A More Wild West

How would it be possible for the Western USA to remain the wild, lawless frontier it was? Would we have to rid ourselves of automobiles? Or perhaps an earlier POD, like complete annexation of Mexico into the USA after the Mexican-American War?

What say you? How can we have a cowboys lasting longer?
 
No barbed wire and delayed railroads and telegraphs, for starters. Finding a way for Canada to back the Plains Indians as a way of meddling in our western frontier might be an interesting possibility as well.
EDIT: I don't think this is viable with any PoD after 1860 and probably even that's realllly pushing it.
 
How would it be possible for the Western USA to remain the wild, lawless frontier it was? Would we have to rid ourselves of automobiles? Or perhaps an earlier POD, like complete annexation of Mexico into the USA after the Mexican-American War?

What say you? How can we have a cowboys lasting longer?

I doubt it could last to the present day, if that is what you're asking.
 
I think the key here is the Indians. More extensive ethnic conflict can keep things interesting for far longer than OTL.
 
Perhaps a situation like OTL modern day Northern Mexico breaks out, during the 1920's declining cattle barons begin to meddle in alcohol & dope in order to continue their lifestyle. By today those barons become powerful assault rifle wielding drug cartels by today.
 
Simple; less European immigration in the mid-, and late-, 19th century. The West remains wild because there's not enough people to populate it.
 
Simple; less European immigration in the mid-, and late-, 19th century. The West remains wild because there's not enough people to populate it.

To an extent yes, but if we are operating here with minimal butterflies - or even, realistic levels of butterflies - then we can pretty much say for certain that advancing weapons technology would mean that the Wild West era can't last forever, unless you are speculating a TL where the European settlement of the Americas is so reduced that the native American tribes can become independent states in their own right, all the while accumulating European technology, and thus forming viable modern armies of their own.

Of course, if you go that far you haven't really extended the Wild West, you've entirely replaced it with a bloody international conflict.
 
To an extent yes, but if we are operating here with minimal butterflies - or even, realistic levels of butterflies - then we can pretty much say for certain that advancing weapons technology would mean that the Wild West era can't last forever, unless you are speculating a TL where the European settlement of the Americas is so reduced that the native American tribes can become independent states in their own right, all the while accumulating European technology, and thus forming viable modern armies of their own.

Of course, if you go that far you haven't really extended the Wild West, you've entirely replaced it with a bloody international conflict.

I don't believe the OP stipulated the Wild West lasting forever, or even until modern times. Just a longer run.
 
however, his idea of machine-gun wielding natives is a badass one. Methinks someone should write a TL about that :cool:
[Shameless plug] My TL "A Darker Canada", will eventually have this.[/shameless plug]
Maybe if the period after the Civil War was nastier, more hard feelings, more violence and riots throughout the South. The US would have to spend a lot of money and time keeping the peace down there. This leaves less resources for the West, so it has less soldiers and rangers allowing more lawlessness.
 
I'd like to point out the Wildness of the Old West is overstated. Most Western towns banned guns within city limits, and that lawless Dodge city had a death total of something like 4 people in the worst year.
 
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