How Did/Does the Existence of a Vast Western Frontier Shape?

During the years 1790-1860 many changes in the nation were occurring in the values of Americans and in their different societies. The vacant, immeasurable land in the western frontier enabled a shift of change from social, political and economic conformity to more individual techniques and beliefs away from governmental traditions imposed more in the east coast of the nation. As different factors forced people to migrate west in the country it changed not only society and values of people in the west but also the east, transforming into a whole new affluent society.

As people started to realize the nations grandness and what the property consisted of the rise in nationalism became very dependent on these enlightened ideas and visions. Therefore the movement westward help further develop the United States in this time period in aspects of life including economic and social advancement, altering the views and values of Americans and modifying societies developed pre-expansion. Many Americans including westerners felt that these frontiers west of the Mississippi River and East of the Rocky Mountains were considered vast wildlife with extreme beauty.

As people started to understand what our country possessed and what it had for itself an immense growth in nationalism arose causing different people to act in unique ways to alter society for the boon of the people. This gratefulness for the wildness in the west of the country enabled people to gain pride in their country and develop a say to prosper it further. People started to move to these frontier lands to get away from social conformity and move out away from governmental means.

This newly developed precedent of moving westward began to shape people to have a say in what they believe is correct rather then living in the backfire of the government. As people started to realize this land was vacant and accessible they started to move away from the major governmental cities and begin to move to these lands in the west of the country free from judgment and social pressure. The large amounts of land west in North America enabled different revolutions to begin with sufficient land claims.

The Industrial Revolution was caused because of the availability of these vast regions of land and this allowed immigrant people to enter the country on mainly the east coast but also the west. As the cities began to fill up and become over populated for what the city was built to handle many more people were either pushed westward or chose to move west out of the unsanitary ways of the cities. The transportation Revolution also began during this time period because of the people’s decision to move west away from strict rules and to less socially bounded societies.

As this revolution from handmade work to machine work came over seas with immigrants from Britain to the United States. As more and more people began to settle in the west transportation needed to be available for them to migrate there, that’s why the Iron horse started to become networked. The Iron Horse, the railroad, was created for more seasonally travel in varying weather conditions, cheaper, more efficient, and quicker ways to develop the new unsettled lands in the west therefore connecting the east with the west more readily.

As over-population became an issue many people started to move away from mass populated cities and started to head to the open lands in the western frontier. As more people started to move west, they became reliant on farming and domesticating livestock to support their developing economy. This form of work held true for Americans in the south as well with these lucrative aspects present. This enabled them to become self-sufficient regions not relying on others for necessities of life, which soon led to their downfall later on of over production of crops.

As over-production of crops came into play they were not able to sell them and prices dropped causing the economy to have deficit and the panic to occur. In the east the people basing their economies backbone on manufacturing through the Industrial Revolution, of factories created from raw materials either from over seas through trade or the western frontier also the East became immense on shipping and trading with exports and imports. So the movement westwards to their vacant regions of vast lands caused not only good effects but also led to downturns in society and the economy of the United States.

The massive western frontier helped shaped America’s values and societies in this period by creating different perspectives on certain ideas or beliefs people possessed in the eastern part of America. The west started to begin standing up for what you believe in and doing what you perceive is correct, with the women and slaves. This act started a whole colt of upcoming activist movements which led to different changes in how society should be ran from the voices of prosecuted people at this time.

As the landowners of the west began to start up farms they realized that like the south they were in need of slaves to run their farms and plantations to produce crops to make money. The western states therefore caused a lot of tension whether to be claimed states or not because this act would upset the balance of slave and non-slave, free states in the United States. This debate made slavery a big issue in America and a huge factor in developing the nation during this time period.

Women at this time in the east replaced the jobs of lost workers due to the expansion westwards. The women got paid cheaply and enabled business and economy to prosper with more profit. These people were mistreated and because of mistreatment, social reform started to begin with activist leaders speaking up for what they thought was correct and just. These reforms and additions to the United States in different aspects of life all processed through the expansion of citizens westward.

These people who began this movement and mass migration to the western frontier not only helped the west to develop they enabled the east to develop in their footsteps and develop further from their departure. Through different revolutions, reforms, and economic advancements people were able to modify into a more thriving society. One that consisted of changed values because of this essential movement to vast western land not yet settled on by natives. Therefore not all land undeveloped is a burden to the world, it takes people to change atmospheres in which others are influenced to amend different communities and social classes.