The west in the United States
The west in the United States covers a large area and includes Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, California, and Wyoming. The railroads’ construction gave access to the West, opening up vast areas of the zone for occupation and economic growth after the civil war. During the late periods of the 19th Century, the cowboy was the symbol for western America. The cowboy image portrayed a glorious white cowboy and was thought to live a luxurious lifestyle. However, the initial cowboys had a decent Spanish and introduced cattle farming to Mexico. Besides, the cowboy way of life involved long hours of labor, poverty, and poor living conditions. Traditionally, the West was viewed as a frontier presenting the point of intersection between civilization and barbarity. New historians, however, consider the west as a meeting of cultures with various groups fighting for property and economic gains.
In 1848, much of the west went into the famous goal rush after discovering gold in California. This led to massive population inflows as prospectors migrated to the state. Back then, the perception of easy riches and opulent lifestyles was the reason behind the massive migrations to California. Through the homestead in the late 19th Century, 270,000,000 acres were transferred from the state to individuals encouraging to head west and venture into farming, ranching, and logging. Also, the railroad opened up trade between the west and the world market as it was possible to ship commodities such as meat and food crop to far off cities. Much of the employment was in farming and mining. Industrial innovation led to a shift from substantial to cash crop farming.
Furthermore, there are perceptions issues about the west that make it hard to entice companies from New York and Texas, such as higher costs of conducting business and the geography of the area. For instance, the larger parts of Eastern Mississippi are considered a cow raising region. The region has a very slow work pace compared to New York, which puts in 60-80 hours in a duration of one week. In Inaugural research conducted by the Colorado Economic office on executives and location selectors, various factors emerged that deterred growth in the region. Notable factors that limit economic growth include the high cost of conducting business, proximity to major towns, and high taxes in the region. Although the economy in Colorado is doing well, the perception is not selling in the West and East Coast regions. Therefore, perception about Western America limits the entry of companies from major cities like New York and Texas.
Interestingly, the population in the West has grown significantly, with Colorado and New Mexico registering growth at a higher pace than the national level. Colorado’s population grew higher than 500% from 2018 to 2016. Also, employment levels in the west have exceeded population growth rates providing more opportunities for women over the past 100 years. Notably, there has been a shift in labor from the traditional agriculture manufacturing and mining towards the largely service centered industries.