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Book Review
Canada and the United States
Stephen G. Hyslop. Bound for Santa Fe: The Road to New Mexico and the American Conquest, 18061848. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 2002. Pp. xiii, 514. $34.95.
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Stephen G. Hyslop has written a complete and detailed history of the significance of the Santa Fe trade to both the United States and Mexico. Employing all of the available primary and secondary sources germane to the trade, he makes particularly effective use of diaries and memoirs. Some, like those of Josiah Gregg, George Wilkins Kendall, and Susan Shelby Magoffin are well known, but others, I believe, appear in a bibliography compilation for the first time. First-hand accounts by U.S. army officers who guided the caravans into Mexico liven up the narrative. All told, perhaps the strongest point of this book is its reliance on excellent primary sources. |
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The "Santa Fe trail" ran from St. Louis or Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe and ultimately Chihuahua, Mexico. It is thought of as an exclusively American trade route, but the author emphasizes the role played by Mexicans journeying to the United States as traders or workers. Much more was involved than the mere buying and selling of goods. Americans and Mexicans formed impressions of each other and the seeds of a lasting "culture conflict," resulting in the Mexican War, 18461848, were sown. Indians of many tribal affiliations, particularly Osage, Pawnees, and Comanche were also present and many "American" observers stated their preference for the character of these Native Americans over that of Mexicans. All the groups mingled at Bent's Fort and other locations along the Santa Fe trail. Mountain men bringing their furs and pelts to market added to the lively mix. |
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