Urbanism and Empire in the Far West, 1840-1890

“Americans, like their early European forebears and other world powers, realized that while farms, ranches, and other rural institutions were important, towns and cities were dynamic structures, capable of controlling and reorganizing space for miles—and even hundred of miles—beyond their municipal limits.... In their efforts to control and exploit outlying lands, America’s Western cities and towns resembled ancient Athens, imperial Rome, renaissance Venice, and other great powers.” So stat...