To find books about Western American history, try searching in OneSearch. To find primary source material, incorporate words like "diaries," "personal narratives," "autobiography," "correspondence," "sources," "pamphlets," or "early works" into your keyword or subject searches. One of the following subjects may prove useful as a starting point in your searches, though these are only sample topics:
California--Gold discoveries
Frontier and pioneer life
Great Basin -- History
Great Plains -- History
Indians of North America -- History
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Mormons -- History
Pacific States -- History
Pioneers -- West (U.S.) -- Biography
Southwest, New -- History
Utah -- History
Washington (State) -- History
West (U.S.) -- Description and travel