The ways American cowboys were celebrated and portrayed in popular culture was much different then what cowboys were really like. The cowboy that was associated with "the West" had a heroic image. Cowboys were portrayed as having toughness, freedom, and strength, giving them the "wild West" image. They were seen as people who didn't take crap from anybody and they had the freedom to do what they want. They were also seen as fighters. People liked this version of the cowboy because it made them think that was what the West was actually like, carefree and wild. When in reality cowboys weren't anything like this. Real cowboys were very low payed men. They had the disadvantages of hard physical labor, loneliness, and no real opportunities to advance themselves.
   I think people liked to believe this image of the cowboy because it made the West seem better. People would associate the West with cowboys and freedom instead of some of the hardships and realities about the West. The image of the cowboy distracted people from focusing on the troubles of the West like the Chinese, the land going fast, the lack of jobs, and the idea of possible failure in the West. People would've rather seen the West like the cowboy portrayed it instead of seeing the reality.
   The factors that contributed mostly to the idealization of the American cowboy were the works of entertainers, writers, and artists. Sculptures and paintings of the cowboy came from Frederick Remington. Mark Twain wrote many stories about the heroic qualities of the cowboy. Shows from Buffalo Bill kept the ideals and images of the American cowboy going. These factors were a significant reason for the idealization of the American cowboys.  

   Before we studied this unit I knew the basics about the Post- Civil War South. I knew that even though the war ended, things between blacks and whites were not automatically resolved. And i knew that there was still racial tension throughout the South, with the white Southerners still fighting for white supremacy and doing everything they could to continue to make blacks superior.  I knew that segregation occurred but i didn't know that there was a process that had to lead up to segregation being acceptable. Something that really stood out to me was how hard the white Southerners tried to go around the Amendments, doing everything they could think of to limit blacks rights. I thought it was interesting to learn about how segregation really developed and was made legal during the Jim Crow South.
   I think it's important for people to know the history about where they live because they can understand where they come from. If people know the history of where they live they can also compare what it was like in the past to how it is today. For us, I think it is good to learn about the Post-Civil War South and the events that happened and what people were like. It is important to see how things have changed and see how maybe some things from the past have continued on in a way.