The homesteaders trad wives would rather forget about (Megan Kate Nelson, part 2)
6/6/202636 min
In part 2 of our exploration of the American frontier, Megan Kate Nelson introduces two women who belie the homesteader image conservative "trad wives" like to harken back to. Polly Bemis was a Chinese immigrant who built a life and a community in Idaho, despite intense prejudice and stringent anti-Chinese immigration policies. Ella Watson was a self-made homesteader and small rancher, a so-called cattle queen who got on the wrong side of cattle barons in Wyoming and paid the price.
Read more: How Chinese women were barred from the American dream
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On this episode:
- Isabelle Roughol - Host
- Megan Kate Nelson - Guest
What do you think?
Jump to:
- (00:00) - 08 Megan Kate Nelson part 2
- (01:18) - Start of interview
- (01:46) - Introducing Polly Bemis
- (03:04) - The majority-Chinese American West
- (06:55) - Polly Bemis traveled without moving
- (09:12) - Chinese women were the first targets of US anti-immigrant policy
- (09:50) - The aggressive anti-Chinese immigration policies of the United States
- (12:13) - How big government made the West for white men
- (13:43) - Ella Watson's broken American dream
- (14:25) - The cattle queens
- (23:03) - A high tolerance for risk
- (24:30) - Why correcting the Frontier myth matters today
- (27:06) - How trad wives utilise the American Frontier
- (30:21) - What moment in history should we revisit from women's perspective?
- (34:30) - Outro
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsIsabelle Roughol· Host0:00
Hello and welcome to Broad History, a podcast about the history you think you know, with women in it this time. I'm your host, Isabelle Rogol. This episode is part two of a two-parter conversation with historian of the American West, Megan Kate Nelson. So if you missed part one, go back in your feed to episode eight and start there. Without further ado, we're going to jump into the rest of the conversation. Just a quick reminder that if you want to support this show, you can sign up for membership at broadhistory.com membership. Members have already heard the second part of this conversation because members get early and ad-free access to every episode and can binge any multi-part series on day one. This show is entirely research produced, edited, and hosted by me, and it can only happen with your support. I am so grateful to people who've already signed up for membership. Again, it's at broadhistory.com. slash membership and there is a big series coming up this summer that you're going to want to be a member for because you will get to binge it on whatever road trip you're planning to be on we're going to jump right into the second part of the conversation with Megan Kate Nelson as we get past the American Civil War and into the later half of the 19th century sorry it's a bit abrupt I did not originally plan to cut this conversation in two but here we are this is my conversation with Megan Kate Nelson The thing that I think is maddening when you look at the Civil War is that it feels like it should be a victory for a freer, more