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How Does The Sugar Creek Valley Affect The Economy

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Angela Mercado HISA137 Prof. Hackel 21 May 2015 Technologies Impact on The Economy of the Midwestern Frontier In John Mack Faragher’s 1986 historic work Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie, he examines the first generation of a Midwestern community; looking closely at those who settled in this small section of rural Illinois (Faragher xiii). Faragher specifically analyzes the development of the Sugar Creek Valley in the six decades before the American Civil War. In 1819, there was little to no settlements among the Sugar Creek area, however, as time passed and technology advanced, the socioeconomic position of the area changed. How settlers farmed their land and exported their products changed drastically and the Sugar Creek Valley became a hotspot for economical gain. With a surge in the economy, settlement in the Sugar Creek Valley experienced rapid growth. Faragher attempts to show that the Sugar Creek Valley, as a Midwestern …show more content…

In “Howling Wilderness” he deals with the physical landscape and the natives whom inhabited it, while also focusing on different aspects of native life; from hunting, sugar-making to tribal relations. In part two, “The Country of Plenty to Eat”, Faragher centers on the movement into the wilderness. Part three, “Lords of the Soil, Tenants of the Hearth”, concerns the advancement of agriculture and the role of women. Part four, “The Sugar Creek Community” focuses on the evolution of the rural community with an emphasis on agriculture and social mobility. And finally in Part five “All is Changed” Faragher analyzes the technological advancement in the arrival of the railroad and its effect on agriculture. Although each part of the book focuses on very specific aspects, they all come together to bring a better understanding of the Sugar Creek Valley and its changing

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