Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1769-1776 (period covered); published later

The Winning of the West, Volume 1

Theodore Roosevelt · 1769-1776 (period covered); published later

Roosevelt's history of early American westward expansion, revealing his own views on frontier settlement and conquest.

Written by Roosevelt himself, this history reveals his personal views on westward expansion and American frontier identity.

Ask Theodore Roosevelt about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

This is the first volume of The Winning of the West, a multi-volume history written by Theodore Roosevelt, covering the period from 1769 to 1776. It was dedicated to historian Francis Parkman.

Why it matters

Written before Roosevelt became president, this book shows his deep interest in American frontier history and his belief in the importance of westward expansion to the nation's identity. It reveals the ideas about pioneers, settlement, and national destiny that shaped his later political thinking.

Look closer

  • What does the dedication to Francis Parkman suggest about whose historical writing Roosevelt admired?
  • How might Roosevelt's own views about expansion have shaped the way he tells this story?
  • Whose perspectives might be missing from a history of westward expansion written in this period?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Theodore Roosevelt on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Theodore Roosevelt sources

Meet the AI Theodore Roosevelt →
Sepia stereograph card showing two side-by-side photographs of a man in a campaign hat and military-style jacket standing beside a tent pole, with a canvas tent and a seated man behind him. Caption reads: Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough-Rider at Tampa, Florida.Photograph

Primary source

Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider at Tampa, Florida

American Stereoscopic Company · c. 1898-1903

Scanned page numbered 33 of printed text in a serif typeface on cream paper, containing part of Roosevelt's message discussing the Monroe Doctrine, the Hague conference, Latin American nations, and the Caribbean Sea. Marginal labels read Arbitration treaties, Second Hague conference, and Policy toward other nations of Western Hemisphere.Speech

Primary source

Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Theodore Roosevelt · 6 December 1904

Document

Primary source

Pure Food and Drug Act

1906

Sepia photograph of a large elephant lying on its side on forest floor, with long tusks visible. A standing man in a wide-brimmed hat and light shirt stands behind it among dense jungle foliage.Photograph

Primary source

Theodore Roosevelt with the Bull Elephant He Killed

Edmund Heller

Speech

Primary source

The Man with the Muck Rake

Theodore Roosevelt · 1906

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Theodore Roosevelt now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions