Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Blacks in the West, written by Dr. William Sherman Savage, published in 1976, by Greenwood Press, is an effort to determine what influence if any, blacks had in the West even though the number of blacks were few. Savage served in Europe during World War I, and in 1921 began a serious study of American history after graduation from Howard University in 1917. The pursuit of advanced degrees, for qualification as a scholar, brought many obstacles since most universities seldom opened their doors to blacks, which was the norm in those days. Savage not only earned his doctoral degree but was also encouraged by Professor Dan Elbert Clark to focus his scholarly interest on the role of blacks on the frontier. In the late 1920’s the roles of blacks in the West was not a written part of American history even though settlement and development of the West was one of the most extensively studied topics. Nevertheless, Savage was determined to investigate and document this virtually unknown subject. Therefore, he spent a lifetime of study investigating masses of documents, newspapers, memoirs, and printed records that provided the foundation for his conclusions. Savage’s dedication to this subject matter brought forth many unknow