Nicholas WongMr. KaczorowskiMs. JeongRST 2423/30/22Week 3 Packback DiscussionRegarding the statement that Americans would have migrated westward to seek morespace or "elbow room" even if painters and writers had not romanticized western landscapes, Iagree with it. The Westward Expansion was unavoidable. However, I think the WestwardExpansion was brought about earlier than it was expected to happen by the painters and writerswho assisted in speeding up the expansion.While "simultaneously the nation's population grew from 4 million in 1790 to 17 millionin 1840" (Opie, 1988, page 115), the size of the United States grew twice by the LouisianaPurchase, according to the required reading for this week’s lesson. The ability to support agrowing population was provided to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase. Within 50years, the eastern part of the United States was not able to assist all the people due to thepopulation exceeding capacity. It was necessary to have a place to go for these people. All thesettlers were settling in the east, leaving the west as the sole place for expansion (McCall, 1976),as shown in the Schoolhouse Rock video.The horror of widespread epidemics and fires breaking out was another crucial issueleading to people moving out west. “The threat of fire constantly frightened city dwellers" (Opie,1988, page 127), as according to the required reading. All it took to make Americans movewestward and out of crowded cities was the anxiety of everything being destroyed by disease andfire.The painters and writers significantly shaped the view of Americans towards nature, eventhough they were not the only influences for westward expansion. Americans began to imaginenature and the wilderness as something easily tamed and useful instead of a frightening placepeople should be cautious of. To seek more space, Americans had to migrate westward,regardless of the painters and writers.Reply Post To Peiran Wang:Hi Peiran,I like your claim that Americans migrated westward due to searching for more freedomand land, which I agree with. I also think your argument regarding plenty of natural resources inthe west of America being an important factor causing migration is very strong. Americansfound more valuable crops and plants in the West, which could be used for means of agriculturaldevelopment, as Opie (1998) noted. However, arguing that Americans moved west to work hardfor human rights was a weaker argument in your post. Since human rights can be developed andprotected from anywhere across the United States (US), I don’t exactly agree with your argumentregarding this. By stating regardless of which part of the US that human rights are always one ofthe most essential things in the US and that Americans didn’t have to migrate west to work hardfor human rights, I could easily provide a counterargument. Overall, your post does do a prettygood job of addressing the question you came up with.Nicholas
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