What I am concerned about is that the pretty much the same system as the sweatshop system you describe is increasingly being applied to food. It is certainly applied to toys, which is why there've been so many cases of lead paint in toys lately.

lm is correct. The "Wild West" is the dullest part of American history. The conditions that make it good for fiction, the low population, the lack of control from the central government, the large native population, the general wilderness, are all reflections of this dullness. Plus, lots of the "wild west" was frankly just made up by booksellers/showmen at the time.

I suggest that you start the series at the beginning. There's more interesting stuff there.
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