Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Westward expansion in 1800
Westward expansion in 1800
Negative effects of louisiana purchase
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Westward expansion in 1800
Westward expansion in 1800
Negative effects of louisiana purchase
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Lilly Fuller-Delmont 1/17/18 S.S8 DBQ Essay Per.3 In the mid 18th century settlers moved to the west. Their move brought them more opportunities and a better lifestyle on the frontier. Such as the transcontinental Railroad.
What do you think was the best decision during The Westward Expansion? You might have said The Louisiana Purchase or The Lewis and Clark expedition or even the Acquisition of Texas. All these options are good but, The Gold Rush was definitely more beneficial and greater than these options. On many articles this was stated about the Louisiana Purchase,” While such a significant acquisition of land was an advantageous move for the United States, the purchase produced some problems and complications.” One of these problems was,” The Louisiana Territory rekindled the smoldering debate over slavery in the United States.”
During the late nineteenth century, people were continuously expanding westward. White pioneers were continuously expanding and since the Native Americans were in the way, they had to be moved. Not only was there an economic aspect for moving the Native Americans, there was also a racial aspect. Native Americans were forced to give up their culture for the one of whites. This was all justified because whites wanted to expand westward to create more railroads, create farms, and mine for precious minerals.
As Yehuda Berg said, “words have energy and power with the ability to help… [and] to harm.” Expanding upon his reflection to examine varying social perspectives on American expansionist, colonial and slave society contexts, one can see that officials of European descent including Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and John Eliot converted white words and ideas into mutually intelligible Native American terms to persuade tribal leaders to adopt white mores. Accordingly, some Native Americans responded to these jabs of white supremacist coercion through outright resistance while others re-enacted white behaviors to receive preferential treatment from white leaders and gain social influence that had the potential to undermine white hegemony. Transcending
The United States government played a major part in Westward expansion. From building railroads to relocating Native Americans to reservations, the U.S. realized how big the West was both financially and politically. They found many ways to encourage citizens to settle in the west. They sold cheap land, borrowed money to support the railroads, cleared up hundreds of acres of good, fertile land (by taking it from the Native Americans). In this essay, we will be discussing the roles of the U.S. government in Westward expansion.
From 1865 onward, Native American culture was greatly changed by the westward expansion of the united states. Government action effectively destroyed native culture. The US was not justified in its ruthless westward expansion because of the harm dealt to the native people and the change in the American economy. One reason that westward expansion was not justified was the damage done to the native people. When the US really started to settle the west in 1865, we would offer chiefs compensation to move their tribes farther west or on to reservations.
As Americans set their course westward, their steadfast belief in manifest destiny was used as a means of justification for immoral actions taken against the Native Americans. Following the Louisiana Purchase, America gained 828,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River. As a large populus of Americans abandoned the overcrowded cities from the east and west to unearth the riches it held. Native Americans who occupied that land, began to be pushed further away from the land cultivated by their ancestors. Fatal squirmishes frequently broke out between the Natives and settlers, President Andrew Jackson proposed a solution.
The acquisition of vast territories, such as the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 which expanded the United States territory bye approximately 827,000 square miles, provided resources and opportunities for westward expansion. This expansion enabled the United States to grow its agricultural, commercial, and
During the pre-civil war time period— also known as the antebellum years— America experienced a widespread transformation for the sake of its economy. With the booming belief of the Manifest Destiny, America’s constant desire for westward expansion caused disputes between the North and the South regarding the establishment of free states and slave states, which led to certain compromises such as the Missouri Compromise. After the Market Revolution, the North and South used its new gained land to create different means of economic gains; the North became industrialized through manufacturing, while the South became an agricultural industry dependent on cotton. However, as America’s boundaries expanded, tensions between the North and South grew, often leading to compromises in bloodshed. The drastic differences between the two groups eventually transformed America into a divided nation of sectionalism economically, politically, and socially.
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.
After their exploration, many people started to take interest in moving West. There were many different reasons why people moved, including a search for a fresh start at life, a chance at starting an economic success through agriculture and
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
Native Americans flourished in North America, but over time white settlers came and started invading their territory. Native Americans were constantly being thrown and pushed off their land. Sorrowfully this continued as the Americans looked for new opportunities and land in the West. When the whites came to the west, it changed the Native American’s lives forever. The Native Americans had to adapt to the whites, which was difficult for them.
Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.
That is just one of many reasons there was Westward Expansion. Overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities. These are three of many reasons why Americans in the 1800’s felt urged to move west. Some may claim that Westward expansion was not right for America to do because of the conflicts that were aroused afterward.