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Reasons For Westward Expansion

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In the late 1800’s the Americas began to move westward. Along with moving westward there came struggles and hardships. There were multiple reasons for starting the westward expansion, such as the gold rush and the government bribes of land. While people moved, the ideals of Manifest Destiny occurred. ADD MORE INFORMATION ON THE GOLD RUSH!!!! Westward Expansion took place in the late 1800’s. During this time some of the major reason for moving westward included the chance for gold, the creation of mines, and the availability of land. The trek towards the west created the idea of Manifest Destiny. This was thought to be the destiny for the United States to stretch from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. According to O’Sullivan Manifest …show more content…

According to Willa Cather, the life on the plains in the west was difficult and hard. Cather adds that people had issues farming, raising animals, as well as going into debt.(Document 3) Because the farmers bought land from the rail companies, they lost a major amount of money. The cost of the land, as well as the cost of transportation of food, made the living as farmers more difficult. Also, at the time the railroad companies began to have issues, so they increased prices for shipping as well as making the middlemen take more money from the farmers. The farmers then had to mortgage their farms for credit. This created the Panic of 1893. Railroads went bankrupt, stocks fell, businesses and banks collapsed. Life wasn’t easy for anyone living in the west at the time, that included the Native …show more content…

Before the settlers migrated west, the Indians lived a life where nothing was taken granted for, They never wasted anything that could be of use, and they “borrowed” from the land. Native Americans largest food source came from the buffalo. The buffalo not only provided food for the natives but also many of their personal and household items, such as teepees, clothing, utensils, etc. Their lives changed as well when it came to westward expansion. The two cultures of the natives and the settlers collided. Many fight occurred between the two one major fight was the Massacre at Sand Creek. “I want no peace until the Indians suffer more.” (General Curtis) The US army fought against the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes which consisted 200 warriors and 500 women and children on November 29,1864. Other battles include Death on the Bozeman trail, Red river war, and the battle of Wounded knee. These battles lead the Native Americans to lose their land, homes, and move onto reserves. The map on Document 8 shows the decreasing lands for the Native American tribes. Because of the restrictions put on the Indians, they could not go in certain places to hunt. That includes the buffalo, the settlers however did end up killing a major portion of the population of the buffalo, for meat and fur. Document 6 shows a graph on the declining population of the

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The families came together to form what was called a wagon train in May 1846. Another reason for the Americans movement westward, was the belief in manifest destiny. Manifest destiny was the belief of the United States expanding towards the California coast. It was also because the views on religious freedom, were nowhere near as strict as they wear on the East

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As the 1800s began, the belief of Manifest Destiny rose throughout the United States. Previously, because of Thomas Jefferson, the United States gained land from the Louisiana Purchase. This doubled the size of the United States, allowing America to grow westward. This westward land provided food for America, whereas the North provided manufactured goods and the South provided cash crops, such as cotton. The West and North soon became very interconnected through similar economies and views.

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Between 1800 and 1875, America continuously expanded westward through the acquisition of new land; there were both favorable and unfavorable consequences and outcomes of westward expansion. From 1800 to 1875 due to westward expansion, America was able to reach the goal of expanding

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The Westward Expansion consisted of almost 7 million Americans migrating west, hoping to get land and be wealthy. It is often called Manifest Destiny, because many people believed settlers was intended to expand the west. Because so many people thought this way it was also thought the U.S was physically separated from Europe. This migration of people included people from Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries. The Western Expansion had a part in the foreign policies in the expansion towards the pacific and the way the U.S treated their relationship with other

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1233 Words | 5 Pages

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 19th Century, there were strong supporters of the ideology of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was basically the belief of expansion by settlers expanding all over America because god supposedly destined the Americans for expansions by their resources. This resulted for the Americans to find a modern mode of transportation that would make traveling from the east to the west coast easier. This resulted in a mega construction known as the Transcontinental Railroad. The railroad not only helps with transportation but with trading.

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Time after time, reservation after reservation, Native Americans were promised safe and secure lands. However, Eastern settlers constantly traveled upon these Western lands and searched for fame, fortune, and livelihood. But for every dollar these settlers were gaining, they were causing sufferable harm to the Native Americans. one such industry was Buffalo hunting. Native Americans relied on the Buffalo as a food source, clothing, and other various tools and goods.

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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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In 1814 the Manifest Destiny occurred, manifest destiny is when lots of United States citizens moved out west so they could be start their lives and gain lots of property. The main reason Americans wanted to move out west was so they can gave the mass quantities of land and be able to farm and make a great living off of it. But the Manifest Destiny affected lots of things three of them being the Native Americans, slavery, and the relationship between the North and South States. The Manifest Destiny affect the Native Americans greatly in multiple ways, their population their food and their culture.

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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.

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Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.

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847 Words | 4 Pages

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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2016 Words | 9 Pages

“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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307 Words | 2 Pages

The Effects of the Transcontinental Railroad: Native Americans, Society, and Economy The Transcontinental Railroad had a drastic effects on many aspects of life during the 1860s, including society, the economy, and the Native Americans’ way of life. These are just a few of the ways the Transcontinental Railroad changed the world. Native Americans were forced to relocate, society had a new outlook on life, and the economy had been boosted almost incalculably.

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