The Empirical Study of Transitions in Power in America From 1774-1985 Essay Example

typically have larger populations and more developed urban areas compared to those with less power. They also tend to have a higher number of inventions and historically significant events during their respective core periods. In this context, "historically important events" refer to widely recognized events that significantly impact the current way of life. Examples include the invention of the wheel, cars, and the lightbulb, as well as major religious movements like the Protestant Reformation and the creation of religions such as Christianity and Judaism. Thus, changes in power cannot be separated from shifts in demographics, innovation, and historically significant events.

Using a scaled down version of Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems Theory, proposed in the 1970s, one can effectively analyze power trends in America. The World Systems Theory is a macro-scale analysis of social, political, and economic power (Wallerstein, 1993). It provides a large-scale sociological perspective that includes core nations, semi-peripheral nations, and peripheral nations, explaining the distribution and redistribution of economic, social, and political resources (Daniel, 1982), (Goldfrank, 2000). Core nations are defined as powerful industrial nations that dominate the global economic and political system according to the Sociology Dictionary (2013).

According to the Sociology Dictionary (2013), periphery nations are categorized as "poor nations that have limited industrialization and uneven distribution of urbanization." Wallerstein's research sheds light on social conflict based on materialistic factors, emphasizing the significance of adopting a broader perspective and recognizing the temporary nature of social forms and theories. Accumulation and competitive class struggles are identified as central elements, along with conflict and contradiction in a dialectical sense. Sorinel (2010), Daniel (1982), Wallerstein (1993), and Goldfrank (2000) have all highlighted these insights.

Wallerstein utilized World

Systems Analysis to comprehend the material causes of social conflict and their impact on power transitions, ultimately resulting in economic, political, and social disparities. By examining scaled-down boundaries focused on power dynamics over time, trends can be observed. When considering established state boundaries, geographic distribution, and comparative resource analysis dividing America based on available resources reveals three main regions: Eastern, Central, and Western.

The Eastern region encompasses Maine, New Hampshire Vermont New York Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Maryland West Virginia Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Kentucky Alabama Mississippi Tennessee.

The Central region comprises Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota,
South Dakota,
Nebraska,
Kansas,
Oklahoma and Texas. It also includes Ohio,
Indiana,
and Michigan. The Western region is made up of Washington,
Oregon
California
Idaho
Montana
Utah
Nevada
Arizona
Wyoming
Colorado and New Mexico. This study will be conducted from 1774 to 1985 with some statistics extended into the 2000s as necessary for the calculated year range. Power transitions are often associated with important historical events in their respective regions.

The overall significance of a given area increases as important events unfold. This is because global or national attention is heightened in such areas. For instance, in 1774, the transition of power from Western Europe to Eastern America took place. This was followed by the outbreak of violence in the Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord the next year. The Revolutionary War is widely acknowledged as the shift in power from Western Europe to the Eastern United States. Similarly, around 1894, the transition of power from Eastern America to Central America was determined.

Two years prior to that, Oil was first struck in Spindletop, Texas. This demonstrates the shift from Eastern to Western America as oil,

a highly sought-after resource, was discovered in Texas. This discovery increased the overall significance of Texas and attracted people to migrate westward towards the Central region. As a result, the population, political power, and innovation in the Central region grew. Another notable power shift occurred in America around 1985 when power transitioned from Central to Western America. In California the previous year, the Apple Macintosh Personal Computer was introduced. The introduction of this personal computer in California elevated the importance of Western America by providing an incentive for people to move west due to the advanced technology and job opportunities it offered. It also represents a transition of power in America, moving it from the central region to the western region.

The Western region experienced a population and innovation increase due to the release of new technology such as the first personal computer. This led to the founding of cutting-edge technology companies like google, yahoo, and ebay in the Western region, rather than the Central or Eastern region. This indicates that transitions in power are characterized by an elevated population, an increase in innovation, and a higher incidence of important historical events in the respective core region. Conversely, there is a relative decrease in historical events in each respective periphery or semi-periphery region during that time period.

Procedures and Data Analysis

To gather innovation statistics, blind websites, databases, and novels were used. This resulted in a random selection of inventions for study, amounting to approximately 276 (± 47) inventions per respective region. Each recorded invention included its time and place of origin. Inventions were then categorized based on the physical region they were associated with.

Each invention in every

region was then averaged by their year of invention. This does not mean that each individual town was once the center of power for a specific period of time, but rather it serves as a statistical average and is likely to represent the gathered data. Population statistics were obtained using United States Census data for the following decades: 1800, 1920, and 2010. The census data was collected using the highest year of invention range (1800, 1920, 2010) because the census started in 1790 (towards the upper end of the earliest year range, 1748-1800).

In order to maintain consistency and reduce confounding variables, it is necessary to use the high end of each year range. This ensures legitimacy of the data. However, for the experiment's convenience and unique ability to combine population analysis with average invention data, a brief and insignificant breach of the stipulated year range "Mesopotamia to the Cold War" was made. The years were rounded to the tens place and the associated census for each decade was used as representative data. Graphs, calculations such as standard deviations, and maps were created using Microsoft Excel, Social Explorer, and Google Maps.

The lack of available data prevented the use of GDP, unemployment rate, literacy rate, and life expectancy data. The analysis of this data requires surveys and algorithms that are either not applicable to different time periods or do not have enough information to be effective. The average year of invention per region serves as a self-checking system, confirming the calculated year range and author-made geographical divisions. It also supports the claim that power has shifted significantly from the Eastern American region to the Central American region

and finally to the Western American region during the time period of 1774-1985. Moreover, the association of these year ranges with important historical events in each core region highlights the shifts in power between author-made and invention-generated geographical boundaries, while also strengthening the generated year ranges.

Historically important events in America were determined by closely examining the impact of inventions, wars/revolutions, and discoveries on the country.

Results

By analyzing the population and innovative trends in America, as well as their connection to significant events, shifts in power can be identified. The first transfer of innovative power occurred from Western Europe to Eastern America in 1774. This power then shifted from Eastern America to Central America in 1894, and finally from Central America to Western America in 1985. The collected data on population trends also reveal distinct transitions of power over the years.

From 1800 to 1920 to 2010, a compiled list of the top 10 most populated cities in America highlights the shifts in power with regards to population. Table A1 visually presents this data while Table A2 provides the numerical representation. These charts clearly depict the movement of population from Eastern to Central to Western America over time. For instance, in 1800, the majority of the top 10 cities were situated in the Eastern region, but by 1920 this number had decreased, and by 2010 only two Eastern cities remained in the top 10. Conversely, the Western region had no representation in the top 10 cities in 1800 and only one city made it in by 1920.

However, in 2010, 5 of the 10 cities could be found in the Western region.

Similarly, Figure B3, which originates around Pipersville, represents the total population of America according to the 1790 census. Each dot on the figure represents a city with a population over 200,000, showcasing the Eastern region of America as having a majority of dots. This indicates the populational dominance of that region compared to others.

In the Wilsonville, NE area, there is a polygon depicted in Figure B2.