Who Was Wyatt Earp? by Allen Barra

Barra’s article could be used to introduce the settling of The West after the Civil War. The story of Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at O.K. Corral is the stuff of legends and should hold the interest of students today just like it has for over 100 years. It’s important to note just how multicultural the settling of the West was; in the case of the article one focus is on the role of Jewish Americans. The primary documents cover in detail the actual gunfight. The transcripts are provided for each witness at the inquiry. Also, there are a number of points of view in the official inquiry into the deaths at the Ok Corral. It could be a great exercise to divide the students into groups to work together to understand each witness’s story and then try to put the puzzle of the actual event together in a discussion or formal inquiry/hearing. Students should also be prompted to understand the difficulties of historians in researching events that happened long ago.