Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

History of the American West

The West from many sides: the Native nations and Spanish borderlands that came first, the push from the Louisiana Purchase to the war with Mexico, gold, railroads and homesteads, treaties, wars and dispossession, the vaqueros, Buffalo Soldiers and homesteaders who made the region, and the water, myths and memory that still shape it. Primary sources and real numbers, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: Peoples and empires before 1800

    Describe the Native nations and Spanish borderland societies of the West before 1800 and explain how horses and the Pueblo Revolt reshaped the region.

    • Native nations of the West
    • The Spanish borderlands
    • Horses and power on the Plains
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: The United States moves west, 1803 to 1848

    Explain how the Louisiana Purchase, the overland trails, Texas independence and the Mexican-American War extended U.S. claims west, and distinguish a claim from control.

    • The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark
    • Fur traders and the overland trails
    • Manifest Destiny, Texas and the war with Mexico
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Gold, rails and homesteads, 1848 to 1890

    Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush, the transcontinental railroad and the Homestead Act on different groups, using population, distance and land figures.

    • The California Gold Rush
    • The transcontinental railroad
    • Homesteaders and the farming frontier
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Treaties, wars and dispossession

    Evaluate treaties, the Plains wars and assimilation policy from Native and federal perspectives, and compute the scale of land loss under allotment.

    • Treaties and reservations
    • Wars on the Plains
    • Assimilation and its legacy
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Ranchers, communities and the myth of the West

    Compare the myth of the Wild West with the historical record of ranching and of the West's many communities, using evidence and source analysis.

    • The cattle kingdom
    • Many peoples, one region
    • Myth and reality in the Wild West
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: The West transformed

    Evaluate the Turner thesis against later interpretations and explain how water policy, federal land and public memory shaped the twentieth-century West.

    • The closing frontier and the Turner thesis
    • Water, dams and the federal West
    • The modern West and memory
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 3 · Homesteaders and the farming frontier

Worked example: proving up a homestead

  1. Year 0: a family files a claim for 160 acres and pays a small fee.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in the history of the American West: you can describe the Native nations and Spanish institutions of the region before 1800, explain how the United States turned claims into control from 1803 to 1890, measure the human cost of the Gold Rush and of allotment, read a treaty from both sides, test a western film or dime novel against the record, and weigh the Turner thesis against the New Western History. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 taking U.S. history or a history of the West elective, students preparing for AP U.S. History who want depth on the West, and homeschool families who want a complete course that tells the region's history from Native, Mexican, immigrant and settler perspectives.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. National Park Service, histories of the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trails, Little Bighorn Battlefield and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site: nps.gov
  2. National Archives, the Louisiana Purchase, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Homestead Act, the Dawes Act and the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty: archives.gov
  3. Library of Congress, primary sources on westward expansion and the transcontinental railroad: loc.gov
  4. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations: americanindian.si.edu
  5. U.S. Department of the Interior, Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative investigative reports: bia.gov
  6. Frederick Jackson Turner, The Significance of the Frontier in American History, 1893; Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest, 1987

History of the American West is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. Population and land figures are historians' widely cited estimates and are given as approximate; numbers marked as example numbers are for practice only. It does not replace a school course, is not affiliated with any exam program and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.