st. The mere possibility of rewards spurned incredible population growth, creating a conflict with the native inhabitants of the frontier. Businesses such as land speculation and agriculture were intertwined with the growing appetite for land and profit. As Limerick states, the early development of the West depended on the exploitation of furs, farmland, timber, minerals, and federal money(p 82). The Westerners were dependent on these exploitations, challenging the notion of rugged individualism which has come to exemplify the miners and cowboys of Western lore. Limerick contends that the West was a project to exploit the resources available in the land, making entrepreneurial endeavors of extractive industries devices to supplement natures offerings(p 86). What resulted was a land filled with diverse ethnic groups all of which bound by the driving force of industry. This statement is backed by Limericks accounts of Mexican farmers, Native American chiefs, and Chinese railroad workers, all of whom became dependent on government aid and big business for their continued livelihood. In this modern perspective, Limerick argues that each group of Western settlers, rather Hispanic, Asian, Anglo, or Native American, had a role in creating and shaping the West united under the ambition for a better life.Limericks analysis of the West creates a new perspective of the frontier. By examining the tales of Westerners, she effectively goes to the heart of Western reality. Limericks book has increased my awareness as to the diversity of the West and its true atmosphere of boom and bust. It opened my eyes to the reality of the Wests dependency on the federal government and big business. The actual narratives of the miners, the cowboys, the Native Americans, and other characters of the Old West highlight this logical examination. Limerick successfully conveys to us that through the testaments of the Westerners, Americans can truly understan...
