Manifest Destiny: The Axe And The Mill

The axe and the mill, though very different in their forms and purposes, were essential to the development of the railway system and the canal system because they helped accomplish the goal of manifest destiny. Manifest destiny is a doctrine that states that expansion of white settlement throughout the American continent is justifiable and inevitable. This doctrine was the driving factor that pushed for new technologies in the United States. These technologies were developed through evolutions of the previous technologies. Old technologies, the axe and the railroad, and relatively new technologies, the railroad and canals, have been influential in society, impacted the environment, and fulfilled the Manifest destiny through their ways of manipulating

The mills were seeds of change from the agrarian society to a more industrialized society because they helped boost the economy and provided more job offerings for people. The mills changed the focus from building communities, to developing and growing them. The shift from an agrarian society to an industrial society was met with some hesitance because there was a big difference between the two societies due to the new technologies, but this change was needed for improving life in a town. The mills required more people to work in them and brought more of the community together. The mills accomplished the ideals of manifest destiny by improving life in the towns and cities. Though there is a large gap between the two societies, these societies brought communities together and fostered a sense of American pride prior to the of the

The need for manifest destiny remained constant, but there was an increased need for efficiency, which led to the creation of and implantation of the railway system. The axe could clear the forest, but it could not tie the nation like the iron wires of the railroad system could. Thus, new technologies become more valued than the old technologies due to a change in needs. The mills introduced the concept of industrialization, and mass consumerism, to the United States and this was compounded through the railroad. The railroad could bring goods from the north to the south and from the east to the west. The railroad was highly valued because of how efficient it was at transporting people and goods across the country. However, as seen with the axe and the mills, the railroad lost its popularity due the needs of the American people changed; manifest destiny had been accomplished. The railroad was extremely popular and useful in the early 1860s, but today it is not held with high reverence. This is due to the increased popularity of cars and highways. The railroad became less meaningful to the American people because of focus of the American people had become individualism. Technologies go out of style, but they all have the same purpose. The technologies go out of style because the needs of the people and society