Research Questions

Some Possible Research Topics

Here are some possible research topics for you to consider. One of these may interest you for future writing, or it may suggest another, more interesting topic. The list of possible research questions has been up-dated with new questions you developed in the February 11 class period.

Who were some of the famous women of the West?
What were some of the subcultures in the West? Some of the different immigrant groups?
What sort of community or society existed in the west? What were communities like?
What were some of the famous inventions that came out of the west?
Who were some of the famous outlaws of the west?
Did people go by the same life style? (I.e., how did the life style of the west compare with the lifestyle in other areas of the country? In what ways?)
What part of the west attracted the most people to stay? Why?
What impact did religion have on the west?
Who were some of the famous women outlaws?
Were there female "cowboys"?
What are some examples of Indian assimilation into "American " Culture?
White assimilation into Indiana culture?
What was the largest Native American tribe in the west?
Did men in the west to east to fight in the Civil war? What states or territories sent the most men?
Were there any Civil War battles fought in the west?
What was John Brown's role in Kansas and Missouri?
What was the story of the Chinese in the west?
What was the biggest, bloodiest battle against the Indians?
How do mountain men contribute to the U.S.'s expansion into the "West."
Why is there no mention of Hispanic cowboys in accounts of the west?
Where there any Indians who traveled west with the western settlers?
What was the role of women in the American west?
How the way of life in the American west similar to today? How did it shape the way of life today?
What were the similarities or differences between the American west to that of the History of another continent?
Define the concept of the American west.
What are negative consequences that resulted from the settling of the American west?
Who were some of the heroic women of the west?
What really happened on the trail during cattle drives?
How was gold dug for?
How did the men of the mining towns change when their families returned?
What was the average time period a miner spent in the west, and what made them stay or leave?
What roles did women play in the west?
What was life like in the wagon trains?
What are the stories of white people who "turned Indians"?
What was the success rate of families (How many children were lost in infancy/child birth)
What physical difficulties did settles in the west have to overcome.
With what frequency were mail order brides brought to the west? Where were they from?
How did they build wooden boom towns on the prairie void of trees?
What things did the settlers learn from the Indians?
How often were there women like Calamity Jane?
How often did people make the choice to assimilate into Indian culture?
How did doctors immigrate to the west?
What was medical treatment like at this time? For vaious ailments or injuries?
How successful were Indian adoptions?
What were the challenges of those who were re-adopted into white societies?
How were the Rocky Mountains crossed, conquered, used?
What was the structure of Indians society? Of particular Indians societies?
What was life like for children in the west?
Were there cowgirls in th west?
Were there many John Dunbar types stories?
What makes the mythical west more exciting than the true west?
What about American Indian culture?
What about mining towns? How did they operate?
What role did Hispanics play in the American West?
What was medical treatment like in the American West?
What were sod houses of the prairie like? What other forms of housing existed?
What were the standards of education in the West?
How did the discovery of new plants and animals affect technology in the East?
What was the music of the West?
What were the art forms of the Indians?
What forms of housing did the Western Indians use? How did these vary from tribe to tribe?
What caused the rise and fall of boom towns in the west?
How did trading and bartering work in the west?
How did cowboys and settlers navigate on the prairie?
How often was panning for gold lucrative? How did it compare to mining?
What system of government was used in the American West? What forms of local, state, or territorial government?
What influence did the west have on Washington?
When did changes in the economy and infrastructure, etc, start in the west, and how did they affect the settlers?
What literature was written during this time in the West? (Mark Twain, for instance)
What literature has been written about the West (Louis L'Amor, Zane Gray, Larry McMurtry)
How was the typical cowboy dressed? What was cowboy fashion like?
What was the fashion of the West for well-dressed women?
What did Western people do in their leisure time?
What kinds of sports emerged during this time? (What about rodeos, for instance?)
Is there a significant different in the number of men vs the number of women were were adopted by the Indians? How do you explain this difference, if it exists?
When whites were adopted into Indian tribes, what was their social standing in the tribe?
Was there a difference between the adoption of a white person and the adoption of an Indian from another tribe?
Were there any Indians that left their tribes to live a white American Western way of life?
How did minority cowboys fair in the West? Were they treated equally?
Were there black miners?
What happened to the "madams" of the west when families came and schools and churches were opened?
What "real" wealth was made in the west? Who really benefitted the most fiscally from the gold rush?
Were schools in the West segregated?
How did women in boom towns change the "feel" of the town?
Is there a way to know for sure how many miners died while digging? What were the dangers? What was life like for the miner?
Are there any stories on boom town "clearings"? (Why they died?)
What was the history of one particular boom town? (One could find the name of one or more boom towns on the internet.)
Were the Chinese interested in mining or being cowboys?
Are there any stories of "mountain men" striking it rich?
Was there slavery in the west, or was it considered free country?
What was the survival rate of the first people to go to the West?
What was the main purpose for going West? Were there many purposes?
How did American Indian culture affect the West?
How did weapons like six-shooters become so prevalent?
How realistic are shoot-outs in the street? How common were they?
What were some of the famous cattle drive trails?
What was the journey west on the Oregon Trail like?
What other "Trails" were there that lead west?
How did settlers in the plains manage without a good water supply?
How did mining technology evolve?
How did the Chinese come to be involved in the making of the Transcontinental Railroad?
How frequent were bank robberies? Who were some of the famous bank robbers?
How do we define Western culture? What are their values, lifestyles, etc?
What impact did the West have on the United States' eventual rise to a world power?
What occupations were prevalent in the west? Then? Today?
How were Indians treated in the evolution of Western History?
What was the relationship between the American government and the Indian people?
Which immigrants arrived in the west? Why did they come?
What role did gold play in the lives of Westerners?
How often did the typical family actually meet with Indians and fight with them? What sort of relationship existed between Whites and settlers?
What sort of market system did the West develop?