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Women and Men on the Overland Trail
This classic book offers a lively and penetrating analysis of what the overland journey was really like for midwestern farm families in the mid-1800s. Through the subtle use of contemporary diaries, memoirs, and even folk songs, John Mack Faragher dispels the common stereotypes of male and female roles and reveals the dynamic of pioneer family relationships. This edition includes a new preface in which Faragher looks back on the social context in which he formulated his original thesis and provides a new supplemental bibliography.
Praise for the earlier edition:
“Faragher has made excellent use of the Overland Trail materials, using them to illuminate the society the emigrants left as well as the one they constructed en route. His study should be important to a wide range of readers, especially those interested in family history, migration and western history, and women’s history.”—Kathryn Kish Sklar
“An enlightening study.”—American West
“A helpful study which not only illuminates the daily life of rural Americans but which also begins to compensate for the male orientation of so much of western history.”—Journal of Social History
Praise for the earlier edition:
“Faragher has made excellent use of the Overland Trail materials, using them to illuminate the society the emigrants left as well as the one they constructed en route. His study should be important to a wide range of readers, especially those interested in family history, migration and western history, and women’s history.”—Kathryn Kish Sklar
“An enlightening study.”—American West
“A helpful study which not only illuminates the daily life of rural Americans but which also begins to compensate for the male orientation of so much of western history.”—Journal of Social History
285 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 21, 2023
Such an interesting topic, but it stays quite superficial in conclusion. I hoped for a more in-depth analysis that answers some of the bigger questions on the subject.
April 12, 2015
The next best thing to taking the trail west with the folks who made the journey in the 1840's and 50's is to read this book.
From the comfort of your easy chair you can find out a wealth of detail on the habits and practices of families that put all their hopes and possessions in a rolling wooden box, facing months of walking across a continent for the chance of a better life in California or Oregon.
John Faragher first gives us an overview of what life was like on a midwestern farm, so we can see how the people lived before they faced their move. The book is not just a story of travel but a satisfying look at how men and women lived together as man and wife, their attitudes toward each other, how they socialized and their views of children in mid 19th century mid America.
Unlike so many early accounts that neglected to enlighten readers on how women felt and behaved while moving west, this history spotlights the role and plight of women at a time when they had almost no rights. The contrast between how men engaged with the world and women, the home, the small world to which they were confined, shows the constraints that women faced.
There is little evidence that a woman ever made the decision to go west, and not much more that a woman was consulted about doing so. But presented with remaining alone to become the dreaded female without a man, almost all went along, gritted their teeth and resolved to make the best of a bad situation.
Men, on the other hand, were eager to hit the trail and prove their manhood as their fathers and grandfathers had done earlier moving from the east to the midwest. Of the quarter of a million who made the trek to the Pacific coast, the great majority were from Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
Once underway, men were always on the lookout for adventure. When buffalo were sighted, everything was dropped for the hunt, even though there was little use for the kill, everyone having packed enough food to complete the trip. The prospect of using the family rifle to do some moving target shooting was too much to resist. Meanwhile, women were never relieved of the duty to cook and sew and care for the children. Sarah and Constance and Penelope were not just expected to stand by their men, they were expected to walk 2000 miles with them on an epic test of endurance.
All of the information the author provides came from more than 100 diaries written by the travelers. Even the writing styles, language and subject matter favored by the two sexes is well described.
This is the best kind of history and you will end the book by checking your shoes to make sure you didn't get any mud on them or step on any cowpies during your time on the trail.
From the comfort of your easy chair you can find out a wealth of detail on the habits and practices of families that put all their hopes and possessions in a rolling wooden box, facing months of walking across a continent for the chance of a better life in California or Oregon.
John Faragher first gives us an overview of what life was like on a midwestern farm, so we can see how the people lived before they faced their move. The book is not just a story of travel but a satisfying look at how men and women lived together as man and wife, their attitudes toward each other, how they socialized and their views of children in mid 19th century mid America.
Unlike so many early accounts that neglected to enlighten readers on how women felt and behaved while moving west, this history spotlights the role and plight of women at a time when they had almost no rights. The contrast between how men engaged with the world and women, the home, the small world to which they were confined, shows the constraints that women faced.
There is little evidence that a woman ever made the decision to go west, and not much more that a woman was consulted about doing so. But presented with remaining alone to become the dreaded female without a man, almost all went along, gritted their teeth and resolved to make the best of a bad situation.
