The Industrialization of American West and its Impact to the East - Term Paper Example

Yet skeptics were proven wrong as this ‘wilderness’ gradually expanded and metamorphosed into a booming industrial sphere and provided a promise that would last a lifetime. True enough, wherever opportunity springs, people swarm. This catapulted the growth of population in the US West and prompted the creation of more industries in the area, affecting not only the other side of the country but also some parts of the world. Evidence The construction of the transportation systems that link the nation’s East to West saw the dawn of great migrations within neighboring states.

The Cumberland Road (1811) and the Erie Canal (1825) paved the way for people to explore far-flung areas in the West. This made people, especially those from the East who saw the level of opportunity in the area insufficient, realize that the vast land only waited for their attention and promised them an unspeakable prize. The California Gold Rush of 1849 “attracted people from all over the world to venture on the mining industry” (“The California Gold”). As time went by, however, gold deposits in California depleted, so expedient merchants immediately looked for other resources.

Some of them ventured into another business while others still believed in the promise of mining. The gold mines in Colorado (1858), South Carolina (1860) and Dakota (1874) rewarded the faith of numerous miners. Several of them explored other natural resources of the West such as coal, copper, ore, and iron. Then the quest for precious minerals began and struck the entire nation with awe and fervor. Decades ago before these, the invention of the cotton gin also revolutionized the industry of farming in the United States during that time.

Production of the crop increased and offered a competitive advantage for farmers. The area became a large-scale and respected supplier to the world. Not only that this yielded satisfactory income to workers and immense profits for businesspersons, but also contributed much in the revival of a feeble domestic economy. Accordingly, machines and tools were already invented to support industrial productions, especially in textiles and light metals that contributed to the export capability and competitiveness of the country.

Generally, the agriculture, mining and construction industries actively facilitated the boost into the economy of the US since this era. The Americans of the East, the West, the natives, and even the immigrants saw these as an amazing turn-of-events. This period of American history, according to the academic Frederick Jackson Turner speaks about the “virtue of discovery, the courageous determination to trail new paths and an objection to the dogma that because an institution or condition exists, so it must remain” (Turner 35).