Western Culture

Western culture in the U.S. developed over centuries. The West is considered to be more than half the United States starting at the Mississippi River. The culture was influenced by many contributing factors.

The surge west began around the 1840s due to migrants looking to settle where the land was plenty. This surge was termed the Oregon Trail. Then, word broke out about gold in California, so there was another surge called the California Gold Rush of 1849. A consequence of the push of migrants from the east, these newcomers were taking Native Americans land as they migrated west. To this day, there are many Native American reservations throughout the west, which adds to the cultural influence of the region.

The southern states that border Mexico, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, have a lot of Mexican Americans who have migrated during the time when these areas were under Spanish occupation. As a result, these areas have a strong Hispanic cultural influence.

The states that border the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington, have a lot of Asian Americans. This is due to the fact that the Gold Rush and the building of the transcontinental railroad attracted them to the West. There are a vast amount of Asian Americans still living in these states.

Because of the open ranges of the territories in the west, ranching became a big industry, drawing men looking for work. These men were called cowboys, and they greatly influenced the culture of the west. Single men sought to have fun when they were off duty. Saloons where there was drinking and gambling drew them like flies to honey. Things had a tendency to get out of hand, and there would be times when bullets would fly. Lawlessness was more rampant in early Western culture because lawmen were fewer and far between.

All these factors contributed to the western culture of today. It is a vast and diverse culture because of the many different ethnic contributors. But, as a result, those who live in the west are more tolerant of ethnic differences than those in the east.