the cowboy: long before him was the Native American, whose cultural and spiritual diversity, as well as deep-rooted connection to the land, made for a rich...

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Trails, Native Americans, and The Gold Rush

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Cherokee Sequoyah was a Cherokee silversmith. In 1821 he completed Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible. After seeing its worth, the people of the Cherokee Nation...

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At the turn of the 19th century, there was hardly any knowledge of what lay beyond the Mississippi River to the west. Patchy descriptions from fur traders and mountain men told of high mountain ranges and enormous prairies, but the geography between St. Louis, Missouri and the Pacific Ocean primarily remained a huge mystery.

A succession of exploratory expeditions, beginning with Lewis and Clark, began documenting the topography of the American West.

And as reports eventually circulated with descriptions of vast prairies, towering peaks, winding rivers, and potential riches, the desire to move westward spread amongst the people of the nation. And with the growing belief of Manifest Destiny, the expansion west would become a national obsession.

Following are just a few of the expeditions during the nineteenth century that explored the American West.

The first and best known great expedition to explore the West was conducted by Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Army Corps of Discovery from 1804 to 1806.

Lewis and Clark embarked from St. Louis, Missouri, traveled to the Pacific Coast and made the return journey. Their expedition was the idea of President Thomas Jefferson and was supposed to map out regions to help the American fur trade. But this Lewis and Clark expedition established that the continent could be traversed, thereby motivating others to explore the enormous unknown territories between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean.

Zebulon Pike was a young U.S. Army officer, who led two expeditions into the West in the early 1800s. His first exploration ventured into what is present-day Minnesota, and then he headed further west toward what is present-day Colorado.

Pike's second expedition is puzzling, even to this day, as it's uncertain whether he was merely exploring or actively spying on Mexican forces that were based in what is now the American Southwest. Pike was placed under arrest by the Mexicans, held for a period but eventually let go.

Pike's Peak in Colorado was named for Zebulon Pike, years after his expedition.

John Jacob Astor's Settlement on the West Coast Named Astoria

John Jacob Astor was the richest man in America during the first decade of the 19th century. During this time, he decided to expand his fur trading business all the way to the West Coast of North America.

Astor's plan was very ambitious and involved establishing a trading post in present-day Oregon.

A settlement was established, and he called it Fort Astoria, but the War of 1812 derailed Astor's business expansion plans. Fort Astoria was captured by the British and although it eventually reverted to American territory again, it failed as a business.

Astor's plan did have one unexpected benefit, though, as fur traders, trekking eastward from the outpost discovered what would later be known as the Oregon Trail.

Robert Stuart: Pioneering the Oregon Trail

Arguably, the greatest contribution of John Jacob Astor's western settlement, as mentioned above, was the discovery of the Oregon Trail.

Men from the outpost in Oregon, led by Robert Stuart, traveled eastward in 1812 during the summer. Stuart carried some mail and materials for Astor, who was based in New York City. The following year, they reached St. Louis and Stuart then proceeded onward to New York.

Stuart and his expedition party had discovered the most practical trail for crossing the great expanse of the West. However, the trail didn't become commonly known until decades later, and it wasn't until the 1840s that anyone, other than small groups of fur traders and mountain men, began to use it.

John C. Frémont led a succession of U.S. government expeditions to the American West between 1842 and 1854 and mapped extensive areas of the West, which resulted in an increased westward migration.

Frémont was a politically connected and controversial character who picked up the nickname 'The Pathfinder,' even though he voyaged routes that had already trail-blazed, About Education reported.
Read another story from us: The Moberly-Jourdain incident: In 1901, two female academics claimed to have experienced a timeslip into pre-revolutionary France
Arguably, Fremont's greatest contribution to westward expansion was a published report based on his first two expeditions in the West. Frémont's report, which contained invaluable maps, was issued by the U.S. Senate as a book. A publishing entrepreneur took much of the information in the book and published it as a helpful guidebook for emigrants wishing or longing to make the long overland excursion to Oregon or California.

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Exploration and Expeditions of the West - Mapping the American West during the 19th century

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At the turn of the 19th century, there was hardly any knowledge of what lay beyond the Mississippi River to the west. Patchy descriptions from fur traders and mountain men told of high mountain ranges and enormous prairies, but the geography between St. Louis, Missouri and the Pacific Ocean primarily remained a huge mystery.

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'Key People from Westward Expansion' on ViewPure

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A significant push toward the west coast of North America began in the 1810s. It was intensified by the belief in manifest destiny, federally issued Indian removal acts, and economic promise. Pioneers traveled to Oregon and California using a network of trails leading west. In 1893 historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the frontier closed, citing the 1890 census as evidence, and with that, the period of westward expansion ended.

Explore these resources to learn more about what happened between 1810 and 1893, as immigrants, American Indians, United States citizens, and freed slaves moved west.

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A significant push toward the west coast of North America began in the 1810s. It was intensified by the belief in manifest destiny, federally issued Indian removal acts, and economic promise. Pioneers traveled to Oregon and California using a network of trails leading west.