Abstract The thesis of first effective settlement, stated by Wilbur Zelinsky in 1973 and by several of his contemporaries under other labels, has been an important one in academic research examining the role of early occupance in shaping the later characteristics of places and communities. Essentially the same idea was a commonplace in American discussions during the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries regarding such topics as missionary work on the western frontier, the uses and value of local history, and the status of slavery in the national territories. It represents a case of an idea that arose and flourished independently in two different periods in lay and academic settings. In both settings, it reflected the outlook of its authors in depicting social change as largely exogenous rather than endogenous.

中文翻译：

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第一个有效的解决方案：一个想法的历史

摘要 威尔伯·泽林斯基 (Wilbur Zelinsky) 在 1973 年和他的几位同时代人以其他标签提出的第一次有效定居的论点一直是学术研究中的一项重要研究，研究早期占用在塑造地方和社区的后期特征中的作用。在 18 世纪晚期、19 世纪和 20 世纪早期，关于西部边境的传教工作、当地历史的用途和价值以及国家领土上的奴隶制状况等话题，基本上相同的想法在美国讨论中司空见惯。它代表了一个在世俗和学术环境中在两个不同时期独立产生和繁荣的想法的案例。在这两种情况下，它都反映了作者将社会变化描述为主要是外源性而非内源性的观点。