Western Expansion Essay -- United States History Historical Essays

The Westward Expansion Introduction The Westward Expansion has often been regarded as the central theme of American history, down to the end of the19th century and as the main factor in the shaping of American history. As Frederick Jackson Turner says, the greatest force or influence in shaping American democracy and society had been that there was so much free land in America and this profoundly affected American society. Motives After the revolution, the winning of independence opened up the Western country and was hence followed by a steady flow of settlers to the Mississippi valley. By 1840, 10 new western states had been added to the Federal union. The frontier line ran through Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas on the western side of the river. All parts of the valley except Wisconsin and Minnesota were well populated. Thus a whole new section had been colonized with lasting effects on the American institutions, ideals and ways of living. The far west was the land of high mountains, deserts, strange rock formations, br illiant colors and immense distance. Fur trade with Europe had now become a lucrative business and the fur traders became the pathfinders for the settlers. Migration was now possible by the discovery of paths over which ox-driven carts could be driven through seeking mountains and across the western desert. People wanted to move away from the overcrowded cities and this led to the migration into the uninhabited lands. Increased transportation like roads, railroads and canals and their construction created a demand for cheap labor making it easier for people to get jobs now, in contrast with the cities where there was unemployment. The pioneer movement for 70 years after the revolution roughly represented the form of 3 parallel streams, flowing westwards from New England, Virginia and South Carolina. The first pioneer groups tended to move directly westward. Thus the new Englanders migrated into western New York and along the shores of the great lakes, Virginians into Kentucky and th en into Missouri and the South Carolinians and Georgians into the gulf territories. Throughout the settlement of the Mississippi valley, most pioneers did not travel long distances and as a territory had been occupied, families would move into the adjacent one. There were boom periods of great activity, during which million acres of land were sold, alternated ... ...or wider opportunities. Even the safety valve theory has an element of truth when applied to ambitious young men of the professional class who had a better chance of making it big much quicker in the West than in the East. Without the open frontier, moreover, there would have been a much larger migration of young people from the farms to the cities; thus the frontier helped indirectly to check the exploitation of the working class by preventing it from expanding too rapidly. The Westward Expansion also weakened state and regional loyalties and promoted national unity due to its inherent mobility. Most westerners thought of themselves primarily as Americans, and wanted strong national government with broad powers for developing transportation and promoting the general welfare. The most significant feature of the Westward Expansion was that the pioneers took with them the essential institutions of their civilization. Thus we must look upon the Westward Expansion as one of the facto rs in the shaping of the American civilization but not the only one. AKSHARA PRADHAN Roll No. 385 Tute. Grp.- Tuesday, 1st Pd. Bibliography the history of the united states of america -H.B.Parkes

Federalist Paper #10 Analysis

Federalist Paper #10 Essay In perhaps the greatest installment of the federalist papers, James Madison describes how factions, which work against the interest of the public, can be controlled through a constitutional government. Factions are defined by Madison as groups of people that gather together to promote their own economic interests and political opinions (gradesaver. com). These factions often work against each other, and infringe upon the rights of others. Most people are concerned with the instability that rival factions can cause. State governments have done little to aid in the disbanding of factions.The situation is so dire that, people are disillusioned with all the politicians and blame the government for their problems (gradesaver. com). According to Madison, factions are inevitable. As long as people share a common belief, they will come together and fight for what they think is right. The reason most people formed factions in the eighteenth century, though, was the distribution of property. Even today, property is divided unequally. Men with more talent or ability tend to possess more land than those who were less gifted. Subsequently, there are many different kinds of property.Men have different wants or needs depending on the type of property they own. For example, the interests of a landowner might be different than that of a businessman (gradesaver. com). It is the governments’ job to manage the conflicting interests of property owners, and to regulate discrepancies between those with and without property. To Madison, there are only two ways to keep factions in check. Remove their causes, and control their effects (gradesaver. com). Unfortunately, the only real ways to manage factions are to either make everyone have the same opinion, or throw away liberty.Destroying liberty would be worse than, â€Å"the disease itself†, and making everyone have the same opinion would be as impossible as trying to tell an atheist there reall y is a god. Therefore, it is in the nature of man to create groups or factions. That’s why the government created a constitution that could handle the damage caused by factions. The fathers of the U. S. constitution established themselves as a representative government for a reason. Pure or direct democracies cannot possibly control conflicts between factions (gradesaver. com).The biggest factions will always dominate, and there would be no way to protect the weaker ones against an obnoxious individual or strong majority (gradesaver. com). Pure democracies cannot protect property rights, and have always been defined by the conflict they cause. Madison hopes that good men will be elected into office so that those who govern the country will be fair and honest. The opposite is possible though. Some Men are members of particularly large factions who have prejudices or evil motives, and could influence the people of the United States through intrigue or corruption.Although this c ould happen, it is very unlikely. The likelihood that qualified men will stay in office is higher because the country is big, and there will be more representatives chosen by a greater number of citizens. A representative government is needed in larger countries to protect against the rule of a mob (gradesaver. com). In conclusion, Madison presents these arguments because he believes that the majority of people will not listen the, â€Å"prophets of gloom† who say the new government won’t succeed. Because we feel pride in being Americans, we should cherish and support the idea of being a federalist.

Is The Best Method For Development Sustainable Development...

Introduction The main question to be addressed in this paper pertains to the notion that the best method for development is to set clear, measurable goals such as the Millennium Development Goals. In particular, I will first discuss the arguments supporting and questioning this assertion from a number of authors. I will then consider the question of whether or not this model should be replicated for the next generation of efforts, which are starting to become known as the Sustainable Development Goals. Overall, I will argue that, while it is true that there are benefits to setting clear, measurable targets in terms of engagement, there are significant costs associated with this model that must be considered, particularly going forward.†¦show more content†¦According to the 2014/2015 Global Monitoring Report released by The World Bank and the IMF, â€Å"Estimates for the developing world indicate that the targets for extreme poverty reduction (MDG 1.a), access to safe drinking water (MDG 7.c) and improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers (MDG 7.d) have been reached ahead of the 2015 deadline. The targets on gender equality in primary and secondary education and the incidence of malaria are projected to be met by 2015.† In their paper entitled â€Å"The Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015: Squaring the Circle,† Carin and Bates-Eamer argue that â€Å"purely aspirational goals are not enough. †¦ Indicators are critical to measure starting points and what needs to be done. People and organizations respond to the incentive embodied in the indicators that measure their performance.† In addition, the concept of clear, measurable targets was inherent in two out of the three strengths of the MDGs laid out by Jeffrey Sachs: first in his statement that â€Å"the MDGs were reasonably easy to state – eight simple goals that fitted well on one poster!† and secondly in his assessment that the MDGs â€Å"could be pursued through practical and specific measures adopted by governments, businesses, and civil societies worldwide.† Overall, these authors have all argued that the use of clear, measurable targets has contributed to the success and the longevity of the Mil lennium Development Goals by providing incentives and