Image above is on the web site of the History Channel.
The Origins of the Cowboy Culture of Western America - summary:
"The culture of the western United States, which many consider the epitome of American-ness, is in origin a synthesis of Anglo and Hispanic cultures which was created in Texas in the days of the Texas Republic and spread with the trail herds to what is now the western United States (and Canada). Major elements of the clothing, food, language, and most importantly the cultural values and attitudes derive from Mexican as well as Southern American sources.
There were many sources for the population of the western North America but these disparate peoples assimilated the Anglo-Hispanic culture of Texas.
Although this culture is perceived as American by the rest of the United States it is a cousin culture rather than a sibling culture and it is just as much a cousin culture for Mexicans as it is for Americans of the Eastern and Midwestern United States. The ties of the Texan culture to the culture of the southern United States, particularly that of the Scot-Irish of the southern Appalachians, are closer than those to the rest of the United States."
"The culture of the western United States, which many consider the epitome of American-ness, is in origin a synthesis of Anglo and Hispanic cultures which was created in Texas in the days of the Texas Republic and spread with the trail herds to what is now the western United States (and Canada). Major elements of the clothing, food, language, and most importantly the cultural values and attitudes derive from Mexican as well as Southern American sources.
There were many sources for the population of the western North America but these disparate peoples assimilated the Anglo-Hispanic culture of Texas.
Although this culture is perceived as American by the rest of the United States it is a cousin culture rather than a sibling culture and it is just as much a cousin culture for Mexicans as it is for Americans of the Eastern and Midwestern United States. The ties of the Texan culture to the culture of the southern United States, particularly that of the Scot-Irish of the southern Appalachians, are closer than those to the rest of the United States."
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Cowboy Culture article in the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
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History Channel has an excellent site dedicated to Cowboys.
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American Cowboy web site has excellent History page.
Cowboys - an excellent article on Wikipedia about the origins of cowboys.
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National Day of the Cowboy - July 25
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Bunkhouse Culture has links to these and more!
Artisans Cowboy Books Cowboy Code of Conduct Western Photographers Fine Art Must have DVD's Many excellent, related organizations, hall of fame links, museums, radio & tv, world cowboy sites! |
List of possible events you can plan, such as:
Read 'em Cowboy Program Chuck Wagon cook off Covered Wagon trips Campfire with singing and storytelling Trail ride Cowboy movies under the stars . . . Hundreds of exciting ideas! Even though National Day of the Cowboy is in the middle of summer, there are many activity ideas for your Cowboy Culture unit! |
Literature
Historical Novels - Old West Novels - Directly quoted from their web site: "The vast literature of the American Old West evolved from dime novels of the late 1800s which portrayed life on the frontier as an idealized clash pitting virtuous cowboys and lawmen against "savage" Indians or outlaw gunfighters. Class "Westerns" by writers like Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour in the early to mid-twentieth century generally retained this romanticized approach, but most writers present a more realistic view of Western history. Categories are:
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Top 10 Western Books - these should be on every cowboy's bookshelf according to the American Cowboy web site.
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Film, Music and Television
Cowboys in Movies and Vaudeville - a resource at the University of Virginia
