9-21-03

Frontier and the American Political Process

	By the opening of the twentieth century, the frontier, as most Americans had fondly remembered it, had closed. The ceaseless efforts of innumerable people had brought forth this melancholic change of atmosphere. Settlers, adventurers, law men, and cattle ranchers had all played a significant role in this metamorphosis. Numerous reforms were made to the political agenda of Washington. American colonization had begun to take place in areas like Central America, the Philippines, and the islands of the South Pacific. This desire for continual expansion came as a direct successor to Manifest Destiny and westward expansion. The Panama Canal, and the renowned charge of San Juan Hill are both examples of American triumph in the early twentieth century, however they are not where America finally found herself. In reality the global political arena is where the United States has finally expanded to its last great global frontier.
	In this now post World War Two era, the United States of America has been championed in her politics. Although as of late there is a great deal of fear among the weaker nations we continue to assert that we do not wish to become aggressive, but rather we express our wish for other nations to emulate our government and bring about prosperity of their own. Because of these political and economic models we are still the backbone of the global economy and the undisputed leader of global politics. We now live in a uni-polar world that does in fact revolve around the United States, as we are the only super-power left in existence. This leadership role has emboldened and shaped American policy makers to the point that we are on the brink of a new frontier. We have been fortunate, and therefore much of the world relies on the United States for aide, sustenance and what is more military support. During the last ten years America has stepped into foreign affairs more than ever before. In the early 1990’s, there was the First Gulf war and Somalia. In the late 1990’s there was the Kosovo crisis, and now I am proud to say that America is once more protecting peace by endeavoring to Liberia on a peace keeping mission.
	Now, one may ask how all of these consequences of recent history can be intertwined with the attributes of the old western frontier. There was a simpler form of ideals that existed in the mid-west that continues to thrive today, the idea of liberty a freedom from oppression, the idea of intercultural trade; as the white settlers had done with the Native Americans, the idea of Intercultural relations in which the western civilization can peacefully meet with the older eastern cultures, and finally the ability to expand. When I speak of expansion however I do not speak of actual land gains as it was in the old mid-west. I do speak rather of the expansion of our sphere of influence. With our sphere of influence continually expanding, American businesses and interests are fed as companies seek to establish international corporations.
	There is much more at stake on this frontier than money or expansion however. We have placed our singular ideal out before the world, the idea of the American dream, the longer that this dream, this liberal belief is set before other nations the more people are able to comprehend and retain its core values and beliefs. Many actors, national or merely individual, do not want exposure to the American dream because either it hinders their ability to control their masses. Fundamental Islamic militants do not wish for the Muslim world to fall under a liberal spell because it clashes with their principle interpretations of the Koran and they wish to return to life as it was five hundred years ago. Communist states cannot tolerate this doctrine because it also clashes with their ideology and negates their idea of absolutism. We often times think ourselves conservative in America, exactly the opposite is true even our form of conservatism is liberal to many cultures. I believe as Americans it is our sovereign duty to remain strong and continue to hold our standard before the world, until the dream of a universal democratic peace may be realized (Owen,87-125) 
	The United States should stand as a beacon of hope before the rest of the world, and address rather than repress international issues such as conflict, genocide, kleptocracy, and terrorism. As we address these issues a new transformation will take place. We as Americans will become more cultured, begin to interpret events globally, and finally we will continue to play a key role up until the next period of human history.









Owen, John M. “How Liberalism Produces the Democratic Peace.” International Security 19(Fall 1994) 87-125
Moser, Joice and Ann Watters. Creating America. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.