At the Confluence of Two Cultures: William and George Bent Confront Manifest Destiny 1829-1918

AT THE CONFLUENCE OF TWO CULTURESWilliam and George Bent Confront Manifest Destiny, 1929-1918.REVIEWCamilla Kattell has researched a fabulous array of historical data referring to the lives of famous Indian Americans, the Bent family particularly, to give us an intimate story of how America’s pursuit of Manifest Destiny destroyed the Native American culture as it was from 1829 to 1918. Most westerners have heard of Bent’s Fort, a trading post established in Southeastern Colorado by brothers George and William Bent and their partner, Ceran St. Vrain. Most of us were unaware of the leadership they provided while trying to save the original Indian Territory decimated by the white man’s gold rushes to Colorado and California.At the Confluence of Two Cultures should be in every junior high and high school library and taught in American history classes in order to give young people a clear picture of the effect America’s pursuit of Manifest Destiny had on Native American culture, and to highlight the heroes who participated in trying to save the original ownership of western America.The extensive Endnotes and Bibliography in this book will be of utmost importance to researchers. Minor editing errors in the body of work do not detract from the value of the research.

A fascinating history of how the West was won, and lost, in the tumultuous middle and late 1800s, under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Told through the lives of two men, father and son, adventurous pioneers who straddled two cultures -- white and American Indian -- author Kattell shows how they were forced to face the clash of cultures and the desecration of the American Indian. William and George Bent witness the destruction wrought by increasing numbers of white men who, lured by the enticements of gold and a life unfettered by constraints of the East and the Civil War, make their way across the Plains. The westward migration, supported by government forces intent on clearing the land for migrant populations and the Southern Pacific Railroad, destroyed indigenous lives and a way of life rarely understood or valued.While focused on the Bent men, Kattell discusses the role of other well known names, including Kit Carson. Her chapter, "The Sand Creek Massacre," is riveting. This well researched, easy-to-read book -- except for the maps -- should be must-reading in high school U.S. History classes and by American adults whose idea of Manifest Destiny ignores the de-humanizing losses suffered by American Indians.

My undergraduate degree is in history and now I live in Colorado, so I found this book highly interesting and valuable. It's well written and each point is backed with thoughtfully researched history. The Bents deserved a careful study and this is it!