ipl-logo

Research Paper On Westward Expansion

1039 Words5 Pages

Westward Expansion Flash Draft Have you ever wondered about what would 've happened if the westward expansion never occurred? We wouldn 't have many things you know today and America would be a lot smaller. The westward expansion happened during the 1800s and helped shape the modern America. The westward expansion started with the Louisiana Purchase and was made even stronger by the Gold Rush. Many people came to strike it rich or just to start a new life out west. Even though it was before computers and phones, the information spread quickly across the country and started what is called Manifest Destiny. This will tell you about some of the important parts of the westward expansion. Gold Rush: The gold rush started in January 1848 in the city of Coloma California when a man named James Wilson Marshall found gold flakes in the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. When he found the gold, he was working to build a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. They tried not to tell anybody but word got out very quickly. In December 1848, President James Polk announced during a speech that there was more gold in California than people had previously thought. Miners came by the thousands across land, and sea to find the gold and the journeys that …show more content…

In conclusion, the westward expansion was one of the most important times in American history but one of the hardest for those who made the journey. The settlers had to go through a lot of hardships to get a new life in the west. The Gold Rush helped bring people to the west and populate California so it became a state. People such as Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark helped explore the new terrain and make maps so people could live there. Even though the pioneers got diseases, had conflicts with the Native Americans, and had to travel for long periods of time in a ship or covered wagon, they never gave up hope. Without the brave pioneers, the United States would be a much different place

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Lewis And Clark

    1258 Words  | 6 Pages

    Subsequently, after they finished their journey, a surge of settlers embarked on their own journey to find a new life in the West. Without the exploration of this land, this trail might have never have had such an enormous effect on our history. Additionally, it allowed the cultures of the Native Americans and United State settlers to meet and get to know each other's ways and customs. It also led an example for the following wave of new white explorers to discover the many new geographic areas, plants, and animals. Without the expedition to the Pacific Ocean, our country might have never experienced the berserk gold rush which brought many new

    Read More

  • Charles Grandison Finney, A Woman's Rights Activist

    499 Words  | 2 Pages

    Questions for Days 131-150: 1. Charles Grandison Finney was an evangelist who was a preacher who helped in religiously reviving Americans. He was the first of the professional evangelists. 2. Dorothea Dix was a crusader who supported mentally impaired people.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion Research Paper

    846 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grasso 1 Michael Grasso Ms. Vargas 20TH US HI. 21 September 2014 Westward Expansion in the 1800s After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which was the United States buying the huge territory known as Louisiana from the French, the country doubled in size. This gave the country great opportunity due to the abundance of land and natural resources. Some citizens believed in manifest destiny which is the belief that the American settlers were destined to expand as a country throughout the continent. In the 1860s when the Civil War was coming to an end the west was still greatly undeveloped and rural.

    Read More

  • Effects Of The California Gold Rush

    401 Words  | 2 Pages

    The California gold rush is the most important event in the westward expansion. The California Gold Rush, which began in 1848, had a significant impact on the history of the United States and the westward expansion of the country. The discovery of gold in California drew thousands of people from all over the world to the region, leading to a massive population increase and the rapid development of infrastructure and industry. One of the most important effects of the Gold Rush was the rapid settlement of the American West.

    Read More

  • Essay On The California Gold Rush

    768 Words  | 4 Pages

    How the California Gold Rush Began The California Gold Rush was an extremely important event that happened in northern California when thousands of people moved to California hoping to find gold. James Marshall and John Sutter were the first people to discover gold on January 28, 1848. It all began when James Marshall was working to build a water-powered sawmill in The American River. Suddenly, James Marshall noticed gold flakes in the water and was positive it was gold.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion Essay

    703 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.

