History of the American Frontier Research on the Western Development Model

Author: He Shunguo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: The purpose of this book is to explore the reasons for the rapid development of the West and its significance in American history by examining the "Westward Movement." Through this exploration, it emphasizes the principle that the freer farmers are, the less they are oppressed by the remnants of serfdom, the more secure their land becomes overall, and the more pronounced the differentiation among farmers, the faster the formation of the farm enterprise class, and the quicker the pace of capitalist development. Because the American West frontier, as a vast virgin land, was free from feudal remnants and constraints, settlers were able to develop and utilize its land in a purely capitalist manner, thereby establishing a distinctive economic model, or what is called the "Westward Development Model." The scope of this book primarily covers the frontier history before the U.S. government declared the "frontier" closed in 1890, though it occasionally extends beyond this range. Similarly, the term "West" used in this book refers to the historical "West" of the United States, encompassing the entire region west of the Appalachian Mountains, which was historically divided into the "Old West" and the "New West," rather than merely referring to the "Rocky Mountain region" and the "Pacific region."