The western development of the United States plays an important role in its modern economic development.

Reasons and characteristics of the successful development of the western region of the United States

Excerpted from 200 1. 1 History Learning Chen Renkun Hubei Anlu No.1 Middle School.

The western development movement in the United States began after the War of Independence and ended at the end of 19, which lasted for more than 100 years and probably went through four stages.

The first stage: from the end of 18 to the 1920s of 19, the United States bought Louisiana from France, and a large number of immigrants flocked to the west to open up Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, laying the foundation for the growing grain-producing areas in the central and western regions.

The second stage: 65438+In the 1920s and 1930s, developers opened up in the Great Lakes region, established the grain production and animal husbandry bases in the United States, and established cotton plantations in the plain area between southern Georgia and Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico in the south.

The third stage:1in the mid-9th century, the upsurge of developing the far west was set off, and Oregon and California were opened up;

The fourth stage: 30 years after the Civil War, the vast grassland area between Kansas City and Loki III was developed. The annual rainfall of this vast grassland is only about 20 inches, which is far from meeting the needs of normal agriculture. Therefore, in the past few generations, people have been migrating across the grassland to the west of the grassland. With the mainland immigration movement after the civil war, the prairie was finally covered by immigration tide. Through the hard work of immigrants, this area has become a famous pastoral and agricultural area in the United States.

There are many successful factors in the development of the western United States, which can be summarized as follows.

First, social and environmental factors. In the development process of 100 years, although American society experienced short-term civil war chaos, it was generally stable, creating a good social environment for the western development. During this period, the European continent experienced a life-and-death contest between capitalism and feudalism in the first half of the19th century. /kloc-in the second half of the 0/9th century, there was a fierce struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and capitalist countries were preparing to expand their troops for the benefit. Social unrest in Europe has made many people yearn for North America, which is called a capitalist paradise. There was no world war in the whole19th century, and even local wars hardly spread to the North American continent. The above two points have created a favorable international environment for the development of the western United States.

Second, policy factors. The United States has adopted the policy of "Americanization" to the newly expanded territory in the west. As early as the federal meeting, Congress put forward three laws and regulations on land in the west, and decided to establish a "territory" system in the west to sell public land to immigrants. These laws, especially the land law of 1785 and the northwest regulation of 1787, have promoted the development of the western region. In the 1960s, the Lincoln administration's homestead law made a decision to provide 160 acres of land for each settler free of charge, and widely publicized the Far West, which brought hope and fantasy to many people who had no land or little land. These laws and propaganda led to a large-scale immigration movement and further stimulated the development of the western region. In addition, the US government pays more attention to the improvement of transportation. From 65438 to 0825, the Erie Canal, which was mainly invested by the government to connect the Hudson River, the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, was opened to traffic, which made the pioneers in the northeast and central States give up or sell their land and immigrate to the western development. 1862, Congress decided to establish the United Pacific Railway Company and the Central Pacific Railway Company to build a transcontinental railway. After 30 years' efforts, the transcontinental traffic was finally opened, thus opening the door to victory in developing the far west.

Third, the hardships of the vast number of immigrants. After the independence of the United States, the British government's decree prohibiting immigration to the west was abolished, and many immigrants from the eastern coastal areas and Europe crossed the Appalachian mountains and flocked to the west. Among these immigrants, there are both slave owners in the south and land speculators in the north, but most of them are poor pioneers-hunters, miners, herders and farmers. They came to the west to make a fortune or make a living, which not only supplemented the labor force, but also brought some advanced ideas and technologies. They are the main factors for the successful development of the western region. They don't avoid difficulties and obstacles, start from scratch and stand on their own feet. Through their efforts, a modern western region is presented to the world. Fourth, the continuous improvement and innovation of production technology. When developing the western region, farmers widely used agricultural machinery. Since the invention of 183 1 year, various horse-drawn agricultural tools such as lawn mowers and threshers have come out one after another. Calcium fertilizer and crop rotation system have also been popularized. With the use of machinery, northwest agriculture had a prosperous era before the civil war. Chicago, a big city in the old west, has become the largest barn in the world. The 30 years after the Civil War were the period when the United States occupied and developed the prairie. The frontier people provided two technologies for the development of the prairie: first, they found a management model suitable for the natural environment-dry land agricultural farming method; Secondly, various agricultural machinery and tools that can overcome the natural obstacles in this area have been invented and improved. For example, the improvement of windmills has brought benefits to the extraction of livestock and irrigation water. Many plows, cultivators and various seeders were put into use from 65438 to 2009 in the mid-1970s. 1878 The baler invented accelerated the harvest of crops. In the 1990s, a farmer was able to sow, manage and harvest 65,438+035 acres of wheat. Before these inventions, he could only cultivate 7 acres at most. The popularization and application of the above two technologies have made great changes in the grassland.

