The Historical Significance of the Little House On
- The Historical Significance of The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder An Honors Thesis (HONRS 499) by Elizabeth M. Irvine Dr. Raymond White Ball State University Muncie, Indiana April, 1994 May, 1994 PURPOSE OF THESIS ( . ... ~; - i This thesis is a discussion of the historical significance of the series of children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The purpose is to delve beyond the fact that the series was intended for children and look at the books topically. Topics analyzed include growing up in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, daily life, family ties, courtship, marriage, homesteading the American frontier, dangers of homesteading, building railroads, and education. A comparison will be drawn between Laura's descriptions and information found in outside sources in order to prove how historically accurate Laura's novels are. -.. - In reading about the frontier history of the United States, one notices the lack of women and children. It seems, through popular stereotyped images, that the West was only populated by Indians, cowboys, miners, and gunslingers. However, the simple reason why women and children are often left out of frontier history is because there were very few women and children on the frontier. Women and families were more often found on the agricultural frontier, which was not as far west as the mining camps and boom towns (Armitage and Jameson 4). It is this history, the history of husbands, wives, and families, that too often goes unnoticed and unrecognized. Many people are familiar with the battles between white soldiers and Indians. Textbooks relate information on the famous men who explored the West such as Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, zebulon Pike, and Daniel Boone.
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