American West, 1840's.?

Question

What did people in the 1840's view the American West as?

Answer 1

It depended on who you asked:

1. To missionaries it represented a field of souls waiting to be harvested and brought into the fold of Christianity
2. To religious groups (like the LDS [Mormon]) pioneers it represented a new life away from religious persecution
3. To the miners of 1848 and 1849 it represented new opportunity and "easy' money
4. To the railroad workers it represented a job opportunity that could possibly last a decade
5. For the draft dodgers or anti-war advocates it represented a place to hide out during the Mexican War and later the Civil War
6. To the farmer it represented cheap (or free) land under the terms of the Homestead Act of 1862.
7. To the rancher it represented vast expanses of land on which to raise their cattle or sheep

And there you have it

Answer 2

In the 1840's, the new 'americans' were a bit less 'nationality' ...and a little more self developmental... they were very often 'shipped' here for the convenience of another country, some were simply escaping the inefficiency's of various governmental influences, more so than trying purposefully to develop a country..[that was an incidental,not the motive per-say.].
History shows those individuals viewing the vastness of the Continent as 'potential'-'opportunity'-'possession'...the 'governmenting' of them became a process...and I'm not so sure 'that' has quite matured ..even yet.

The American 'west' actually began on the coast line in the 'east', and became an inundation of peoples, that reached the coast line on the farther est shores.
America was populated by immigrants, refugees, fortune-seekers, exported criminals, indentured abolitionists, adventurists, anarchists, political out-casts, religious variants, and just plain old curiosity ... the 1840's mentality's endured for nearly 200 hundred years...i think we are gonna miss it....I'm sure we are gonna have difficulty's adjusting to this 'new' view of our homeland, in this century.

Answer 3

Many people viewed the West as a wide-open Frontier, much as the mid-west had been viewed in the 1700's. It was believed to be full of hostile Indians and vast herds of buffalo.
Since many reports and art work of the area glorified and romanticised it, many people thought the mountains looked like the Alps, the water was plentiful and the woods dense and green, when in fact much of it was prairie grass and plains. There were huge areas with trees, but they were quickly cut down by the settlers to build their towns and prepare land for planting. Because the area was so large, it was believed that the resources were inexhaustible.
At the same time, the land was practically being given away, and many of those who moved West to take advantage of that found themselves in very difficult circumstances in a hostile environment. Not necessarily Indians, but weather, fires, tornadoes, drought, insects, lack of supplies and general unpreparedness. As people moved to the West Coast, they passed through the Great Plains and the Rockies, which were often overlooked as destinations because of the Gold Rush in California. Sometimes they had to stay wherever their equipment broke down and try to eke out a life, but more often they made their way, barefoot and carrying only the clothes on their backs. Some of these pioneers who had lost everything trying to get to the Golden West ended up becoming millionaires, and thus was born the myth that anyone could become wealthy if they went out West (especially to California).