based on the stories of the men and women who actually lived there. In her book, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, Limerick maintains that Westward expansion was not a romantic saga of cowboys and Indians, but instead was a gradual conquest based on economics and politics. In a sense, the West was not founded by rugged individualists, but rather by competition and profit. By interpreting the stories of those who lived through it, Limerick effectively argues that business shaped and continues to shape the American frontier. As Limerick contends, to understand Turners thesis one must merely stand in the East and look to the West, but to examine the true nature of the West one must examine the characters that make up its history (p 26).Limericks thesis hinges on the stories of various people that roughed it out on the frontier. Yet in reading her book, one must first note the dependence on secondary sources in obtaining the letters and testimonies of the people. She details many stories of persons seeking fortune and adventure. In these various accounts, Limerick highlights many key aspects that have come to define the West. The concept of injured innocence is introduced, reviewing the authentic sense of Western people being victims of nature or rich entrepreneurs (p 48). This concept helped to shape Westerners view of the federal government by using the bureaucracy as a scapegoat for the problems they encountered. Limerick identifies Western dissatisfaction with the government due to its handling of the Native Americans and Mexicans that populated the area as well, taking much time and resource away from whom the Westerners thought deserved it the most: themselves. Yet the Westerners relied on the government and regulation, resulting in them becoming contingent on the same government to which they ridiculed.Limerick fervently examines the importance of commerce and the role of government in the We...
