Dreams of El Dorado

By the time he became president in 1801, Thomas Jefferson had already been looking westward for decades. He saw the country's population expanding and judged that America's territory must expand too, lest America become as crowded and conflict-prone as Europe. He started modestly, by seeking to purchase New Orleans from the French. Napoleon Bonaparte answered with a breathtaking proposal: would the Americans care to purchase all of Louisiana? Jefferson said yes and soon enough dispatched two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to find a passage across the new territory to the Pacific.

In Dreams of El Dorado, the bestselling author H. W. Brands meticulously recounts the saga of America's rugged expansion into the western territories. This enthralling narrative begins with Lewis and Clark's intrepid expedition in the early 19th century and follows the waves of pioneers, settlers, and adventurers across the American frontier, culminating in the early 20th century. Brands brings to life a host of unforgettable characters—explorers, mountain men, cowboys, missionaries, and soldiers—each of whom played a critical role in the westward expansion.

Brands skillfully navigates through iconic moments and locations that defined the epoch. He leads readers along the Oregon Trail, where countless families risked everything for a chance at a new life. He recounts the rise of John Jacob Astor's fur trading empire in the Pacific Northwest and takes us to Texas during its fiery revolution and to California in the gripping throes of the gold rush. The narrative reaches a dramatic climax at the Battle of Little Big Horn, detailing the fateful day of General Custer's defeat at the hands of the Native American leader Crazy Horse.

Not all Americans who ventured west sought immense fortunes; many simply yearned for opportunities unavailable to them in the East. Their dreams propelled them to notable feats of courage and endurance, although these aspirations often led to violence against indigenous peoples, foreigners, and even fellow settlers.

Throughout Dreams of El Dorado, Brands dispels longstanding myths and offers a fresh perspective on the American West. Commonly viewed as the last stronghold of rugged individualism, the West's history is interwoven with episodes of remarkable collectivism. While residents of the West often resented federal authority, it was precisely this power that facilitated the region's development. Though envisioned as an unspoiled Eden, the West experienced rapid exploitation and environmental degradation. Moreover, conflicts typically portrayed as whites against Native Americans often involved complex alliances and included diverse participants, such as black soldiers fighting alongside white troops.

The West was a land where fortunes were to be made, promising rewards for miners' persistence, cattlemen's courage, railroad entrepreneurs' enterprise, and bonanza farmers' audacity. However, as Brands compellingly argues, the dreams of finding El Dorado were just as elusive in the West as they had been in the East.

A sweeping, engrossing work of narrative history, Dreams of El Dorado redefines our understanding of how the American nation was forged, presenting a captivating tale that balances heroism with the harsher realities of expansion.