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How Did The American Civil War Influence Western Expansion

817 Words4 Pages

Midterm Essay #1 The American Civil War was a crucial moment in the history of the United States of America. This war took place from 1861 to 1865, completely changing the way the nation’s politics, society, and economics functioned. This war conflict began with a disagreement over slavery and states' rights between the North and the South then escalated into a devastating war. It concluded with victory for the North settling the issue of slavery with the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment. The American Civil War greatly influenced western expansion as well as economic and industrial growth because the end of the war prompted federal policies in favor of westward migration as well as advancements in transportation making westward expansion more accessible. The American Civil War resulted in many federal …show more content…

Agriculture expanded westward as the development of new irrigation techniques made the Great American Desert fruitful, after all” (Shi 833). The reason this new railroad assisted westward expansion was because it significantly decreased the amount of time and money it took to get to the west, making it significantly more achievable of a goal for more people to immigrate and settle in the west. This new increase in accessibility of the west as well as new federal policies supporting westward migration, such as the Homestead Act of 1862, enabled settlers to both reach and establish new homesteads in the west more efficiently. Also, the reason the transcontinental railroad contributed to both economic and industrial growth was because the railroad made the transportation of goods easier by linking western agricultural and industrial outputs with eastern markets. This combination of regional economies further increased economic and industrial growth across the

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Pros And Cons Of Westward Expansion

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Westward expansion was in many ways by the federal government in the 1800s. This extension of the United States had a big influence on the country. Westward expansion brought railroads, new cities, gold mines, new farmland, more resources, and much more. Expansion of the country came with a lot of positives and also some negatives. From 1805 to 1900 the population of the natives went from 15,000 according to document 1 the non- Native Americans went from zero to 95,000.

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How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Shaped Western Economic Development

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The railroad shaped Western economic development in many ways, especially by allowing the growth of Western lands. The railroads played a very important part to connect different types of railroad networks together, for example; industrial growth went up because of easy communication by railroad networks. In addition, farming growth rose up, by the expansion Western lands. One of the biggest was transportation, in which gives the consumer the ability to go to different places comfortably. The Transcontinental railroad opened up the Western lands, in which mining and ranching were popular and people took advantage of jobs.

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Manifest Destiny brought an age of expansion and exploration upon the United States throughout the 1800s. The vast Great Plains were unexplored, and held lots of promise and opportunity for new communities and businesses. With the establishment of the railroad system, transportation became much more reliable and efficient, sending a wave of settlers to the West. Railroad companies also posted many advertisements that encouraged settlers to buy plots of land for reasonable prices. The railroad during this time played a key role in Western Expansion by giving people access to fertile and open land, uniting communities together, and lowering transportation costs, but inflicted cruel treatment on those who worked on the railroads.

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Give Me Liberty !: An American History Seagull 4th Edition By Eric Foner

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I knew this is where I wanted to base off my essay. There is obviously a lot of events that happened in the Civil War, so I knew I had to be more specific on my topic. This was probably the most difficult part of this assignment so far. Some general topics in mind was the Thirteenth Amendment, Freedman’s Bureau, and Reconstruction.

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What Role Did Manifest Destiny Play In Westward Expansion

857 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1840s, the steamboat was a very common mode of transportation along the rivers of south-central states. This, of course, resulted in increased business on and around the rivers that run through America. Another transportation mode that was boosted by the expansion was the railway system, as significant numbers of Americans desired to move West. As the century progressed, the railroad system began to expand to help transport both people and large amounts of agriculture goods from place to place. Not only did the expansion of the agricultural industry boost America’s economy, the continuous Westward expansion attracted more Americans to travel and settle Westward; this resulted in further economic growth due to the nation’s expanding transportation networks, the building of new infrastructure, and the settlement of new towns and communities which relied on goods and services to

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How Did The Civil War Affect The Westward Expansion

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How Did The Transcontinental Railroad Affect The Economy Of The 19th Century

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Thus, agricultural products, coal, and minerals were able to move freely from the west to the east coast. The weight of goods moved increased enormously after the railroads were completely built, “from 90 million tons in 1860 to 235 million tons in 1880 and 425 million tons in 1900.”15 Since transporting goods with railroads were convenient, it became the driving force for economic growth of the American. This is because western farmers could make more money by shipping cattle and wheat to the east. Businesses in the east also were able to ship goods to western towns and mining camps.4 As a result, most of the small-scale subsistence farming shifted toward market-oriented

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The railroad replaced stage coaches and wagon trains and provided a quicker and safer means of transportation for both people and goods. The section titled “Results of the Railroad” of the textbook explains that “The transcontinental railroad increased both economic growth and the population in the West”. Further in the passage our textbook states that “...wood, metals, meat and grain...” were sent from the west and in return “eastern businesses shipped manufactured goods to the west”. With the increased ease of moving materials and expanding commerce, more and more people chose to move west.

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This expansion would not only demonstrate the ability that the United States had to control North America but also lead to a defining event in United States history, the Civil War. The westward expansion between the years 1789 and 1815 was some of the most influential expansion in American History because of what can be considered an identity crisis the United States was going through as such a young country. The expansion into these areas shed light onto the issues being faced by the people and states of the United States as they continued grow and define themselves. The impact would define a country set the United States on the path to become the world power it is

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America faced a lot of change and transformation during the 19th, also known as the Gilded Age. America was heavily influenced socially, economically, politically, and culturally by westward expansion and industrialization. Many people expanded west of the Mississippi River because of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (Westward Expansion: Encounters at a Cultural Crossroads). The United States brought the state of Louisiana from France for $15 million (Milestones: 1801-1829). Industrialization ties into westward expansion in a way.

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New People Dbq

923 Words | 4 Pages

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