Frontier Cities Summary
Frontier Cities, Encounters at the Crossroads of Empire, In the book Frontier Cities, Encounters at the Crossroads of Empire, the authors debate the myriad ways in which cities, in the United States, and worldwide, functioned as crossroads of Empires. This book utilizes other sources, such as Richard C. Wade’s The Urban Frontier: The Rise of Western Cities, 1790–1830 (Urbana, 1959), to posit that cities were central to the formation of frontiers. The book also theorizes that frontier cities were the beginning of civilization, in an area, and not merely the end result.
The book focuses on cities like New Orleans, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Montreal to bolster this thesis. However, this book also clarifies that this development …show more content…
Matthew Klingler’s chapter in particular, is of great interest. In discussing the development of cities like Seattle and San Francisco, Klingle discusses the way in which the cities both grew, and decayed, simultaneously. Klingler states,” Allegory was impossible to sustain without creating its counterpoint of decline. Dominating nature and dominating people were thus reciprocal and concomitant parts of frontier evolution.” [] 2280 Klingler further discusses the marginalization minorities felt in Seattle as the city struggled to (deal) with growth. Excuses for the marginalization were wide and varied. For example, the Chinese had very little food to cook with and were left with items like seafood, which had a foul odor, leading to the idea that the Chinese were Unhygienic. 2280 These ideas of racial superiority often lead to a complete erasure of communities, leading to the development of so called, ghost …show more content…
First, the poor and minorities were pushed into low-lying areas, facing overcrowding and disease. Eventually, the overcrowding and disease led to more sanitation issues. Finally, the entire area was redeveloped again with sanitation and development projects, which forced the underprivileged people out. Essentially, Seattle is a true ghost city, built upon the former homes of the people who built the city. Seattle was not alone in this. San Francesco and Las Angeles faced similar fates. These cities bolster the cautionary tone of the later chapters in the book, and does prove the argument that the later frontier stories, were more cautionary tales, than blatant success
The book focuses on cities like New Orleans, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Montreal to bolster this thesis. However, this book also clarifies that this development …show more content…
Matthew Klingler’s chapter in particular, is of great interest. In discussing the development of cities like Seattle and San Francisco, Klingle discusses the way in which the cities both grew, and decayed, simultaneously. Klingler states,” Allegory was impossible to sustain without creating its counterpoint of decline. Dominating nature and dominating people were thus reciprocal and concomitant parts of frontier evolution.” [] 2280 Klingler further discusses the marginalization minorities felt in Seattle as the city struggled to (deal) with growth. Excuses for the marginalization were wide and varied. For example, the Chinese had very little food to cook with and were left with items like seafood, which had a foul odor, leading to the idea that the Chinese were Unhygienic. 2280 These ideas of racial superiority often lead to a complete erasure of communities, leading to the development of so called, ghost …show more content…
First, the poor and minorities were pushed into low-lying areas, facing overcrowding and disease. Eventually, the overcrowding and disease led to more sanitation issues. Finally, the entire area was redeveloped again with sanitation and development projects, which forced the underprivileged people out. Essentially, Seattle is a true ghost city, built upon the former homes of the people who built the city. Seattle was not alone in this. San Francesco and Las Angeles faced similar fates. These cities bolster the cautionary tone of the later chapters in the book, and does prove the argument that the later frontier stories, were more cautionary tales, than blatant success