In the summer of 1846, capitalizing on the political unrest in Mexico, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe to invade Mexico's Western territories. This movement ignited “Manifest Destiny's “ clash with the Navajo stewards of the vast desert wilderness that now is New Mexico, California, Colorado, Arizona and parts of Utah. Our gripping core book, “Blood and Thunder”,by Hampton Sides, centers on Kit Carson—trapper, scout, and soldier whose respect for Native cultures contrasted with his role in brutal campaigns. We will explore his life, the decades-long U.S.-Navajo battles, and how 19th-century conquests echo in today's views of frontier history and Indigenous rights.
Week 1: ( 9/1) Prologue and Part 1: The New Men, The Army of the West Advances: Hour 1-Chapters 1-5: Hour 2-Chapters 6-8.
Week 2: (9/8) Part 1: Carson’s Rise and Manifest Destiny: Hour 1- Chapters 9-15; Hour 2-Chapters 16-22.
Week 3: (9/15) Part 2: A Broken Country, A Fractured Land and Uneasy Alliances: Hour 1-Chapters 23-25; Hour 2-Chapters 26-28.
Week 4: (9/22) Part 2: War and the Scorched Frontier: Hour 1-Chapters 29-31; Hour 2-Chapters 32-35.
Week 5: (9/29) Part 3: Monster Slayer, The Campaigns Intensify: Hour 1-Chapters 36-37; Hour 2-Chapters 38-39.
Week 6: (10/6) Part 3: General Orders, The Navajo Long Walk and its Toll: Hour 1-Chapters 40-42; Hour 2- Chapters 43-45.
Week 7: (10/13) Part 3: Epilogue: Reckoning and Remembrance, Hours1, 2 Chapters 46-47, Discussion of Blood and Thunder.
Core Book: Hampton Sides, Blood and Thunder, Doubleday 2006
David Remley, Kit Carson: The Life of an American Border Man, University of Oklahoma Press 2011
Jennifer Nez Denetdale, Reclaiming Diné History: The Legacies of Navajo Chief Manuelito and Juanita, The University of Arizona Press 2007
Manifest Destiny and Indian Removal: https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Manifest-Destiny-and-Indian-Removal.pdf
Manifest Destiny – A Philosophy So Flawed It Stains the Country Centuries Later: http://muwekma.org/blog/2022/december/manifest-destiny-a-philosophy-so-flawed-it-stains-the-country-centuries-later.html
The Origin Story: Manifest Destiny’s Creation of Economic Deserts and the Devastation of Subsistence Economy: https://www.nefe.org/news/2023/10/the-origin-story-manifest-destiny.aspx