The western development of the United States has the following characteristics.

First of all, it's very natural. Although the encouragement, propaganda and enlightened policies of the American government are a major reason for the development of the western region, on the whole, the development movement of the western region still belongs to a large-scale mass development movement spontaneously organized by individuals and non-governmental organizations. Immigrants from non-governmental organizations flooded into the western United States. In order to obtain and operate "free land", they spontaneously set up "New Reclamation Rights Protection Association" and other organizations. Under the pressure of pioneers in the west, Congress passed a series of laws and regulations, which promoted the possession and development of land in the west. The second is persistence and arduousness. For more than a century from the end of 18 to the end of 19, the vast number of immigrants continued to explore the western region without interruption. Even the economic crisis in the 1920s and the civil war in the early 1960s did not stop them from exploring the west. The task of western development is extremely arduous. Developers spend most of their time sleeping in the wild, and often face many dangers in the development process. It is reported that 89 Illinois pioneers organized by Donner Brothers crossed the 80-mile desert south of Nansha Pass and Great Salt Lake. When they finally arrived in California, there were only 43 people left.

Third, the western development and territorial expansion intersect. 1846 and 1865 were the periods when the United States conquered and developed the Far West. 1845 The annexation of Texas by the United States became the breakthrough of the whole expansion. 1846 in may, the us military officially went to war against Mexico. At the same time, American immigrants from California launched an uprising and declared their independence from Mexico. By the end of 1846, California fell into the hands of the United States, and the United States captured all the continents west of the Mississippi River. Just after the Mexican War, 1848, a gold mine was discovered in Saite Wood Factory in Sacramento, and the gold rush followed. In 1950s, the gold rush gradually subsided, and some gold prospectors turned to agriculture, thus laying the foundation for the establishment of agricultural areas in California.

Fourth, the collision between civilization and barbarism. The western development movement in the United States not only left brilliant achievements of immigrants' westward advancement, but also was full of the sins of the rulers' bloody slaughter and expulsion of Indians. For example, 1832, in Wisconsin and Illinois, Indians led by Black Hawk were mercilessly attacked by American vigilantes, and a large number of women and children were slaughtered. In the middle and late 1930s, almost all Indians living east of the Mississippi River were driven out of their homes under the escort of the army. However, when civilization and barbarism collide, civilization is the mainstream. On the road of western development, immigrants spread advanced, civilized and progressive ideas everywhere they go. Because of this, many famous agricultural areas, animal husbandry areas and industrial areas have appeared in the western land.

Although the development of the western part of the United States is a disaster for Indians and a kind of destruction to some ecological resources, such as the indiscriminate catching of beavers, which makes them almost extinct, this negative impact is secondary in modern American history. The western development movement has had a great and far-reaching positive impact on American society, which has brought about earth-shaking changes in the United States.

First of all, politically, it expanded the territory of the United States and consolidated the capitalist regime. The development of the western region has expanded all kinds of basic resources needed for industrial development, promoted economic development and provided a guarantee for consolidating political power. In addition, whether the newly opened land in the west is operated according to the production mode of the northern bourgeoisie or the production mode of the southern plantation has also become one of the reasons for the civil war. The result of the civil war further opened the way for the development of American capitalism and further consolidated the rule of capitalism.

Second, ideologically and culturally, the long and arduous development of the western region has sharpened the will of Americans, enhanced their democratic consciousness, and cultivated the American national spirit of self-reliance, courage to explore, forge ahead and be brave in pioneering. At the same time, the unique western culture has far-reaching influence and has become one of the world's cultural treasures.

Third, in the economic aspect: with the development of the western region, the United States has established a strong national economy and squeezed into the forest of world powers. With thousands of Qian Qian people moving to the west, the population center of the United States is gradually moving to the west. In the past, a large area of wasteland was reclaimed, and by 1900, millions of farms had been established in the west. In order to meet the needs of industrial production, a large number of minerals such as medium, iron, copper, tin, gold and silver have been mined. With the continuous improvement and development of transportation, western agriculture gradually commercialized in the middle of19th century. New industrial and commercial cities have mushroomed. In this process, the United States completed the transformation from commercial capitalism to industrial capitalism, and quickly moved toward modernization.