In the late 1920’s the roles of blacks in the West was not a written part of American history even though settlement and development of the West was one of the most extensively studied topics. Nevertheless, Savage was determined to investigate and document this virtually unknown subject. Therefore, he spent a lifetime of study investigating masses of documents, newspapers, memoirs, and printed records that provided the foundation for his conclusions. Savage’s dedication to this subject matter brought forth many unknow

A third example was the gold and silver mining industry, which lured people of every race to California. Slave masters from the South took many blacks to the mining camps. The slaves did their part in the search for gold and silver while focusing on freedom. Free blacks migrated to the mining camps as a source of income. Savage concludes his investigation of blacks in the mining industry, as he states, “for free blacks the industry offered a foothold in the West; and for some slaves there was the prospect of freedom as well as riches.”

Another example, of black exclusion in early written historical accounts, was the part blacks played in the military. The control of Indians in the West was a difficult task. In order to protect settlers and build and maintain roads and telegraph lines, the army had to control the Indians. Many blacks were in the military because it provided a source of income and gave minute feeling of belonging. So contrary to popular belief, stories, and movies that it was just the whites against the Indians, we now know that black men took a stand to save the lives of black and white settlers. Savage explains black enlistment as he writes, “the army offered to many black men an opportunity for social and economic improvement, which was difficult to achieve in a society almost closed to them.” Savage makes this point from his readings of Buffalo Soldiers, a book written by Dr. William H. Leckie.

Savage wrote Blacks in the West with the intentio

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