While the previous chapter demonstrated that the utopian idea of ‘the West’ had been part of the American imagination since its founding, the following chapter will discuss the historical and cultural factors that shaped the mythic West within the American context. As some of the basis elements of mythic West can be traced back to the expansionist process and how it was justified both rhetorically and ideologically, Westward Expansion is a central part of the discussion of what constitutes the mythic West. Although the process of expansion was both complex and multifaceted, the factual events are not particularly important in relation to the mythic West. Rather, it is how the process was expressed and imagined that influenced the West’s image.
…show more content…
al., A People and a Nation). While revolutionary politics and economic matters had prevented the America nation from exploring the West in the eighteenth century, the nation turned its attention to the issue of expansion after settling these affairs. After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French government in 1803, the nation’s size had more than doubled and the American people were encouraged to explore and settle the new land. The process of expansion and territorial acquisition continued for more than 100 years until the admittance of Arizona in 1912 and the American nation had by then grown by almost three and half times its own size prior to the Louisiana …show more content…
The West had in the initial phase of expansion been seen as the “Passage to India,” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) a gateway to the Pacific and the riches of the East. Although the primary objective was the opportunity to trade with Eastern countries, settling the West would also provide the American nation new resources and massive areas of land for agriculture. When the territories had been acquired they were explored by the “pathfinders of expansion” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) who became the second image of the West. They became the symbol of American freedom in the wilderness and their methods influenced popular attitudes towards the manner in which the West was to be settled. As these two images were “exhausted once the Pacific Coast [was] gained,” (Young, 153) the third and most enduring image of the West followed in the wake, the West as the “Garden of the World.” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) This image centered on the utopian belief in the West as an agricultural paradise and expressed what was believed to be the American future and destiny, assuring the nation “fecundity, growth [and] increase” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 123) both socially and
al., A People and a Nation). While revolutionary politics and economic matters had prevented the America nation from exploring the West in the eighteenth century, the nation turned its attention to the issue of expansion after settling these affairs. After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French government in 1803, the nation’s size had more than doubled and the American people were encouraged to explore and settle the new land. The process of expansion and territorial acquisition continued for more than 100 years until the admittance of Arizona in 1912 and the American nation had by then grown by almost three and half times its own size prior to the Louisiana …show more content…
The West had in the initial phase of expansion been seen as the “Passage to India,” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) a gateway to the Pacific and the riches of the East. Although the primary objective was the opportunity to trade with Eastern countries, settling the West would also provide the American nation new resources and massive areas of land for agriculture. When the territories had been acquired they were explored by the “pathfinders of expansion” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) who became the second image of the West. They became the symbol of American freedom in the wilderness and their methods influenced popular attitudes towards the manner in which the West was to be settled. As these two images were “exhausted once the Pacific Coast [was] gained,” (Young, 153) the third and most enduring image of the West followed in the wake, the West as the “Garden of the World.” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 12) This image centered on the utopian belief in the West as an agricultural paradise and expressed what was believed to be the American future and destiny, assuring the nation “fecundity, growth [and] increase” (H. Smith, Virgin Land 123) both socially and