On the Fourth of July in 1868, William Gilpin gave a speech in Denver, Colorado Territory. William Gilpin was the governor of the territory at the time. His speech portrayed the future of Colorado as one of limitless possibility. So limitless, in fact, that the laws of nature did not apply to Colorado. You probably […]
Tag: buffalo
The Métis and Manifest Destiny – 3 of 3
Minnesota and the Métis Our last post left our story at the potential of the Red River Rebellion bringing Manitoba into the United States. However, we must now describe the relationship between the Métis and the state of Minnesota. Much of the state’s early commerce involved the Red River Métis. Recall, the Métis sustained themselves […]
The Red River of Manitoba & Manifest Destiny – 2 of 3
The Red River Resistance This is a continuation of the previous post detailing how half of Canada nearly joined the United States in 1869. The theater of action was the Red River of the North, the river dividing North Dakota from Minnesota. We left off by establishing that the Canadian government had a powerful need […]
The Symbolism of the Bison
Along with the grizzly bear and perhaps the wolf, the bison is the iconic animal of the American West. The symbolism of the bison seems a key aspect of Western history. Its numbers were legendary. There were so many bison roaming the West 200 years ago that estimates were almost pointless. In his journal entry […]