Examination of how the geographic expansion in the West had more costs than benefits and a comparison of this to the expansion of the East.
This paper discusses economic and geographic expansion during the Gilded Age and how it shaped America into what it is today. It also examines the issue of western expansion and the role it played, along with the annexing of the Native Americans of the land. Shows how the expansion on both sides brought with them stronger job markets.
“The economic and geographic expansion of the United States during the Gilded Age was one of the defining events that shaped the country into what it is today. By examining the geographic expansion in the west, analyzing its costs and benefits, and then looking at the economic expansion in the east and analyzing its costs and benefits, it can be seen that the cost of expansion outweighed any benefits which may have been accrued, and that the Progressive response, while a step in the right direction, was not enough. On a scale of one (cost) to ten (benefit), expansion can receive nothing higher than a four.”