The frontier

Résumé du document

During the 19th century the American economy grew rapidly. New inventions and capital investment led to the creation of new industries and led to economic growth. With the development of various modes of effective transportation the opportunities for new business ventures increased. However, conditions along the entire Atlantic coast stimulated migration to the newer regions. From New England, where the soil was incapable of producing high yields of agriculture produce, many people left their coastal farms and villages to take advantage of the rich interior land of the continent.

Extraits

[...] The United States began to look outside of its territory, seeking overseas what it couldn't find on its territory anymore. The second world war, the opening of new markets, the new technologies, political and economic interests (etc . ) were all frontiers that stimulated the United States to go beyond their territory. Still today, the Frontier is present in American economic life through self intrests they have abroad. Frontier has played and still plays a major role in American economy since it shaped Americans' ideology and way of life. [...]

[...] The westward flow of population in the early 19th century led to the division of old territories and the drawing of new boundaries. New states were created. In the United States, the frontier demanded hard work, and the Protestant work ethic supported that demand. The strong emphasis placed on education, including technical and vocational education, also contributed to America's economic success. Likewise the willingness to experiment, to change and to invest in technology was significant in a land that had prided itself on being a new experiment in freedom. [...]

[...] The end of the frontier and its impact on modern american economy A. Frederick Jackson Turner's Theory In 1890, the Superintendent of the Census announced that there was no longer a frontier line in the United States. The country had expanded from coast to coast, and with the exception of small pockets of territory, there was no more free land for this country to occupy. This announcement was central to Frederick Jackson Turner's collection of essays, The Frontier in American History. [...]

[...] Their farms were largely, but not entirely, self-sufficient. The final wave consisted of people with equal or greater enterprise than those who preceded them and abundant stocks of capital. They created and took advantage of rising property values. Their farms were intended to be almost entirely market-oriented, and they built semi-rural communities, which brought people high standards of living. The frontier is the meeting point between savagery and civilization. As more and more settlers penetrated the wilderness, many became farmers as well as hunters. [...]

[...] Shaping a New Economy The advance of the frontier has meant a steady movement away from the influence of Europe, a steady growth of independence and a determinant change in terms of economy. For nearly 150 years before independence, the Appalachian mountain range had been the American frontier, separating civilization from wilderness. However, when North America gained independence and became the United States, people began to move more freely across the frontiers, into the unknown. The land belonged to them, and they were free to explore it however deeply they chose claiming at will what land they saw. As has been indicated earlier, the frontier is productive of individualism. [...]