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The article focuses on the assessment of the historical perspectives regarding the role of the westward expansion to the social history of the U.S. The author pointed out that the return the West to the world begins with the acknowledgment of the contested origins in what Americans call the colonial era. The expansionist schemes to the west were a complex conflicts between European rivals as well as between the Indians and the Americans. The Indians were the victims of European colonialism and American expansionism. The Indian population has decline due to various circumstances brought about by the increasing American population and emigration. Significantly, the history of the West has influenced popular culture.

Weber's sociology and the novels of Thomas Pynchon share many themes. In this essay I will focus on Pynchon's two recent novels, Vineland, about contemporary America, and Mason&Dixon, about its origins. Vineland is about the 'counterculture' of the 1960s and poses questions about how this episode of "re-enchantment' in American history should be remembered. Mason&Dixon deals in large part with the conquest by the two surveyors of the American landmass, with its overtones of scientific mastery overreaching itself. These themes can be compared with Weber's view of America; how he regarded some aspects of American social life as illustrating the furthest extensions of the rationalization process, and at the same time thought that American invidualism, shaped by the religious sects, was potentially robust enough to withstand this process. The comparison between Weber's and Pynchon's views of America will lead to a discussion of the 'social construction' of the exceptional concern with American culture and its travails at the turn of the millenium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]