Buffalo Bill, Rough Riders, and the Manly Image
Brent M. Rogers and Douglas Seefeldt
Rough Rider Map
View Rough Riders in a larger map
This interactive map emphasizes the truly global enterprise that was Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World. It not only provides some insight into where Rough Riders came to the show from, but also the extending of the show's message to an international community before technologies made international communities commonplace. The Wild West brought in people from around the world and in so doing took the American manly ideal to the masses globally. Cody's comparative vision of international manhood was exported across the globe through physical performance and ideological communication. Buffalo Bill and his Wild West popularized specific elements of manhood by formulating an ideology from a western perspective. In this international exhibition, for men watching or reading about the performance to see themselves in the "mirror of American manhood," meant that they looked West and compared themselves with men globally. Cody brought in men from all over the world to allow American spectators to do just that.
The placemarks on this map indicate approximate homelands for Rough Riders performing in Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World. For Rough Riders that came from overseas, no information was available for individual home places. Therefore, marks are placed as general locations for these participants. Use this map to see the spread of people and ideas connected with Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World. Click on any of the placemarks for information, excerpts from documents, and images for each of the groups of Rough Riders.
