Making History in Central North America

Based on the world-renowned collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, “Frontier to Heartland” offers access to historical primary sources, scholarly perspectives on the past, and resources to help you use the site.

Perspectives

Essays with a point of view

In words and pictures Perspectives explain how central North America came to be known as a "frontier" and then a "heartland." You can trace the history of the region over 400 years, consider the cultural power of images, or learn how to read historic maps.

Galleries

Thematic collections of images

Galleries are a quick way to view a range of themes in Frontier to Heartland.  Each gallery presents eight related images and links to the image collection.

Browse Archive

The Mississippi and Michigan Canal

Bross, William
A pamphlet calling on the federal government to fund and build a canal extension in Illinois.

Grand Palace, Decatur, Illinois

Higbie, Tobias
The Heartland Community Church in Decatur, Illinois, operates the Grand Palace as a banquet hall. The architecture and advertising of the facility evoke both frontier themes and the notion of…

Earth flags and Golden Arches

Koslow, Jennifer
Police cordon surround an antiwar march, March 2004, Chicago. The Earth flags carried by protesters and the corporate advertising in the background are contrasting symbols of globalization.

The Massacre of United States Troops by the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians Near Fort Philip Kearney, Dakotah Territory, December 22nd, 1866

In 1866 U. S. soldiers sought to defend three recently built forts protecting the Bozeman Trail leading to the gold fields of Montana. Lieutenant Colonel W. J. Fetterman led eighty men against the…

Earth flags and Golden Arches

Koslow, Jennifer
Police cordon surround an antiwar march, March 2004, Chicago. The Earth flags carried by protesters and the corporate advertising in the background are contrasting symbols of globalization.

Plain Crees driving buffaloes into a pound

This illustration accompanies Henry Hind's description of how Cree Indians captured buffalo for slaughter. In the distance a circular "pound" or corral is visible.

Capture of Louis Riel by the Scouts Armstrong and Howie, May 15, 1885

Louis Riel was a Métis leader who headed a provisional government in opposition to the Canadian government in 1885. The "Riel Rebellion" was defeated militarily and Riel was convicted of treason and…

Route of the Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo to Great Salt Lake

Seeking to escape harassment, Mormons left their embattled settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846, reaching their destination in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake a year later.
Four more random images