Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Homesteading the plains : toward a new history / Richard Edwards, Jacob K. Friefeld, Rebecca S. Wingo.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2017]Description: xii, 253 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780803296794
  • 0803296797
Subject(s):
Contents:
List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Competing Visions of Our Homesteading Past -- 2. Recalculating Homesteading's Reach and Success -- 3. Evolving Views on Homesteading Fraud -- 4. Estimating the Extent of Fraud -- 5. Homesteading and Indian Land Dispossession -- 6. Women Proving Up Their Claims -- 7. Mapping Community Formation -- 8. Envisioning a New History of Homesteading -- Appendix 1: An Annotated Review of GLO Circulars, 1862-1904 -- Appendix 2: Sources for Chapter 5 Graphs and Maps -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
Summary: "Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plains demonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. Homesteading the Plains provides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy."-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 344.7306 E26 Available 33111008806644
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

2018 Nebraska Book Award

2018 Outstanding Academic Title, selected by Choice



Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment.



Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plains demonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed.



Homesteading the Plains provides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy.

Purchase the audio edition.

"Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plains demonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. Homesteading the Plains provides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy."-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Competing Visions of Our Homesteading Past -- 2. Recalculating Homesteading's Reach and Success -- 3. Evolving Views on Homesteading Fraud -- 4. Estimating the Extent of Fraud -- 5. Homesteading and Indian Land Dispossession -- 6. Women Proving Up Their Claims -- 7. Mapping Community Formation -- 8. Envisioning a New History of Homesteading -- Appendix 1: An Annotated Review of GLO Circulars, 1862-1904 -- Appendix 2: Sources for Chapter 5 Graphs and Maps -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Powered by Koha