During the 19th century the American economy grew rapidly. New inventions and capital investment led to the creation of new industries and led to economic growth. With the development of various modes of effective transportation the opportunities for new business ventures increased. However, conditions along the entire Atlantic coast stimulated migration to the newer regions. From New England, where the soil was incapable of producing high yields of agriculture produce, many people left their coastal farms and villages to take advantage of the rich interior land of the continent.
[...] As the old frontier developed and became more like Europe, the new frontier began and the country was reborn on a smaller scale. B. The Frontier in Modern Economy The American frontier contributed to today's American culture and affected greatly modern American economy. The difference in American institutions from those of any other nation is that American institutions have a way of adapting themselves to the growing, changing nation for which they were imposed. This is due to the fact that during the Frontier period, the United States developed ever more complex institutions to match its growth. [...]
[...] This mobility is inherited from the frontier days, in which moving west to settle the country held more than territorial significance: it expressed American's belief that their was an almost boundless land of freedom and opportunity, where it was possible to make a fresh start elsewhere. This mobility is also present in the American character which is forward- looking, energetic, optimistic. Americans take pride in living in society that is not static but the move”. This explains the dynamism of the American economy since mobility helps spread business and industry. [...]
[...] In the United States, the frontier demanded hard work, and the Protestant work ethic supported that demand. The strong emphasis placed on education, including technical and vocational education, also contributed to America's economic success. Likewise the willingness to experiment, to change and to invest in technology was significant in a land that had prided itself on being a new experiment in freedom. The migration consisted of three waves of settlers. First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their living. [...]
[...] The end of the frontier and its impact on modern american economy A. Frederick Jackson Turner's Theory In 1890, the Superintendent of the Census announced that there was no longer a frontier line in the United States. The country had expanded from coast to coast, and with the exception of small pockets of territory, there was no more free land for this country to occupy. This announcement was central to Frederick Jackson Turner's collection of essays, The Frontier in American History. [...]
[...] Shaping a New Economy The advance of the frontier has meant a steady movement away from the influence of Europe, a steady growth of independence and a determinant change in terms of economy. For nearly 150 years before independence, the Appalachian mountain range had been the American frontier, separating civilization from wilderness. However, when North America gained independence and became the United States, people began to move more freely across the frontiers, into the unknown. The land belonged to them, and they were free to explore it however deeply they chose claiming at will what land they saw. [...]
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