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This is a collection of "mostly United States" history resources
The study of "history" is always influenced by "current thinking." Which makes it a good idea to be aware of the fickle nature of "accepted history."
Just as important is avoiding the "historian's fallacy" - which wikipedia defines as:
The historian's fallacy is an informal fallacy that occurs when one assumes that decision makers of the past viewed events from the same perspective and having the same information as those subsequently analyzing the decision. It is not to be confused with presentism, a similar but distinct mode of historical analysis in which present-day ideas (such as moral standards) are projected into the past. The idea was first articulated by British literary critic Matthew Arnold in 1880 and later named and defined by American historian David Hackett Fischer in 1970.
Everything here is in the public domain - so feel free to use as you wish.
The Wild West
The "westerns" media site I referred to above is here
The "Wild West" period of American history was from after the Civil War to the "closing" of the frontier in the early 20th Century. The Transcontinental Railroad (completed 1869) had been built with the intention of encouraging trade with China - i.e. making it easier to distribute goods shipped into the west coast.
To be honest, I'm not sure what impact the Transcontinental Railroad had on trade with China in the early 20th Century (I'm sure it didn't "hurt" trade). BUT an unintended consequence of the railroad was making it easier for immigrants from Western Europe to settle in the "western" United States.
In "big picture" terms the "Wild West" period came to an end because of 'civilization' moving east - which was aided greatly by the railroad and barbed wire.
The "western" became extremely popular in the U.S. after the "frontier" closed (around 1890). It feels a little trite to say that the "western" is "United States mythology" - but, well, there it is.
Stories about cowboys, outlaws, lawmen, and settlers in the U.S. west fill that same cultural space as knights in armor, kings and queens, and bandits in Europe.
The ease with which stories about Japanese ronin translate into stories about "old West" gunmen probably illustrates the point about "universal mythological roots" e.g. "Seven Samurai" (1954) and the "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) - but that isn't important - just enjoy ...