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: Prologue and Part 1: The New Men, chapters 1-8 (The Army of the West advances)
Week 2: Part 1, chapters 9-22 (Carson’s rise and Manifest Destiny)
Week 3: Part 2: A Broken Country, chapters 23-28 (A fractured land and uneasy alliances)
Week 4: Part 2, chapters 29-35 (War and the scorched frontier)
Week 5: Part 3: Monster Slayer, chapters 36-38 (The campaigns intensify)
Week 6: Part 3, chapters 39-42 (The long walk and its toll)
Week 7: Part 3, chapters 43-46 and Epilogue (Reckoning and remembrance)
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