Throughout history, traveling both domestically and internationally has been a major aspect of American life. Whether traveling for work, vacation, or even just leisure, Americans have always been on the move. Although, from Arthur C. Brooks article, “How to Get Americans Moving Again,” it is evident that times are changing. In “How to Get Americans Moving Again,” Brooks portrays an America that has had an immense percentage decrease in the amount of Americans that domestically move between states. This decrease is due to a traveling environment that has left a vast amount of fear and uncertainty in the hearts of travelers, which has caused them to stay home. Considering the current circumstances that Americans are traveling in, which includes …show more content…
In his article “Why We Travel,” Paul Theroux talks about how short term travelers, which are people who are traveling for short periods of time, experience the same type of fear that long term travelers and movers encounter. Theroux states, “Throughout history the traveler has been forced to recognize the fact that leaving home means a loss of innocence, encountering uncertainty” (Theroux). For the longest time, in America it was thought that this loss of innocence and encounter with uncertainty was all a part of the experience, and that the risk was well worth the reward. But that theory has long been thrown out the window according to Arthur Brooks, because in his article “How to Get Americans Moving Again,” he writes about an America that is unmoving, and unwilling to travel, partially due to these …show more content…
Whether they traveled for economic reasons, technological reasons, or even social reasons, Americans moved regardless of the conditions. Moving was a vital aspect of American life, almost everyone did it, and almost everyone needed to do it. Although today in America, it is the complete opposite. Today, people still need to move, although they are just not doing it. This is evident in “How to Get Americans Moving Again,” when Brooks writes, “Curiously, some of the Americans who would seem poised to gain the most from moving appear to be among the most stuck” (Brooks). Also, it is not like Americans aren’t moving because there isn’t better opportunity elsewhere. There are just as many reasons to move today as there were during the seventeen hundreds, if not more! Brooks states, “We might expect movement from a high-unemployment state like Mississippi (unemployment rate: 6.3 percent) to low unemployment states like New Hampshire (2.6 percent) or North Dakota (3.1 percent). Instead Mississippians are even less likely to migrate out of the state today than they were before the Great Recession hit”
Could you imagine traveling the United States in just your specially made camper and the only company you have is your pet? John Steinbeck, the author of "Travels with Charley" wrote about his 1960's road trip about visiting multiple states. "What are Americans like today?"; that was the question that started his journey. His travels began in Long Island, New York, then he followed the outer border of the United States; from Maine to the Northwest. After he traveled to the Pacific Northwest, he went to Salinas Valley in California then across Texas, and through the Deep South. Finally after that 10,000 mile journey, he made is back safe and sound to New York.This rough and long trip included: meeting new people, exploring, and visiting different states.
But unlike the 1800’s, our population has become more mobile. A “Yankee” from the North can live, and prosper, in the Deep South. On the same token, a “Southern Bell” can move to New York City and make it big on Broadway. We are much more intertwined and that may be the anchor that is holding us together, today.
After the end of World War II, the United States went through many changes. Most of the changes were for the better, but some had an adverse effect on certain population centers. Many programs, agencies and policies were created to transform American society and government. One of the greatest transformations to American society was the mass migration of families from the inner cities to the suburbs. This was thought to make for a better quality of life and a stronger nuclear family.
America is epitomized by the world to be the incarnation of “the land of opportunity.” As such, America is a magnet for all those ambitious enough to travel to a foreign country and start their lives anew. Al Capone, who was a first generation American, asserts that the American society allows anyone, re...
1.5 million African Americans left Southern areas for Northern cities from 1910 to 1940. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 1) Then from 1940 to 1950 another 1.5 million African Americans left the South, and moved to Northern cities. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 1) Soon after by 1970 there were more than 5 million African Americans in the North. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2) The global structure and states being of the United States underwent a huge geographical change, but what was surprisingly significant during this time after the end of World War II, was their change in destination. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 2) Every 1 in 7 Southerner went from going South to North, from South to North or Western states, immediately afterwards. (Faculty.washington.edu, pg. 1)
Before World War I, the nation’s cities were primarily industrial. During and after World War I, there was a demand for workers that stimulated an influx through northward migration of hundreds of thousands of southern blacks into ...
