Transformation of the West
Introduction
The American West was vastly transformed during the “Gilded Age”. As railroads traversed the nation, crime became a major problem, and the rise of industry prompted a response by environmentalists.
As far-reaching as the transformation of Western civilization since the Renaissance had been, I don’t think that anyone around 1800 could have predicted the even more profound changes that would occur in the nineteenth century. When Napoleon met defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Europe's population was 200 million, with as many as 25 million people of European descent living in the rest of the world. When World War I began in 1914, these numbers dropped to 450 million and 150 million, respectively. In 1815 most Europeans and Americans lived in rural villages and worked the land; during the nineteenth century millions migrated from the countryside to cities, and by 1914, in highly industrialized nations such as Great Britain, a majority of the population was urban. In 1815, despite two decades of democratic revolution, most governments were aristocratic and monarchical; in 1914 representative assemblies and universal manhood suffrage were the norm in most of Europe, the United States, and the British dominions of Canada, Australia. and New Zealand. In 1815 most governments limited
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In the short run, they are right: Violent crime did increase between 1985 and 1990. But what really worries most people is not the short-run trend but their sense that violent crime has been climbing steadily for a long time and that the future will only bring further increases. Such worries are linked to anxiety about drugs, permissive childrearing, hedonism, declining academic standards, the growth of the ghetto underclass, and our collective inability to compete with the Japanese. Taken together, these fears have convinced many sensible people that American society is on the
During the 19th century, the American people were experiencing a revolution concerning both the economy and religion, in what is recognized today as the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. A rapid increase in the population within the countryside, and the development of new technology outburst a change in the economy from one of local exchanges to one governed by capital and capitalists. Family owned businesses began to expand and sold their items not only among a small community, but now products were being shipped to different ports along the colonies. The industrialization movement was rapidly approaching that “Indian removal was necessary for the opening of the vast American lands to agriculture, to commerce, to markets, to
In the article “The Crime Bust” by Gordon Witkin, it is introduced that in 1994, after a 9 year soar in crime rates, they began falling (1). According to preliminary figures released by the FBI, all across the board, the amount of crime committals were declining at a drastic rate. (Witkin 1). To determine the source of this sudden decline, several factors were examined, such as the economy, dismissed as “Robbery and burglary fluctuate with economic conditions--but murders generally do not…” (Witkin, 1-2) Prevention and domestic abuse were also discredited since “Studies show that prevention programs don’t work, and others may or may not be effective…” and “...in 1996, there were only 447 fewer ‘domestics’ than in 1993, accounting for just 9 percent of the murder reduction.”
The West changes to what we want it to be: we removed the bison for the cow, we planted our corn, and the land was never to be the same again. America doubled in size. We made good use of the land, which we had gained.
Monica De la Rosa History 17 Professor Todd Menzing 31 July 2016 Emma Goldman As Nash stated in the book “American People” that at the advent of nineteenth century, America was a youthful country which was expanding. As the society and the people surged west over the mountains, they had to face a lot of hardships and problem. They were able to secure inconceivable new regions past the Mississippi (Nash, 30) gradually pushed further towards the coastlines.
Throughout the 1840’s and 1890’s the natural environment shaped the development of the West beyond the Mississippi like, where the best and worst settlement would be in the West, how there was a struggle for the expansion that the settlers of the West were pushing for and, how aspects like cattle and mining would influence the settlers. There were many environmental changes, as well as expansion in the West, and the increase in knowledge and development in industry, that were occurring, and causing the development of the West beyond the Mississippi to be impacted along with the lives of those who lived their.
The West, as we all know it as the "Wild West". The Industrial Age changed the West in many ways. In the West there had always been farmers. Farming, mining, and cattle were the life of the West. A great variety of Native American cultures ruled most parts of the area.
The west started to become more popularized by Americans during the nineteenth century. Settlers in New England started to move westward because the soil of New England was not able to produce high amounts of grain. As a result, the farmers would set out to find a new piece of land to grow their crops on. The farmer’s lively hood as well as their families relied on land to produce the resources their family needed to live. However, most of the land settlers began to occupy was already the home to Native Americans.
The Railroad industry extended to the West as the factory system developed within cities. However, the conception of the “West” did not appear until the late 19th century. The West was viewed as the land of opportunity. The West began railroad development, mining, and cattle ranching. Cities such as Denver, San Fransisco, and Salt Lake City flourished.
The presence of crime and its fluctuation in society can be explained through criminological theories, which take on different perspectives to explain specific aspects of crime. The economic recession in Blueville resulted in drastic increases in crime, which have remained stable even after the end of the recession and the increase in the availability of jobs in the area. Additionally, despite the improvement of the economy, the city saw increases in the quantity of loitering, prostitution, and drug trafficking, as well as social inequality itself. Although one may expect crime to decrease alongside an improving economy, it is clear that the effects of the recession are long lasting in the community. Ultimately, the stagnant crime rates in
The chapter then turns to the major, unexpected drop in crime throughout the US in the 1980's. The authors aim to show how conventional answers are not necessarily the strongest by analyzing various explanations, including increased policing, a stronger economy, and the decline of the crack cocaine market.
Throughout time in American History, major transformations have taken place. By 1789, American society transformed fundamentally. I agree that we adopted a radically democratic form of government in which the voice of the people was paramount.
Exam Paper 1 In what ways did the American West of the late nineteenth century represent a contrast to the East? In what ways did the two regions resemble each other?
During the 19th century, European nations took part in imperialism and expanded their influence to foreign lands across the globe. This expansion of influence marked a turning point in history compared to the expansion in the 17th and 16th centuries. Even Though the way Europeans treated the native populations were similar in their enslavement and taking advantage of them, these two periods differed since the 19th century was motivated by market and influence instead of gold as well as a new process of taking over by assimilation rather than conquering demonstrating that the 19th century was, in fact, a turning point. Both the time periods of the 19th century and the 17th/16th centuries were similar in how poorly Europeans treated native peoples.
The American frontier has been constantly redefined by Americans throughout its two-hundred year history. Early American colonists viewed the unending expanse of forest to the west with fear and awe. The untamed wilderness with its savage Indians and fast-flowing rivers; however, did little to curb the desire for expansion developed by those willing to trade a civilized life in Europe for the unknown of America. Although the frontier slowly disappeared through technological advancement, the undying want to grow and expand further west has ingrained itself in American culture. In literature, the frontier is not simply the uncivilized unknown of the early American west but represents a truly American aspiration.
Elijah Anderson’s commentary Code of the Streets describes the unwritten laws in urban neighborhoods. Anderson considers the code to be a response to the stigma of race, excessive drug use, lack of high paying jobs, and lack of hope for the future. Respect or “juice” is at the heart of the code and in this environment, an individual is defined by the respect he commands from others (Anderson 6). Anderson argues that the poor have a different system of values than the middle and upper classes. He describes families in the lower class as either “decent” or “street (Anderson 2).