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Jan 1, 1492
Native American Relationship to Environment
Although each Native American tribe had its own unique customs, often language, and way of life, most had a very prominent connection to their environment. They relied on their environment for practically everything, and for many it represented and sustained their way of life. -
Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
Relationship to Environment in America
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Oct 1, 1492
First Europeans in Americas
The first groups of Europeans in the Americas had varied relationships to their new environment. The Spanish generally saw the New World as a source of wealth which could be exploited for their own good, although not all the Spanish felt this way. The English saw the land similarly, except religious migrants, who wanted freedom. Often the environment proved a deadly force in their lives- harsh winters, food shortages, etc. -
American Revolution and Environment
After the American Revolution, the landscape of America came to represent freedom for many Americans. The wild and beautiful landscapes of America were seen with pride as distinctively American. -
Better Transportation
Better transportation, like the building of turpike roads and the steamboat allowed people more access to the wilder parts of the country. This strengthened the connection with the land. -
Romanticism
This movement in literature and art continued into the mid- 1800s. It shows a romanticizing of the wild in the American landscape. The sublime in nature was expressed in pieces like Leaves of Grass by Whitman, and in artwork from the Hudson River School. -
Jefferson and Farmers
Jefferson's vision of America included a society built upon independent farmers. This idea of the independent farmer was very tied to the land and to rural life. It was a reaction to the increasing size of cities. -
Lewis and Clark
The expedition of Lewis and Clark further piqued the interest of Easterns to the land in the West. There was a sense of extreme danger and adventure associated with the 'unexplored' Western portion of the country. -
Indian Removal
Under Jackson's presidency, thousands of Native Americans from many different tribes were relocated to reservations to allow for the western expansion of whites. The land that the Indians lived on had potential as farmland, and was therfore very valuable to whites. -
Pastoral Life as Utopia
As cities grew, people longed for the wild America that lay to the West. There was an idea that pastoral life could be a utopia. This prompted many families to move to the West as settlers. They sought a perfect life connected with the landscape. -
Idea of Frontier
The West was often Romanticized in art and literature. The frontier represented a Utopia for many Easterners. They felt that it was a place of opportunity that would always be present in American life. When this frontier was gone, after it had been more or less settled, there was an increase in ideas like Imperialism, and a need to expand. People felt lost without an area of land waiting to be discovered.
