West Coast

A later formation than the eastern cultures: the Pacific coast was settled from the mid-19th century by Yankee merchants and reformers arriving by sea and by Appalachian and Midwestern migrants coming via the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and the railroads. The blend produced a distinct culture pairing a Yankee faith in good government, education and reform with a frontier individualism — idealistic, environmentally conscious and technologically optimistic, and an influential national pole by the 20th century. (Forms after the colonial-to-antebellum core period; included for its later, clearly distinct role.)

• Existed: 1849 CE – present
• Type: Entity