Westward Expansion Essay

The Westward Expansion

Do you know much about the Westward Expansion? I can tell you that it was a period in American history between the years of 1807 and 1912. The topic of expansion includes a few key points; the Louisiana Purchase, pioneer life, and the Homestead Act. I will explain these to you and more. Now, climb in the covered wagon and let’s start the journey!

Louisiana Purchase In the year of 1803 President Thomas Jefferson wanted America to grow. In fact, he once said that expansion was the key to our great nation’s health, and that land ownership went “hand in hand with independence and virtue”. This quote was one of the many things that created one of the defining themes of 19th century American history. The first major

The primary reason was that so many states were joining the country, and the country was fighting over which ones would be free states or slave states. In fact, it was a common discussion at most dinner tables. At first the issue was instantly resolved. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state, thus conserving the fragile balance that Congress had created. However, this did not apply to the states that were part of the Louisiana Purchase. Many other events like this one happened. For example, the territory (state) of Oregon belonged to Great Britain, and Texas to Mexico. After the US annexed Texas, Mexico had to surrender it. President James Polk supported slavery, so he maneuvered his way into making Texas a slave state. This upset the balance, so after negotiations with Britain, Oregon joined our country as a free state. Lastly, in the year of 1848, the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo added more than 1 million square miles to the US. This included California, which became a free state, but the other state’s governments would have to decide their status themselves. In the end, this conflict helped create the Civil

At first, purchasing land was very expensive. However, President Abraham Lincoln compromised. He created a law called the Homestead Act. This law made it so that you could get a free plot of land for only an $18 application fee (a whopping $420.78 today)! You had to be over 21 years of age, and even former slaves (but not current ones), single women, and immigrants could receive 160 acres of free land. You could keep the land forever if you had lived there for five years, and made improvements to the environment. Also, as a result of the Homestead Act, land rushes happened. To elaborate, land rushes were periods when people rushed to an area to get a specific land plot. One of the most major land rushes occurred in Oklahoma on April 22, 1889. 50,000 people wanted to claim 2 million acres of land. Homesteading ended in 1976 (minus Alaska, where it stopped 10 years later in 1986). Now you know why homesteading was so important to our