The American west is the perhaps the youngest region of the United States and to some people it may seem the least developed in terms of American practices and ideals. Upon further examination of the region, though, one will learn that the West is in fact the most American part of America for several reasons. To begin with it is the furthest removed from old-world, particularly western European influences. This trait is a good measuring stick for a region's level of Americanism.
The next signal that the West is the most American part of America is the high level of heterogeneity in that region, higher than in any other part of the country and even in any other part of the world. Being a heterogeneous melting pot of different types of people with different beliefs, practices, ideas and backgrounds is a very American characteristic. The last reason that points to the West being the most American part of America is that the West when it was founded and traditionally since then has been a land of plenty and opportunity for all people, more so than any other part of the U.S.
The foundation of the United States was based on a separation from the old world. Before the U.S. fought its' war for independence the entire western continent was considered European based on the fact that it was colonized by Europeans. But after almost two centuries the people of the colonies that belonged to Britain had changed so much that they considered themselves something else: Americans, and they fought a war to prove it. The metamorphosis that the colonists had gone through did not just stop when independence was gained however. As settlers spread westward they continued to change and become even further removed from old world ways. The further West, the further removed. The further removed, the more American. This is one sense in which the West can be considered the most American part of America.
The next aspect in which the West is considered the most American part of America is the West's high level of heterogeneity. By this I mean the West is populated by a vast array of different peoples. In nations other than the U.S. populations are usually made up of similar people. The U.S. on the other hand is made up different groups of people. This is most apparent in the West. Many different groups came to the West and helped shape it. There were Blacks, Asians, Whites of many descents, including those who had settled the East earlier on, and recently arrived immigrants from diverse regions Europe, Native Americans, and Latin Americans, as well as others. Such diverse groups were not seen in the East until much more recently. Also the mixing of these groups when settling occurred caused the region to develop in a different way from the East.
Ideas of equality for women and among races, as well as freedom of religion were more common in the West. Such ideas are considered very American and this leads one to believe that the West in this way more American than any other part of America.
The last characteristic that makes the West the most American part of America is that the West was when it was settled and has been a land of opportunity and plenty for all people, more so than any other region in the U.S. When people first came West it was to seek opportunities to make a living. They realized such opportunities were more readily available in the West than any place else. This was because the West was filled with natural resources and available land.
The foundation of America was on similar principles, but they were to a greater extent and much more recently in the West. Even today we can see the natural bounty that made the West great. In places such as Oregon and California the fertile earth produces a huge portion of the country's agricultural products. In places such as Montana and Nevada minerals and other natural resources are extremely plentiful. This level of bounty is another aspect that makes the West the most American part of America.
