1. Shames makes multiple connections between America’s frontier history and consumer behavior, or the attitude of most Americans that “More is better”. These connections quickly become obvious for, in order to have “more”, growing is required. First, America’s means of growth was land, particularly the unexplored land of the West. This abundance of land gave people opportunities to achieve better lives. Once all of that was taken when the frontier was claimed, Americans then turned to the economy as the new vehicle of growth during the twentieth century. And so, consumerism stemmed from this hunger for more. Americans equated having more goods and services to happier, fuller, and better lives. 2. I disagree with Shames’ opinion that the “More Factor” is unique to Americans. I believe that the entirety of mankind has the natural tendency to always want more, want something bigger and better. I also do not think that the concept of “more” is such a bad thing, while Shames shines a rather negative light of the American desire for more. Shames says that the hunger for more is detouring people …show more content…
The "parable of the Democracy of Goods", as described by Marchand, says that "the wonders of modern mass production and distribution enabled every person to enjoy the society's most significant pleasure, convenience, or benefit." In other words, anyone, even the lower and middle class, can enjoy the same products and experiences that the richest Americans enjoy every day. This was a tool that advertisers used to make their products appealing to all crowds, showing that anybody could relish in the same lifestyle as society's rich and famous. As persuasive evidence to support that parable, Marchand employs advertisements from the early 20th century. For example, the ad for the Cream of Wheat shows a wealthy family feeding their child Cream of Wheat for breakfast, something that is just as affordable for a lower class
In 1893, at the 400th anniversary of the appearance of Columbus in the Americas celebrated in Chicago , Frederick Jackson Turner presented an academic paper entitled, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” In this essay, Turner proposes that, “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development.” The group dynamic that Turner champions is the farmer. More directly it is white, male farmers. While the expansion of the west by white male farmers was a factor in the development of America, it is not the only explanation for this progression. Turner fails to incorporate all of the demographics present during this expansion which were essential to the evolution of America.
There are many factors that made the West, from government, politics, wars, climate and geography. So why are all these factors matter, because when the people wanted to expand their settlements they have to deal with the consequences that they have to risk. Each part of this paper will give you history of each individual era from the expansion of the West, Civil War and the reconstruction of the nation, Home on the Ranch, and rise of the industrial America
Advertisements are an extremely prominent part of American society. Very few places exist that an individual can go without being exposed to some form of ad. From product placement to billboards, advertisements exist in nearly every facet of life. Marion Nestle discusses what she considers to be one of the more heinous forms of advertisement in her essay, “The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate.” Nestle uses several persuasive techniques to convince her audience of the evils of supermarkets. Her use of emotionally charged phrases paired with her more logical assertions help to drive her point home while her clear bias and lack of supportive source detract from her overall argument
History is like a die. It can have a small or large number of sides, but it can never have just one. Regarding the United States Westward Expansion in the Post-Civil War era, there were many sides to be taken into account, including (but not limited to) the Apache Indians, the US Government workers and soldiers, the American Elite, journalists, and scholars. How historians and others perceive this era is dependent on the primary sources available. By looking at sources such as Apache Chief Geronimo’s Story of His Life, Harvard Educated Ranch Manager Richard Trimble’s Letters to his Mother, and Financial Editor H.D. Lloyd’s “Story of a Great Monopoly”, one can unearth little nuggets of information that help determine how the process of incorporation affected large and diverse groups of people.
In Jib Fowles article, “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”, he shows us fifteen ways commercials try to appeal to people around our country. The need for sex, need for affiliation, the need to nurture, need to aggress, need to achieve, need to dominate, need for prominence, need for attention, need for autonomy, need to escape, need for aesthetic sensations, need to satisfy curiosity, and physiological needs. These needs are all how companies appeal to our needs to interest us into buying their product. These appeals can be seen in almost every
One of the most famous arguments made in the world of environmental history was sparked by Frederick Jackson Turner in his essay, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. In his essay that came to be known as the Frontier/ Turner Thesis, he claimed that modern American culture and innovations had been developed by the growth of America into the western frontier. The migration of Americans to the western frontier originated through their desire for adventure as well as fertile and cheap land that was open for the taking. The frontier promised possibilities of expanding new markets in an unclaimed portion of the country. There are, however, several critics of the thesis, such as George Pierson, who disagree with Turner as to the
The two short stories, Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dhal and Harrison Burgeron by Kurt Vonnegut are written with varying purposes. Lamb to the Slaughter was written to portray the theme of betrayal, and the power that the pain holds in the mind of the victim. Harrison Burgeron was written to depict the futuristic society in which the story is set. Both authors use different contexts and forms of writing to ultimately portray the main themes of their story.
The Frontier Thesis may play a heavy part in U.S. history, but there are implications for truly understanding the outlines of this thesis. Fredrick Jackson Tuner during a great meeting of American Historical Association on July 12th, 1893 in Chicago, a paper named “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” This paper introduced an innovative way of astonishment to understanding the construction of America. Turner envisioned that the history of America was not focused one the prominence of the Frontier and the America established many trades and accomplishments from this voyage. Such as Tuner laid out the foundation of his thesis, he also didn’t account for the flaws that were overlooked from his discernment of the Frontier. (Tuner, pg. 1-9)
Concussions are a problem. They are life-altering injuries, and have been around much longerthan people have been aware of them. Since the beginnings of the game of football, there have been
history focuses on the conquest of new land through westward expansion and global imperialism. Starting with the roots of frontier and building up into a huge network of land and territory evokes a common and national goal among the American people during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Frontier and expansion of the great west allowed for the United States to gain power and work its way up to bigger and better: the world. With so much land to acquire and such a desire to conquer, the United States was able to build its coveted empire, but only with a certain cost. The damages and death brought about by westward expansion and imperialism greatly outweigh the benefits. The United States grew rapidly and was able to spread its culture like wildfire but the territories and nations that were to be civilized were damaged victims. Culture was destroyed and the United States’ reputation was tarnished during this time period. Growing discontent in the county continued to escalate throughout the twentieth century and our country wasn’t united and failed to share a national
Topic 1- The frontier had been tamed, great cities and businesses developed, and an overseas empire established, but not all citizens shared in the new wealth, prestige, and optimism.
Through the intricate foundation of America, one can argue it’s inability to reach satisfaction. Among the nation itself, there always seems to be a sense of hunger into wanting more and more than one can bear to have. It’s a way of life that citizens of America are used to approaching. They reasoned that not being completely satisfy is the key into building our lives around morals, standards, and expectations for the future generations. From a complex writer himself, John Steinbeck, approaches this unrealistic to perfectionistic idea that America finds itself having in his critical essay, “Paradox and Dream”.
According to the frontier thesis, all the resources on the frontier as well as its lack of an established socio-political structure provided opportunities for the settlers. They could now pursue their dreams “of limitless wealth and self-betterment.”[6] Cheap or free land meant more opportunities for the self-made man, and provided a ‘safety valve’ for the ‘newcomers’:
Additionally, because of America’s “errand,” there was a cultural and physical transformation of the natural terrain. Land clearing, creation of railroads, cultivating of monocultures, and centralized capital all increased to promote the America’s economic prosperity. They did not want the land to go to waste.
Over the years, the idea of the western frontier of American history has been unjustly and falsely romanticized by the movie, novel, and television industries. People now believe the west to have been populated by gun-slinging cowboys wearing ten gallon hats who rode off on capricious, idealistic adventures. Not only is this perception of the west far from the truth, but no mention of the atrocities of Indian massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in