American frontier

The American frontier comprises the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of American westward expansion that began with English colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last mainland territories as states in 1912. In North American development, "frontier" refers to a contrasting region at the edge of a European-American line of settlement, or settled area. American folklore is focused primarily on the 19th century, especially west of the Mississippi River. Enormous popular attention in the media focuses on the Western United States in the second half of the 19th century, a period sometimes called the Old West, or the Wild West, frequently exaggerating the romance and violence of the period.

As defined by Hine and Faragher, "frontier history tells the story of the creation and defense of communities, the use of the land, the development of markets, and the formation of states." They explain, "It is a tale of conquest, but also one of survival, persistence, and the merging of peoples and cultures that gave birth and continuing life to America." Through treaties with foreign nations and native tribes; political compromise; military conquest; establishment of law and order; the building of farms, ranches, and towns; the marking of trails and digging of mines; and the pulling in of great migrations of foreigners, the United States expanded from coast to coast, fulfilling the dreams of Manifest Destiny. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner in his "Frontier Thesis" (1893) theorized that the frontier was a process that transformed Europeans into a new people, the Americans, whose values focused on equality, democracy, and optimism, as well as individualism, self-reliance, and even violence. Thus, Turner's Frontier Thesis proclaimed the westward frontier as the defining process of American history.

Wild West (album)

Wild West is a country album by Dottie West, released in 1981.

This was one of Dottie West's best-selling albums as a solo artist. The album reached not only the No. 5 spot on the "Top Country Albums" chart, but also reached No. 126 on the "Billboard 200". The boasted two no. 1 Billboard country hits for West, "Are You Happy Baby" and the biggest single of her career, a duet Kenny Rogers (uncredited, except on promo copies), "What Are We Doin' in Love". The latter song was also No. 14 on the Pop charts and no. 7 on the Adult Contemporary charts, West's highest ranking by far on either chart. Another single spawned from this same album, titled "(I'm Gonna) Put You Back on the Rack", which reached the Top 20 on both the Billboard and Cashbox Country charts.

The back cover photo of the album featured West wearing her infamous Spandex pants. This is one of West's best-known albums in all of her career. The front and back photos were by renowned Hollywood photographer Harry Langdon who subsequently shot the album covers for all of West's 1981-84 albums on Liberty Records.

Wild West (disambiguation)

Wild West often refers to the American frontier period of the Western United States in the 19th century.

Wild West may also refer to:

A film:

The Wild West may refer to:

See also: