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Theme Of West From Appomattox: The Reconstruction Of America After The Civil War

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From the title, “West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War” we are met with the deals of conceptive reconstruction during the time after the Civil War. A time in which the country formed ideals of citizenship and the role of the government. The title is devoted to the theme of Heather Cox Richardson’s illustration of Western influence on this period of reconstruction post-Civil War. This view of post-war reconstruction is formatted in a timeline to include many of the political debates of the late nineteenth century. She shows an effective examination of how the post-war reconstruction, has produced a modern day construction that sits behind concepts of individualism, the middle class, and governmental influence. …show more content…

She states, “How did nineteenth century Americans justify the expansion of government activism and still retain their wholehearted belief in individualism” (Cox Richardson, H. 2007, p. 4). Cox Richardson’s incudes the West in this reconstruction, claiming descriptive Western encouragement as a major influence on middle class description, and the distinct political boundaries that formed around the role the government should play in public …show more content…

A similar understanding from romanticized Western thought. Cox Richardson uses the West as a marker for this class distinction because of its association to individualism. A thought expanded with testimony from known American folk heroes such as Buffalo Bill, John Henry, Mark Twain, among others. The association between the middle class and the concept of individualism is a common occurrence within the book. “The West where individuals lived in a world unfettered by government or special interests, and where on could live as God had intended” (Cox Richardson, H. 2007, p. 120). the image of the West became embedded with the sought after individualistic and independent American in a turmoil post-war

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