Discussion Questions
October 28, 2008

1. What was the purpose of the Dawes Act?  Why was it enacted and what does the Act tell us about the dominant "American values" of the day?
2. What do the paintings of the west have in common?  How do you think that those paintings reflect and/or reinforce prevalent themes of the day concerning the west?  What were those themes?
3. To what degree does the experience of the native Americans parallel that of the immigrants that we have discussed previously?  How do the natives fit with the perspectives of the west held by white Americans?
4. How is the experience of Oklahoma a microcosm of the wider Gilded Age experiences and values that we have discussed so far this term?
5. According to Igler in "The Industrial Far West..." how typical was the western industrialization experience in comparison to that of the Gilded Age as a whole?  What features were common, and what features were unique to the west?
6. Why is Igler's article important and why has it been included?