Mining Frontiers of the Far West, 1848-1880

by PAUL RODMAN WILSON

• ISBN13: 9780826327710
• ISBN10: 0826327710
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of New Mexico Pr

Summary

Long out of print, this highly praised classic study of western mining is now available with three new chapters by Elliott West. When originally published in 1963, Professor Paul's book offered the first comprehensive view of western mining as an integral part of the settlement process. In his supplemental chapters, Professor West presents a sweeping social history of mining camps -- encompassing discussions of gender, class, race, labour, and the environment. The combined scholarship of Paul and West makes a strong case for the transforming effects of the mining frontier on western society in particular and American society in general. This revised, expanded edition continues to offer a distinctively vivid voice and an unusually keen eye for telling detail.

Author Biography

Rodman W. Paul (1912-1987) was professor of history at the California Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations	viii
The Songs	x
Foreword to the 2001 Edition	xi
Foreword to the 1963 Edition	xiii
Preface	xvii
Gold and Silver Regions as Frontiers	1	(11)
California, 1848-1858	12	(25)
Opening the Far West, 1858-1868	37	(19)
The Comstock Lode, 1859-1880	56	(31)
A Study in Contrasts: California and Nevada, 1859-1880	87	(22)
Colorado, 1859-1880	109	(26)
Northwest and Southwest, 1860-1880	135	(26)
First Attempts at Self-Government	161	(15)
Culmination in the Black Hills	176	(24)
The Mining Frontier: Another Viewpoint	197	(3)
Breaking and Building Communities	200	(26)
The World's Convention	226	(27)
Worlds of Work	253	(32)
Notes	285	(28)
A Note on Statistics	313	(2)
Essay on Bibliography	315	(20)
Index	335