This view, however, fails in Limerick's mind, to adequately show how we can directly trace our current social, economic, and political order to Jamestown, Salem, and the Louisiana Purchase. "White Americans saw the acquisition of property as a cultural imperative" (Limerick, 55). How has that changed either before or after? Isn't that the justification used by the Virginia Company when establishing Jamestown? Isn't that the same as Sam Houston's justification for the subjugation and annexation of Texas? Isn't that the same as our ongoing destruction of the environment to create homes, shopping malls, and warehouses? Manifest Destiny existed in the European mindset even before the phrase was coined. Thus, Limerick observes that we have to see our history as part of that same kind of continuity of intent. Indeed, Limerick promotes a moral significance on the history of the American West rather than a focus on specific dates and specific events. Her view is to see all dates and events as part of a continuity - they string together without grand design, but are clearly guided by the common and natural White European tendency to see the world as resource to be owned, beaten into...
This means that Limerick's view includes all the warts and failures associated with the West and our ongoing history - our Presidents have long made mistakes of grandiose nature, institutions have always failed, and the military has been used for ill-gain purposes since the founding of the nation. Thus, it is the continuity of character, and not the specific events, that makes the American West's history so unbroken.
American West United States became one of the most industrialized nations and sought to grow its industries at an alarming rate. For this purpose, the western part of United States, which had not yet been discovered, was subjected to massive development, economic growth, formation of industries and allowing settlers to move towards the west. Railroads played a significant role in contributing towards the development and urbanization of America's West. The goal
The relationship they had with one another included a fair division of land, and a good balance of trade. Unfortunately, after the settlers learned what they needed from the Native Americans and took what they could from them, they no longer had any use for the proud people whose land they had invaded. The relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans began to change as settlers learned to do
It may have seemed to many that Stegner was simply expressing a bitter lament or was being a naysayer, but in fact, what he predicted is actually quite close to the truth. The West is being settled as an insane rate, and there is simply not enough water to continue this growth. Certainly, there are other issues that make up the West, from its complex history to its varied
It is the obsession for independence, in Stegner's view, rather than a real need for being mobile that is driving the Americans in general, and the Americans from the West to keep moving at all costs. To illustrate the idea of their inability to escape their own fate, Stegner uses the example of Wister's novel, the Virginian, whose hero, named after the region he comes from, although acting only
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Role of Women in Homesteading and Settling the American West: Explore the contribution of women homesteaders in shaping the frontier communities of the American West. This essay could delve into the daily struggles, economic contributions, and the social and cultural influence of women in the pioneering era. 2. The Myth vs. Reality of Women Outlaws in the American West: Analyze the legendary tales of women
Essay Topic Examples 1. Pioneering Spirits: The Overlooked Role of Women in Homesteading Explore how historiography has either neglected or emphasized the role of women as pioneers in the American West. Analyze primary sources such as diaries, letters, and land records to reconstruct the experiences of women homesteaders in the face of frontier challenges and discuss how they shaped the development of western communities. 2. The Mythical Calamity Jane: Deconstructing Portrayals of
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