The Oklahoma land rush was a very exciting event. “Some people claimed that they could feel the ground shake as 50,000 people raced to claim land.” (Notes 9/29)These races were just one of the many ways people rushed to claim land in the time known as the western expansion. The western expansion was caused by many things, yet had many effects, both positive and negative. First Cause: Jump In Population One cause of the westward expansion was a jump in population. After the war, all the soldiers coming back to their homes, and many immigrants entering the country caused the population to increase. However as the population increased, the room for people decreased. As School House Rock would put it, “Everybody needs some elbow room” and indeed …show more content…
Many of these effects were good, yet just as many of these effects were bad. One positive effect of the westward expansion was the jump in economy. As a result of westward expansion the Transcontinental Railroad was built to help transport goods. After this technological improvement, America was now able to transport goods. This meant we could trade between the east and the west. This greatly increased the economy and helped the cattle, lumber, and mining industries. These industrious helped the economy too, and created a lot of money trough trading goods. Another effect of the westward expansion was the Transcontinental Railroad. “As more Americans began moving west, the need to send goods and information between the east and west increased. Americans searched for ways to improve communication and travel across the country.” (Page 10 Textbook) As this quote shows, many Americans needed something that could carry their messages and themselves. It was very expensive to travel across the country before the Transcontinental Railroad. History.com states, “Before the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, it cost nearly 1,000 dollars to travel across the country. After the Railroad was completed the price dropped to $150.” People really wanted quick, cheap, and easy transportation, and the Transcontinental Railroad was the answer. The Transcontinental Railroad was finished on May 10, 1864 and it started bringing Americans west, and pushing others off their