Men, on the other hand, were eager to hit the trail and prove their manhood as their fathers and grandfathers had done earlier moving from the east to the midwest. Of the quarter of a million who made the trek to the Pacific coast, the great majority were from Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
Once underway, men were always on the lookout for adventure. When buffalo were sighted, everything was dropped for the hunt, even though there was little use for the kill, everyone having packed enough food to complete the trip. The prospect of using the family rifle to do some moving target shooting was too much to resist. Meanwhile, women were never relieved of the duty to cook and sew and care for the children. Sarah and Constance and Penelope were not just expected to stand by their men, they were expected to walk 2000 miles with them on an epic test of endurance.
All of the information the author provides came from more than 100 diaries written by the travelers. Even the writing styles, language and subject matter favored by the two sexes is well described.
This is the best kind of history and you will end the book by checking your shoes to make sure you didn't get any mud on them or step on any cowpies during your time on the trail.
November 16, 2019
Had to read this for my Wild West History class and did not enjoy the book at all. The author seems to passionately dislike men and he is incredibly repetitive with info. Overall really boring would not read again.
April 6, 2014
Women and Men on the Overland Trail Yale University Press Second Edition 1979 Faragher, John Mack
With factual information taken from primary source documentation, this book is itself a snapshot of a time hazily recalled by most people. Utilizing the written journals and diaries from a pool of 800 to select from it offers a fair description of what life must have been like on the trails leading west in the years 1840 – 1860. There is perhaps a feminine bias with this methodology since many of the recollections by virtue of sheer numbers are written by men. The author attempted to negate this effect by essentially throwing out documents that were found to be from the apex of the mineral rush years.
Consequently there is a female voice to most of the book and it is not one of pioneering spirit and contentment. Most of the women were married and a very high percentage of them were there only because their slave masters (really, they had as few rights as chattel) had sold the family farm, all their belongings without mentioning it to the little lady and said “Go west, young woman, or else.”
There is a perception that the west was settled by hale and hearty, buckskin wearin’, rifle totin’ entrepreneurs. The fact of the matter is that, minus the women-folk, it wouldn’t have happened at all, certainly not as orderly or quickly. While the man had primary duty clearing and breaking the land and raising a crop, the women spawned the ranch hands (children), whelped them, spun the cloth and made the clothes for everyone, cooked, washed, planted and canned all the fresh vegetables and fruits, wrangled the hens and pigs and milk cows, made the butter and usually pitched in with the farming duties as well. So along with her “domestic” duties she also had a hand in ½ the actual farming!
This book pretty much delivers what I figured. The women were the heroes while the men were the zeroes.
With factual information taken from primary source documentation, this book is itself a snapshot of a time hazily recalled by most people. Utilizing the written journals and diaries from a pool of 800 to select from it offers a fair description of what life must have been like on the trails leading west in the years 1840 – 1860. There is perhaps a feminine bias with this methodology since many of the recollections by virtue of sheer numbers are written by men. The author attempted to negate this effect by essentially throwing out documents that were found to be from the apex of the mineral rush years.
Consequently there is a female voice to most of the book and it is not one of pioneering spirit and contentment. Most of the women were married and a very high percentage of them were there only because their slave masters (really, they had as few rights as chattel) had sold the family farm, all their belongings without mentioning it to the little lady and said “Go west, young woman, or else.”
There is a perception that the west was settled by hale and hearty, buckskin wearin’, rifle totin’ entrepreneurs. The fact of the matter is that, minus the women-folk, it wouldn’t have happened at all, certainly not as orderly or quickly. While the man had primary duty clearing and breaking the land and raising a crop, the women spawned the ranch hands (children), whelped them, spun the cloth and made the clothes for everyone, cooked, washed, planted and canned all the fresh vegetables and fruits, wrangled the hens and pigs and milk cows, made the butter and usually pitched in with the farming duties as well. So along with her “domestic” duties she also had a hand in ½ the actual farming!
This book pretty much delivers what I figured. The women were the heroes while the men were the zeroes.
March 27, 2019
It was interesting learning about the colonists’ migration to the Midwest area, especially about their route and specific work that men and women did on the trail. However, Faragher’s writing could have been more imaginative, vivid and colorful. His repetitive account would not have been so if he had spiced his wording up a little bit. Especially when talking about the route, I would have liked to see more detail. That’s all my thoughts though. Pretty easy and interesting read!
June 9, 2007
I loved John Mack Faragher's "History of the American West" at Yale, and I respect his interdisciplinary approach to American western history. This book is well-researched from pioneer diaries, and it was cutting-edge when first published three decades ago...
June 20, 2008
This was really interesting. I had to read if for a history seminar I am taking involving pioneers/explorers/trappers who traveled along the Mormon/Oregon trail(s). It was a great insight into my ancestors.
June 19, 2010
Basically about what the title says. The book describes the gender rolls and how they morphed and evolved in the process of the western migration of the United states. Really well written.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews