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Positive Effects Of Westward Expansion On The Culture Of Native Americans

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One night in 1890, the Sioux were performing their native ritual, the Ghost Dance. Out of nowhere a group of American soldiers destroyed the Sioux’s peace by opening fire in the middle of this ritual and brutally murdering dozens of innocent Sioux members. This bloody massacre happened because of Westward Expansion. When Thomas Jefferson bought Louisiana territory from the French government for $18 million, it started the United States on this path toward expansion. The Louisiana Purchase spread from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans. It doubled the size of the United States. In 1840, seven million people lived in the West searching for economic opportunities. John O’Sullivan, in describing this Westward …show more content…

While Westward Expansion destroyed the culture of Native Americans, it also had many positive effects. One positive effect was the job opportunities and ideas gained from the Oregon Trail. The Oregon trail was a highly beneficial way to get through the mountains to the western part of the U.S. Although many people died on the Oregon Trail, it helped Americans get the supplies they needed from the West. Another positive impact from westward expansion was the California gold rush, which created more jobs for people in the West. Some of those jobs include gold mining, and other jobs in highly populated cities. Yet another positive impact from Westward Expansion was all of the land the U.S gained. The U.S gained one-third of its land just from Westward Expansion. The U.S also gained part of ten states from the Mexican Cession. The last positive impact from Westward Expansion was the technological advancements that were made. There were many inventions that were made such as the steel plow, windmills, and the mechanical reaper. The steel plow was used break through the hard topsoil of the western plains. Windmills were used to get water out from underground for people with little access to water. The mechanical reaper reduced farm labor and increased the production of wheat and other plants (Allison 149). Westward Expansion had many positive effects such as job opportunities from the Oregon trail and the California Gold Rush, and all of the land that the U.S gained during Westward

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There were many changes brought about during the the time of the Westward Expansion in the United States of America. One of those changes is with the invention of the steel plow. The steel plow was one of the most revolutionary invention in the era of the Westward Expansion. This wouldn’t have been possible though with out John Deere. John Deere and the invention of the steel plow has brought a big positive impact during the time of the Westward Expansion and still today.

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Traveling thousands of miles through dangerous paths American pioneers took on hardships as they sought westward in hopes of a better life. The journey westward began in the early 1800s when the US exploded with new territories nearly tripling the United States' size. It all started in 1803 when the US bought the Louisiana Territory from France. Quickly, many farmers picked up their belongings and headed out west to the rich, fertile land for a fresh start. Next, Andrew Jackson invaded Florida claiming it for the US which was also another opportunity for settlers to begin a new life.

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The westward expansion is a movement of settlers promoted by the federal government that pushed west to get things that benefit them. Such as gold, land, financial reasons, and religious freedom. During this time, America was going through Indian removal acts, economic issues and so much more. The westward expansion occurred due to gold and cheaper land resulting in Native Americans being forced off their own land. To begin, One of the reasons for the westward expansion was gold.

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Following the great explorative successes, some Americans would soon venture westwards which was largely supported by rhetoric, law and the vision of the founding fathers to have a far-reaching territory. As the manufacturing industry rose in New England, the westward expansion was both timely and economically viable. The American settlers were moving rapidly to what is referred to as the Midwest today and this necessitated the development of infrastructure through the development of canals, roads, and railroads. The rapid expansion of infrastructure, more specifically the railroads, would then purge the country into a new era of medicine, manufacture, and agricultural inventions (Neil, 1964). The Midwest became an inspiration that saw the symbolic development of the American identity in the 19th century with development of acting, painting, and writing.

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Due to the railroad, the shipping industry has less work since they had a competition to be the main transportation to the west. Usually, when it would take months and thousands of dollars would take days and less than one hundred dollars (Doc 7). Since the trains could get both people and goods to the west coast from the east coast the use for shipping companies became obsolete (Doc 3) Equally affected by this expansion was the farmers. There was a land disturbed's of farmers and railroad companies were the farmers would lose their land so that the railroad to could build through.

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In 1870, the invention of the railroad made these trip attainable and the West accessible. Since the West was now more easily accessible, Americans were able to use the newly attained land to farm and transport goods back to the East. As a result, innovation and advances in farm equipment occurred, which boosted production.   Therefore, the railroads changed how goods were transferred and made them more accessible to everyone.

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In the late nineteenth century, they invented new machines that help the farmers with the speed of planting and harvesting crops. For instance, “New agricultural machinery allowed farmers to increase crop yields with less labor.” (Khan Academy) Gaining the west land helped United State experience an economic

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In 1803 is when the United States would makes its next move toward expanding westward across North America. It would be in this year that the United States would purchase the land known as the Louisiana Territory from the French for less than three cents an acre. The total purchase price was $15,000,000, a combination of $11,250,000 and a cancellation of debts totaling $3,750,000, and at the same rate with inflation included would have cost $236,000,000 today .

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They made people feel safe,happy,hopeful and grateful throughout the sufferings America had to deal with everyday. These are topics that are meant to be discussed about. The Westward Expansion gave one-hundred sixty acres of land to work on. This

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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.

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This increased population the west. Additionally, Technology was advancing too because more railroads were being built and being improved. More opportunities were given to Chinese immigrants, as they were given jobs in the railroad industry. Ultimately, the benefits of the Manifest Destiny outweighed the consequences. This is because the U.S had to grow in power and advance, without anything being in their way.

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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

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The treaty the US government signed with the Indians in 1851 granted the Indians to have an extensive territory, which means the Indians can get more land, but eventually that did not last(doc 3,4). One of the most important and well-known wars was the Sand Creek Massacre. On November 29, 1864, John Chivington led 700 troops in an unprovoked attack on the Arapaho and Cheyenne villagers. There they killed over 200 women, children, and older men. US Indian Commissioner admitted that :We have substantially taken possession of the country and deprived the Indians of their accustomed means of support.”

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What was the Gilded Age and why did Mark Twain refer to it as such? To help understand this question, one must know the meaning of the word gild. Per Merriam Webster, the term gild means to “to give an attractive but often deceptive appearance to” (Gild, n.d.). After the Civil War the American people had become tired of all the corruption and simply wanted to see an end to it and to have a stable economy. The Gilded Age was fashioned to be prosperous times for all Americans, promising wealth, and an end to past political corruption.

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Another opportunity people had moving west, was a different lifestyle than they already had. As shown in (Image Bank: 19th-Century Population), in 1860, most of the Western United States had fewer than 2 people per square mile. Whereas in most of the Eastern United States, there were 18-89 people per square mile. This new lifestyle they had was a more isolated, and not so crowded lifestyle. The opportunities seemed endless.

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