American West Program at Colorado State University Presents Manifest Destiny and the Rise of Modern Journalism

American journalism, Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War will come under scrutiny June 23 as part of the 21st American West Program at Colorado State University.

Charles Rankin, director of publications for the Montana Historical Society and editor of Montana, The Magazine of Western History, will discuss "Manifest Destiny and the Rise of Modern Journalism" at 7:30 p.m. at a new location, Room C146 Plant Science Building on campus. All remaining events for the American West Program were moved to the new location to accommodate more participants.

Rankin, a Colorado State alumnus and former assistant professor of journalism, will explore how the consequences of Manifest Destiny helped reshape American journalism. The Mexican War, an event closely associated with Manifest Destiny, helped cause profound changes in journalism and marked the rise of war correspondents as we now know them, fast courier express systems to deliver the news and the impetus for cooperative news distribution that would evolve into The Associated Press.

Rankin joins a series of speakers visiting campus this summer to explore Western expansion under the program’s theme, "Manifest Destiny and the West to 1850." Other highlights of the American West Program include a discussion on the Alamo, a talk about a forgotten episode in the U.S.-Mexican War and a presentation on the relocation of Native American Indians.

All programs begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Programs will take place in Room C146 Plant Science Building.

In conjunction with the American West Program, the summer exhibit of the Curfman Gallery in the Lory Student Center will feature the artwork of William Henry Jackson.

A complete schedule of events follows.

  • June 23 – "Manifest Destiny and the Rise of Modern Journalism," Charles Rankin, editor of Montana, The Magazine of Western History from the Montana Historical Society.
  • June 30 – "The Alamo: The Mexican View," Daniel Martinez, historian for the National Park Service.
  • July 7 – "Conquest of New Mexico and the Invasion of Chihuahua, Mexico: A Forgotten Episode of the U.S.-Mexican War," Neil Mangum, superintendent of Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
  • July 14 – "Manifest Destiny and Indian Removals," Valerie Mathes, professor in the department of social science at City College of San Francisco.
  • July 21 – "Los Capitalistas: New Mexican Merchants and the Santa Fe Trade," Susan Calafate Boyle, independent historian from Fort Collins.
  • July 28 – "The Western Hero and Manifest Destiny – Boone, Crockett and Carson," Paul Hutton, history professor at the University of New Mexico.

For more information on the American West Program, call Harry Rosenberg in the history department at 491-5230.