The Pastoral Ideal in America

The pastoral ideal refers to the initial and continuing belief of Americans in the value of nature, pastoral settings, and the ability to find moral and spiritual strength in its value. When the first explorers arrived in the New World, they saw a lush land which could supply all human needs and natives who used but never abused their natural environment. America was, then, a paradise to those new settlers who farmed and built and raised livestock, and who became completely self-sufficient. This was the idyllic life they wished to preserve always. During the Revolutionary War, some of this early focus on husbandry was interrupted, as production of war materials became necessary. Following independence, the manufacturing experience pushed America into domestic production, which caused the growth of cities and towns that became centers of early manufacturing. The movement west, then, became the attempt to...