It’s fair to say that life on the road is something most people do not desire, as a way to live out their days; but a young man named Chris McCandless believed it was necessary to avoid the venomous grips of society. McCandless goes as far as to venture out to the rest of the United States and even crossing borders to achieve his true destination, Alaska. He shows us living such a life can hold many unique and wonderful experiences. Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the
Americans began to mass migrate in order to seek for a better opportunity in regards to work. Areas like the Great Plains, New England and New York lost a lot of their population. Thousands were caught hitching rides on trains; most went without any
Over-production in rural areas due to these new production technologies meant many left for big cities in hope of a new life. This sweeping shift in American life, although disrupting the centuries-old ways of many communities, was presenting opportunities rich with hope for many people. Individuals who had traditionally struggled to earn enough to live on as farmers were now able to learn a vast array of trades and move into developing cities such as New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Americans, however, were not the only people banking on this prospect of the urbanized and prosperous American Dream. From far corners of the world, as far as China and Europe, floods of immigrants in hopes of improving their peasant lives from back in their old country. The American workforce was forever changed between the years of 1875 and 1910. Old and new immigrants more times than not faced intense friction and squabbles, and in a sense fought to re-define what it meant to be an American. Old world ideologies about identity, religion, and politics were to gradually give way to a new and encompassing national identity of American pluralism. They came seeking liberation from the stifling class systems and monarchies of the old world, as peasants and small craftsmen, they could never even hope to own their land let alone make a decent living for themselves. These
For many, America has becoming a refuge for immigrants fleeing social, political, or economic struggles. Countries that are incapable of providing their citizens with the means necessary to fulfill a stable life tend to flee toward America. Today, the nation acts almost as a dumping ground for foreigners. As well, many locations in the United States have become ghost towns, whereas major cities are becoming overpopulated. People are migrating into areas where they see future economic opportunity. In looking at this, a great comparison can be seen between the population boom of the Market Revolution and the population of today's nation.
... and many residents are even relocating to other states in hopes of acquiring their American Dream.
Wilcox, Walter F. 1929. “Migrations According to International Statistics: Continental Migrations.” National Bureau of Economic Research I:219-227.
During the 1970’s, many people moved from the Northeast and Northern Midwest to the Southwest, where there were lower taxes to be paid and defense industries to work in. The scope of this migration is best exemplified by the population loss in the states located in the rust belt. The states which lost the most people averaged at losing 482,750 people from 1970-1981, nearly half a million people. In contrast, the states which had the largest population gains averaged at a population gain of almost 800,000 people. The difference in averages is due to the number of immigrants who migrated to the sunbelt for the reasons stated
For us today, travel is a matter of hopping on to an express bus or an aeroplane, depending on the distances involved. London is only a few hours away and the moon is not unreachable. In the days of my parents’ youth, travel was a great event. Most people never moved more than fifty miles from their place of birth all their lives. So only a few adventurous people bother to travel at all. Even for these few, elaborate preparations were needed for the months of
Personally, although vigilant about my safety and society both at home and aboard, I feel as if travelling despite that is a way of reclaiming and reiterating my right to exist and take up space. I have always been fiercely independent, and was raised to be a strong, independent woman by many like that in my family. My aunt, in fact, did a round the world solo trip before the age of 23. Hearing the stories of her journey, knowing that it was possible to escape the routine of home and experience something new, always inspired me. Research has shown the five key motivators for solo travel to be: experiencing new places, escape from “reality”, relaxation, social opportunities, and increased self-esteem (Chiang, 2006). These are all things that I strongly value, in and outside of my desire to travel, that have been shaped by my surroundings growing