The Dream Of Moving West - 1083 Words

The topic that I choose was Manifest Destiny. It intrigued me the most because how the dream of moving west was bitter sweet. How tensions between Mexico and America arose and effects toward the civil war. Ever since The United States declared independence in 1776, we have strived to move further west and find new land and hopes of a better way of life. Moving west would not be easy due to substantial amounts of variables. Like territory that has already been claimed and Native Americans who have been pushed west. For now the United States has reached as far as Missouri and Tennessee, but the true thought of moving westward off the idea of Manifest Destiny was not until the 1820’s where expansionist started to publicize their thoughts of moving further west. The first concept of moving westward was trading with Mexico. Of course trading was not really encouraged by Mexico but states like New Mexico encouraged it and also created the Santa Fe trail . This trading also encouraged business like trappers who would trap animals with valuable fur. They were also known as ‘mountain men’. They would cross the Rockies to hunt for these animals. These mountain men would trade with Mexican residents that lived near the Nevada. One trapper known as Jeddian Smith had crossed the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada to California which would be later known as the California trail. It was named that because it would link the United States to the Pacific Coast. This trail also encouraged theShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream By James Madison1661 Words   |  7 Pageswe went out west because we were encouraged to go west, not that we had to.This represents the path we took to settle the west. We went out west first to get the gold and then we would build railroad and then cities would emerge. The American dream is always changing for different people in different times. The American dream during this time period was to get control of all the land out west and unite it. We would be settling the west for many years but it shows our American Dream in settlingRead MoreThe Leader of the People1495 Words   |  6 PagesPeople, a theme that is portrayed throughout the story is that of the contrast between dream and reality. In the story, Grandfather cannot come to grasp that his dreams of the West and moving across the plains are over and that reality has set in. Another story that contrasts dream and reality is Ambrose Pierces An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. In this story, Farquhar cannot tell the difference between dream and reality until the very last second, when he is hanged. The plot in each of the storiesRead MoreEssay on John Steinbeck’s The Leader of the People1466 Words   |  6 PagesPeople,† a theme that is portrayed throughout the story is that of the contrast between dream and reality. In the story, Grandfather cannot come to grasp that his dreams of the West and moving across the plains are over and that reality has set in. Another story that contrasts dream and reality is Ambrose Pierce’s â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.† In this story, Farquhar cannot tell the difference between dream and reality until the very last second, when he is hanged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plot in each ofRead MoreThe Emptiness of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Essay1130 Words   |  5 PagesGatsby’s sole purpose in life is to achieve the American Dream: to become a land owner, married to the love of his life, who live in comfort and abundance. However, he never gets everything he wants as his love for Daisy is not as fully reciprocated as he wishes it to be. His dream, and the one Nick pursues as well, are only dreams in the end. The culture of the time only gives empty fulfillment with no real substance. 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West III, leading Fitzgerald scholar and English literature profes sor at Pennsylvania State University, â€Å"[Gatsby] never seems to lose its modernity; it has that kind of staying power† (qtd. In USA Today). That’s one of the best parts about The Great GatsbyRead MoreEssay on With the setting of the sun1266 Words   |  6 PagesGatsby, Wilson, Tom and Daisy all move, or have the intention of moving. Not only does this movement seem to foreshadow events in the book, but it also seems to lead to the conclusion that society as a whole in the 1920s was rather unstable and was undergoing constant change. Not all the characters move in the same way, and this shows how different their backgrounds and lifestyles are. The main movement seems to be from west to east. 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With numerous themes and focuses, one of the most valuable is represented in the American Dream and how F. Scott Fitzgerald analyzes his idea of this concept. The American Dream is a concept centering on successes in many terms, such as wealth and social standing. These successes are achieved through hardRead More Teh Great Gadsby Essay859 Words   |  4 Pages The Great Gatsby is a novel that is about the rich people of the roaring twenties and in particularly about a man named Gatsby in search of the American dream. The story starts out with the narrator Nick Carraway moving from the west (Chicago) to a New York suburb called West Egg. His is trying to become a successful bond salesman. Just across the bay is where his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan live. But right next door is where the main character Jay Gatsby lives in a huge house