During the time of Joaquin Murrieta the American West was undergoing severe changes. The “civilized” east coast was branching out into the wild frontier where the “law” as they understood it was irrelevant. The concept of justice for offenders and mercy for the good was not understood. The idea portrayed in the Joaquin Murrieta is that you need to take the law into your own hands, enabling the idea “survival of the fittest” and revenge solving all problems. The many fallacies of the American west were spread through many mediums during the late 1800s.
The romantic idea of the “wild west” was a ploy used by many corporations looking to raise money and secure the future of the area. The introduction of the rail road inspired a great deal of propaganda and trickery. The Union Pacific Railway, one of several companies, contracted artists to paint the land in a sublime style. Barren wastelands were transformed into lush rolling hills with vast valleys just waiting to be explored. The hope was that the people crammed into the cities would see the grand landscapes with open land and flowing water and come running. When settlers did arrive they did not find the land of milk and honey they were promised. Many lost their entire life savings relocating to a place based off of a lie.
Literature from this time also played a roll in the movement of workers to the American west. Romantic adventures tug on the heart strings of men wanting to do more with their lives. Tired of living the privileged lives, they relocated to the west looking to become true men. Owen Wister’s The Virginian, written about the same time period also plays on the concept of becoming a true man in the West. Novels such as The Virginian and Joaquin Murrieta demonstrate the a part of the American west, but they are not complete and accurate representations.