    Read More

  • Native Americans Western Expansion

    441 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life for the Native Americans was much harder during and after the western expansion. For example, the US took land from the Indians leading the formation of reservations, White men almost hunted the Buffalo , an important food source for the Indians, to extinction, and forced the Indians to get rid of their culture. Because of the western expansion, the area of land the Indians could occupy decreased significantly. The government would make treaties with the Indians allowing them to keep a certain area of land, but this would soon be broken ; When the Pacific Railroad Act was passed it stated that wherever a track was laid the company would own any land 200 ft surrounding the track including Indian land ; the Government would make sure that

    Read More

  • The California Gold Rush

    1401 Words  | 6 Pages

    Did you know that the start of the California Gold rush brought more than 250,000 people west to California? The Gold Rush was a defining time in the history of California. The outcome of the California Gold Rush was a significant compromise in the nineteenth century because it led to forming of towns as people migrated, forming of California as a state, and the Compromise of 1850. On January 24, 1848, a discovery was made that changed many Americans’ lives. January 24, 1848 James W. Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey, discovered gold.

    Read More

  • James W. Marshall At The California Gold Rush

    431 Words  | 2 Pages

    The California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush was a period when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. It was in the year of 1848. The Gold Rush was important because James W. Marshall found the gold, John Sutter kept the secret and lead on with the discovery, and Samuel Brannan was an important buyer and seller of the gold. James W. Marshall was trying to solve problem that prevented the water from flowing forcefully enough to keep the water wheel turning properly.

    Read More

  • The California Gold Rush: A Positive Impact On American History

    298 Words  | 2 Pages

    Americans were able to make thousands of dollars off of gold and immagrants and foreigners from all over the world came to California. Citizens became richer and all different cultures learned to

    Read More

  • Social Effects Of Manifest Destiny

    1054 Words  | 5 Pages

    Known as one of the most significant gold rushes in the world, the California Gold Rush rapidly improved the economy of the U.S.; a man by the name of Francisco Lopez was said to have been the first person to discover gold in California, near Sutter’s Mill. Lopez had intended to keep the discovery a secret, but soon after, the word spread out, and people from all over the world began to immigrate to California, wanting to strike it rich. The quest for gold began: small businesses for buying supplies began to spring up in the West. People flocked to the West, and where there were people, there was business. With so much activity and immigration, America went through an economic boom, with California being a commercial powerhouse.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of The California Gold Rush

    744 Words  | 3 Pages

    I. The California Gold Rush is one of the most known gold rushes in the U.S. The phenomenon was started by James Marshall when he found gold in the American River and he said “My heart thumped for I knew it was gold.” Because of his findings the California Gold Rush was born in 1848, then died seven years later in 1855. During these seven years California accumulated over 300,000 people that left their homes to mine for gold.

    Read More

  • How Did The California Gold Rush And Its Impact

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first of many reasons detailing on why the California Gold Rush was important is the fact that it brought many Americans to migrate west. In the year of 1849, more than 100,000 people that lived in the eastern half of the nation migrated to California in hopes of becoming wealthy off of the gold they hoped to find. These people became known as “forty-niners”. The state of California was not formally a state at the time, it was a territory.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On The California Gold Rush

    816 Words  | 4 Pages

    The gold was found January 24, 1848 by James Wilson Marshal at the river base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma California. Shortly after the discovery the population of California sky rocketed. The non-native population of California reached one hundred thousand. The amount of gold they got was

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion Of The Gold Rush And The Homestead Act

    466 Words  | 2 Pages

    Basically, the reason why the Gold Rush of 1849 was the most important event in the Westward Expansion was because gold was discovered in California, consequently this brought too many people to there. The Homestead Act set in motion a program of public land grants to small farmers and any adult citizen or who want to become a citizen. “The Homestead Act opened up settlement in the western US, allowing any american to put a claim for up to 160 acres of land” (History.com). When the Homestead Act was signed, anyone including freed slaves, could have their own lands, this cat also helped small farmers. “The Homestead Act provided that any adult citizen or person who wanted the become a citizen who headed a family, could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land by paying small registration fee and living there for 5 years” (History.com).

    Read More

More about Research Paper On Westward Expansion

Open Document