When Was the American Frontier Era?

I got into an interesting discussion with a gentleman the other day about what exactly is the American Frontier and how people have very strong opinions about dates reflecting times of the frontier. We were sitting at the Bucket of Blood saloon in Virginia City, which is what led to our little talk. For many in the great plains and east, talk of the frontier is about 1870s, ‘80s, and ‘90s while in the far west, frontier times were well before that.

While California was still a Spanish territory, many Americans moved into the territory. That was in the 1830s and ‘40s. It was the fur trade that opened Oregon and Washington lands to development by way of families moving in. While wars with Indians in the plains were raging, San Francisco was a cosmopolitan city of wealth and style. Virginia City was filled with banks, large stately hotels, a railroad, and a stock exchange with direct connection to San Francisco in the early 1860s.

Magnificent land and vital business opportunity initially led people into the far west and then the discovery of vast amounts of gold and silver brought the multitudes. The frontier of the far west was considerably different from the frontier of the Great Plains and separated by decades. There is of course another frontier era that must be included in a discussion like this and that is the Texas era, which would probably begin with the founding of New Orleans and the Mexican government welcoming American immigrants.

Agricultural opportunity brought them in and they flourished, which of course led to the trailing of cattle north and the building of towns and cities on the railroads that were building. Thus that frontier era. I think it would be safe to say there is no one great American frontier nor is there one specific time of that frontier. The great southwest, the far west, and the Great Plains expansions all took place at different times, separated by decades. The causes of expansion are considerably different as well.

It would be safe to say that economics was the leading cause, but those economic factors would be different. Mining, agriculture, cattle ranching, and railroads were the major economic drivers of the American frontier. All of that can probably relate back to the fur trade, which had its origins at the very beginning of the settlement of the New World. Fur was the economic driver along with opportunity to own land that moved men and women into the west originally.

Some made the big jump, in sailing ships around the horn and into California, while others came across the vast continent in prairie schooners on the Donner Trail or the Oregon Trail. Along the way, some settled in various areas that answered their questions of where and how to live.

The American Frontier started when the first colonizer, way back sometime in the 1600s moved his family a little farther inland and it didn’t stop until there were American cities and towns spread from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Until next time, read good books and stay regular

 Johnny Gunn
www.amazon.com/author/gunnjohnny
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Is It Fake or What?

Being the older guy I am, I was considered passed middle age when computers arrived, I have always felt more comfortable getting my news from the professional media, newspapers, radio, and television. Having worked in broadcast and print newsrooms, I feel that I’m getting as close to the truth as it is possible to get. But there is a “but” to that statement. I know the difference between a news article and an opinion or analysis article. According to what I’m seeing today, there are many people who don’t understand those words.

Most news outlets try to make it clear when something is straight news and when it is opinion. Television outlets aren’t always that clear on the matter but an astute observer should be able to tell the difference. An opinion piece is just that, someone’s personal opinion or observation of a subject. It is not a news story, so it should never be considered fake news. It’s an opinion.

In a poli-sci course I took years ago, it was demonstrated how propaganda works. Fake news is propaganda. An article about a world cup event, may have been skiing or something, Russia’s Pravda news outlet said, “Russia placed third behind France.” Certainly doesn’t look fake or anything like that does it? What isn’t said is as important sometimes as what is said. The New York Times that day reported, “U.S athletes took top honors with France a distant second, and Russia tied with seven other countries for third.”

What Pravda reported was the partial truth that it intended for Russian citizens to read. That’s government control of the press. If one gets information from sources other than professional journalists, one must be astute enough to read through where and how the articles came to be. If one is satisfied with getting information from just one source, how would one know?

If you hear something over and over from a single source, eventually you will probably begin to believe it. However, if that source is the only one saying this something, and you also read from many other sources, you are probably not going to believe whatever that something might be. This, I’m afraid is what’s happening with too many people, particularly those with a lesser education or intellect. Getting most of your knowledge from a single non-professional source is going to limit what you really know.

This idea of a “social media” sounds good but it’s nonsense because no one is responsible. A social media outlet sells advertising space to a foreign country that wants to intrude on our election process and no one is responsible for vetting the advertising. Joe Blowhard says something like, “I heard, and it has to be the truth, that …” No one has any idea if what he heard is the truth or if he even actually heard it.

Unfortunately we elect our less than leaders based on “someone said …” instead of taking the time to gather information from many sources. Sure I read the New York Times. I also read Fox News on the Internet, along with the Washington Post, BBC news, Reason Magazine, and the National Review online. I read the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times. Do I believe everything that’s printed in all those publications? Of course not because a lot of it is opinion, and listed as opinion. The editorial page of the New York Times is not a news page, it’s opinion. All that reading gives me a fairly broad picture of the day’s news from the left, right, up, and down, and I read opinion pieces from those outlets as well.

To scream daily that all the news outlets except the one you like the most are dealing in face news is not only foolish, but you’re playing into the hands of those who want you to believe in fake news. No matter the subject there is always more than one way to view the subject and if you really want to be informed you must look for the various views available.

That pretty much explains the concept of a free press also. Yes, your “social media” expert has every right to his or her opinion, but never let yourself believe that only that outlet can be right. Particularly if few if any of the professional outlets agree in some form. We are free to read whatever it is we choose and we are free to believe whatever it is we choose, but that doesn’t me we are always right. Get as many views of a subject as you can before making your decision on whether it is fake news or simply someone’s opinion.

Until next time, read good books and stay regular

Johnny Gunn

www.amazon.com/author/gunnjohnny

Will you join me on facebook from time to time?

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