Pioneer & Frontier Life

In American history, a pioneer is any of the people who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas, especially those who settled any territory previously unsettled or undeveloped by European or American society. Though most of us think of pioneers strictly in terms of those who came to the "West", the earliest pioneers settled areas now considered the "East".

The first westward migrations occurred as representatives of the Thirteen Colonies sought to open up new lands for their respective colonies westward. Those whose original royal charters did not specify a western limit simply extended their lands directly and indefinitely westward. After the United States was formed upon the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, federal coordination and legislation began to give settlement a more unified approach.

As western settlement grew, common details emerged. Most pioneers traveled in wagon trains, groups of wagons containing settlers and their families. They banded together for common defense and to combine their efforts. Pioneers in the East often had to clear the land, owing to lush forests there. In the Midwest, the task was to bring agricultural fertility to the Great Plains.

The figure of the pioneer has played a large role in American culture and literature. While much cultural note is also given to other figures of a more transient nature, such as cowboys, trappers prospectors, miners, etc., the pioneer alone represents those who went into unexplored territory in search of a new life, looking to establish permanent settlement.

Did you find this review helpful?
63 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Used Books & Materials
Bound for Oregon
by Jean Van Leeuwen
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Day
Historic Communities
by Bobbie Kalman & Tammy Everts
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Children of the Wild West
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas on the Prairie
by Joan. Anderson
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Dear Levi
by Elvira Woodruff
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Diary of an Early American Boy
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
American History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$15.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
Early Family Home
Early Settler Life Series
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Early Settler Storybook
from Crabtree Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Facing West
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
for 4th-7th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Flaming Arrows
by William O. Steele, Illustrated by Paul Galdone
1st edition from Harcourt
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Going West
by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by Thomas Allen
from Dial Books for Young Readers
Historical fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Heading West
by William E. Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
History Pockets: Moving West
by Martha Cheney
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 4th-6th grade
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
If You Were There
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Jericho's Journey
by G. Clifton Wisler
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Josefina Story Quilt
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Eleanor Coerr
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Laura's Album
by William Anderson
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Little Farm in the Ozarks
Rocky Ridge Years Book 2
by Roger Lea MacBride
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams
Book Club Edition from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Uniform Edition from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (4 in stock)
Long Way Westward
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Joan Sandin
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Lucretia Ann on the Oregon Trail
by Ruth Gipson Plowhead
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Martha of California
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
for 4th-6th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$4.00 (34 in stock)
Oh Susannah
by Ruth and Richard Holberg
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Oregon Trail
Tales of the Wild West Volume 1
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Our Only May Amelia
by Jennifer L. Holm
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Our Vanishing Landscape
by Eric Sloan
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Cultural History (Location: HISMC-CUL)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Perilous Journey of the Donner Party
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Children of Appalachia
by Joan Anderson, photography by George Ancona
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Crafts
by Inc. Kids Can Press
from Kids Can Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Days
American Kids in History
by David C. King
1st edition from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-6th Grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Pioneering on the Plains
Frontiers of America
by Edith McCall, illustrated by Carol Rogers
from Children's Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneers
Tales of the Wild West Volume 11
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Prairie Visions
by Pam Conrad
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1992 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days
by Mary Cobb, Illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Reading, Writing and Riding Along the Oregon-California Trails
by William E. Hill
Regular Print/Single Titl from Oregon California Trails
for 4th-6th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sarah Whitcher's Story
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
from Scholastic Inc.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Secret School
by Avi
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Secret School
by Avi
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Sophie of the Lazy B
by Myra Richardson, illustrated by Nicholas Panesis
Stated First Edition from Robert M. McBride & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Daniel Boone
Signature Books #15
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Warren Baumgartner
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Conestoga Wagon
by Kenneth Richards
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Homestead Act
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Oregon Trail
Cornerstones of Freedom series
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Strawberry Girl
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1946 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Trails to Poosey
by Olive R. Cook
from Misty Hill Press
Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Trouble for Lucy
by Carla Stevens
from Clarion Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.95 $5.50 (1 in stock)
Trouble River
by Betsy Byars
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
True Book: The Oregon Trail
A True Book
by Mel Friedman
from Children's Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wagon Wheels
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Barbara Brenner
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Western Heroes
Tales of the Wild West Volume 16
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
What Was the Gold Rush?
by Joan Holub
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in California (Location: HISA-19CGR)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Women of the Old West
by Judith Alter
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Women of the West
Tales of the Wild West Volume 5
by Rick Steber
from Bonanza Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$2.50 (2 in stock)