アメリカ西漸運動の社会史的考察

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Ever since Frederick Jackson Turner pointed out the significance of the frontier in American history, there have been few attempts to draw the line between the westward movement and the frontier. The pioneering on the frontier, however, was merely the spectacular cutting edge of the massive movement of American population westward. As indicated by George W. Pierson, those who participated in the frontier experience were a small fraction of the moving Americans. Moreover, considered as a form of population movement, the westward migration was only a part of demographic changes which took place in nineteenth century America. More people moved to other destinations than to frontiers: they moved from country to town, and from farm to factory. To put it differently, America in the nineteenth century was not only characterized by the westward expansion but by industrialization and urbanization of population. Why, then, do we still regard the frontier and the westward movement significant in American history? Is it merely a tribute to a past master whose works are now buried under the barrage of criticism? The significance of the frontier should be found in the fact that new communities were constantly founded on the edge of settlement, where the lack of a ready-made structure of law and order and the eminent danger made democracy a necessity. As people moved to further west, numerous homogenous communities based on democratic principle were produced. This process, from economic viewpoint, was nothing but the creation of homo genous market for standardized goods. Thus the westward movement provided the basic framework in which industrialization and urbanization took place in nineteenth century America.
社会経済史学会の論文
1976-01-20

アメリカ西漸運動の社会史的考察

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