The document discusses several key tensions and groups that shaped the closing of the American western frontier in the late 19th century, including Native Americans, cattlemen, railroads, miners, and the government. It also examines how the West has been romanticized in American culture through figures like cowboys, gunslingers, and the expansion of the railroads and mining and cattle industries. Minority groups that moved west, such as Black, Chinese, and Hispanic populations, faced significant challenges and discrimination as well.