How the west was won Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How the west was won - Essay Example Through foreign treaties, political sabotage, military conquest, and digging mines, and pulling in enormous migrations of foreigners, the United States expanded greatly from coast to coast. With time, the American frontier drifted into history, and the myths of the west firmly held to the imagination of Americans and foreigners alike. From this understanding, this paper will give a detailed analysis of How the West Was Won. The outer line of settlement moved steadily towards the west from the 1630s to the 1880s, with some movements from towards the north. The ‘west’ was always the area beyond that boundary. Thus, the Midwest and parts of the American south have a frontier history with the modern western states. Politicians prioritized the west during the colonial period (Leslie 73). In terms of expansion and settlement, the English, Dutch, and Spanish happened quite differently. The Dutch traded in the Hudson River valley, taking up tracts of land, but they did not push westward. In contrast, the Britons gave priority to individual land ownership among farmers (Otten 85). Some American politicians began to argue that the United States should absorb the whole of North America. Bills were introduced into the senate, in an attempt to allow granting of free land to reward those willing to travel and claim the Rocky Mountains. Other politicians were of the opinion that such legislation would trigger war with Britain, and the bill did not sail through (Addison 4). There were several reasons, which made people risk travelling to California and Oregon. Emigrants emphasized on the importance of leaving the swamps of Mississippi, which were infested with fever. Antonie Robidoux claimed that he had never witnessed any case of fever. Stories regarding the high quality crops and the possible yields after growing spread widely. Claims were thrive that the motives, which brought