Grand. Vast. Monumental.
America moulds nature for the purposes of Civilization
From the Great Plains that stretch across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, all the way through Kansas and Oklahoma - vast stretches of natural land tilled by large threshing machines harvesting crop - to an immense sculpture etched out of the side of a mountain...
The natural landscape is dotted with monuments marking the site of historical battles and figures. From Mt. Rushmore, to the Homestead National Monument in Nebraska, the landscape and history meet to build a great civilization.
The land itself, the shere size of a country that stretches sea to sea, is embedded in the national consciousness:
America is a great geography. America is a great civilzation.
From America's National Park Services webstie commerorating the Homestead National Monument in Nebraska:
The cry was FREE LAND!! The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. By granting 160 acres (0.65 km2) of free land to claimants, it allowed nearly any man or woman a chance to live the "American dream". The park helps visitors gain an understanding on how the Act changed the lives of all Americans and the land.
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