University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-2-2011 Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the Myth of the West Amy Reece Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Recommended Citation Reece, Amy. "Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and the Myth of the West." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/66 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. i ii iii ANNIE OAKLEY, CALAMITY JANE AND THE MYTH OF THE WEST BY AMY L. REECE ABSTRACT OF THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May, 2011 iv THESIS ANNIE OAKLEY, CALAMITY JANE, AND THE MYTH OF THE WEST Submitted by Amy L. Reece Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Spring 2011 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Dr. Paul Hutton Dr. Virginia Scharff Dr. Cathleen Cahill v Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, and the Myth of the West by Amy L. Reece B.S., Education, McMurry College, 1989 M.A., Education, New Mexico Highlands University, 2009 Abstract This paper examines the lives and legends of two of the most iconic women of the Old West, Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane. The focus of this study is not biography, however, rather a look at how they fit into the classic myth of the West, as envisioned by Henry Nash Smith.