The Real American Frontier | Part 1 | The West you never hear about (with Megan Kate Nelson)

The Western frontier is a foundational myth of the United States. Historian Megan Kate Nelson is here to complicate it with the stories of women who do not at all fit the image of the American pioneer you probably imagine. In part 1 of this two-parter conversation, she (re)introduces us to Sacajawea, the Native American woman who led the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific, and Gertrudis Barceló, an infamous gambling entrepreneur who became one of the richest people in the New Mexico territory.

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On this episode:

• Isabelle Roughol - Host
• Megan Kate Nelson - Guest

What do you think?

• Read & comment at broadhistory.com
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• Email me: isa@broadhistory.com

Jump to:

• (00:00) - Part 1
• (02:33) - Start of interview
• (03:00) - The imaginary of the American Frontier
• (06:57) - What is Manifest Destiny?
• (09:11) - The West before it was the American West
• (11:55) - Sacajawea's superhero origin story
• (15:03) - Sacajawea, an explorer in her own right
• (19:14) - Exploring as a postpartum mother and how Clark ended up raising Sacajawea's children
• (23:01) - How Sacajawea became a suffrage icon
• (26:47) - How   Gertrudis Barcelo made a fortune at Spanish monte
• (34:11) - The epitomy of the Western pioneer man -- in a Hispanic woman
• (38:27) - Part 2 teaser

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Click here to view the episode transcript.