Midterm Long Essay
Section 1:
The Western Frontier (1964 – 1900)
The Western Frontier refers to the land west of where the majority of white settlers were found. T he frontier was occupied by the Native Americans. In what has come to be known as the westward expansion, the white settlers moved to west into these lands occupied by Native Americans. The many white settlers overwhelmed the British soldiers who tried to stop the former from moving westward. The settlers moved in successive order i.e. many settlers would move further west that they predecessors had reached. The first white settlers on western frontier were the hunters and fur trappers, followed by the pioneer farmers, and finally the permanent settlers.
The development of the Western Frontier was in accordance to the Northwest Ordinance, a law that outlined how a government in the Northwest Territory was to be set up. It outlawed slavery in the territory, and granted settlers a bill of rights including right to due process, trial by jury along with religious freedom. The Northwest Territory was split into five distinct territories: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. The states later developed into states.
There were a number of factors that led to the development and change of the Western Frontier which include: railroads, Plains Indians, settlers, U.S. Cavalry, cattle industry among others.
Railroads
Railroads can be cited as the one singe major factor for the transformation of industrial cities that developed in the West during the late 1800s. This is due to the fact that railroads were instrumental in rendering travel easier, cheaper, as well as safer. The long transcontinental lines were used to move people, cattle, grain, equipment, and ore back and forth across the expansive region of the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and Sierra Nevada to the fertile valleys of Oregon and California.
Railroads also contributed greatly to the very transformation of the western landscape. Initially, millions of bison were found in plenty in the Great Plains of the Midwest and they were chief sources of clothing and food for the Native American tribes. With the coming of the railroads, however, the bison’s natural environment was not destroyed, but also enabled the transportation of sport hunters to the area. The Americans on the move westward were able to slaughter an incredible number of bisons that only approximately 1,000 of them remained by 1885.
Settlers, Native Indians, & natural resources,
The exploding number of white settlers in the North necessitated a search for more land to settle and farm. On the western side, the number of Native Americans (Indians) was modest and there much land still remained uncultivated despite the invention of the steel plow in the 1840s. Furthermore, the land to the west was relatively cheap and often free, and endowed with natural resources that would solve many economic problems of the settlers.
Section 2:
Rise of America as an economic power (1866 – 1900)
The period between 1866 and 1900 in America was characterized by rapid economic growth together with soaring prosperity particularly in the North and West. This was due to increased industrialization and the subsequent surge of immigration in the U.S. It was a period that America emerged as the world’s dominant, economic, agricultural and industrial power. Between 1965 and 1900, the average annual income of nonfarm workers appreciated by as much as 75%.
A major factor the economic rise of the U.S. was the large labor base that came about thanks to the unprecedented spiral of European immigration. An estimated 27.5 million new arrivals were reported during the period to form the base for majority of fast-growing urban America. By 1880, an estimated five million Americans were working in the manufacturing, transportation, and construction industries. This large labor force contributed to the great expansion of agriculture and industry and ultimately the economic rise of the United States. In addition, a great number of new jobs for women were created in the Industrial Age between 1880 and 1900. The number employed women rose from a mere 2.6 to 8.6 million during the period.
Secondly, the United States was endowed with vast natural resources particularly iron, oil, timber and coal. The region of the Appalachian Mountains that ranged south from Pennsylvania to Kentucky was abundant with coal while western Pennsylvania had oil deposits. Furthermore, large iron ore mines were put up in the Lake Superior region found in upper Midwest. Steel was made in plenty by combining coal and iron ore. There were also massive cooper and silver mines were established as well as lead mines and cement factories. This coupled with the existing entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to investing in both human and material capital by American entrepreneurs helped the U.S. to grow its economy to unprecedented levels.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had emerged as a leading global industrial and economic powerhouse because of the new technologies (e.g. steel and telegraph), vast natural resources, supportive entrepreneurial spirit and large skilled and unskilled labor force.
