Kit Carson: Frontier Fame, War, and the Navajo Long Walk

Kit Carson spent decades building one of the most celebrated reputations on the American frontier before commanding the 1863–64 campaign that helped compel thousands of Navajo people to surrender and leave their homeland.

The Monroe Doctrine: How a Presidential Message Shaped the Western Hemisphere

From merchants and missionaries to gold seekers and pioneer families, one western Missouri town stood at the center of a continental migration that would reshape a nation.

Independence, Missouri: The Jumping-Off Point to the West

From merchants and missionaries to gold seekers and pioneer families, one western Missouri town stood at the center of a continental migration that would reshape a nation.

James K. Polk and the Expansion of the United States

James K. Polk served as the 11th president of the United States from 1845 to 1849.