Westward Expansion Essay

The invention of the telegraph by Morse, the discovery of new rubber working methods by Goodyear and other technological advances increased productivity and expanded the scope of possibilities. Economically, the Market Revolution saw the rise of the factory system, the Lowell system and a new important work force: foreign

During the 1800’s the United States were going through many changes following the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the California Gold rush. Due to these factors along with several others caused the Westward Expansion. Life in the west consisted of three major groups, miners, cowboys, and farmers. Moving west gave poor families opportunities the chance to better themselves and provide for their loved ones. Of course, these opportunities came with a high price, the possibility of losing your life.

By Americans moving away from the east then into the west a need for better technology in transportation and telegraphs. In America before the country decided to expand west there wasn't a transcontenital railroad that would connect the east to the west. This development came in 1863 after expanding west, without this it would've taken Americans months to get from east to west making it less efficient and harder to transport goods from one side of the country to another. In the text it states “ The building of the transcontinental railroad opened up the American West to more rapid development. With the completion of the track, the travel time for making the 3,000-mile journey across the United States was cut from a matter of months to under a

The Westward Expansion and Industrialization has negatively impacted the United States (U.S.) politically, economically, socially and culturally. The Westward Expansion was a push to move America West in the 1800s (Westward Expansion) and it created the Indian Removal Act. The Industrial Revolution created machinery to make and provide goods on the shelf, started in the 1700s (Cooper). America took the Native Americans during the move West and assimilated them and completely changed everything. The Robber Barons had affected the Industrial Revolution, by cutting competition to make all the decisions for the businesses and started monopolies.

Throughout the 19th century European settlers in the United States were enthralled by Westward expansion, furthermore, defining the Western region of the country as the ‘frontier’ to represent the challenges and opportunities expanding West would institute. Westward expansion was significantly driven by the concept of Manifest destiny which describes the idea that Europeans have the divine power and inherent right to expand across North America (Burton, January 17th, 2023). Westward expansion was legally encouraged and endorsed by the federal government through the Homestead act of 1862. The Homestead Act encouraged Westward migration/ settlement by offering land grants to settlers from the East willing to migrate to the West to develop the land.

This piece of land almost doubled the size of America and was a huge step in completing Manifest Destiny. The people who immigrated to the west immigrated for reasons of power, wealth, or freedom. These motives, specifically the intention of moving westward to gain

Many of these were new inventions at the time which also influenced people to

The Westward Expansion offered an opportunity to aid the growth of the United States and expand its borders. A deal that shaped the landscape of America as we’ve known it, and you ask who, how, and why it affected people negatively? A people that started making America their homes before the colonists came, the natives of America. The places they called home were gone, left, and forgotten, but America saw it as a way for industrialization. During America's growth the land was theirs monetarily, but spiritually it belonged to Native Americans, which America was too selfish, and naïve to be aware.

In the article, The Second Industrial Revolution, it said, “ The telegraph transmitted electrical signals that could be decoded into messages.” The telegraph total changed the world. Businesses could notify the other branches of their company in seconds. It might take awhile decode, but it’s still much more efficient. Trade could happen even faster, because they didn’t have to meet in person, they could communicate over the telegraph.

The rapid industrialization of the United States brought many changes to its people. New technologies, inventions, and the railroad brought better fuels, stronger steels, changed the way people lit their homes, and even changed the way people did their shopping. The integrated railroad was especially exciting, because it would allow people to move from the west coast to the east coast as they pleased. Economic development was also on the rise, especially in the west. Americans were excited to discover and tame the “wild west”, eager to claim a piece of land that they could call their own.

Through the first half of this semester I have examined the undeniable truths of how Westward Expansion has affected Indians. It has encouraged me even more so to explore both sides of the story. I did not know how horrible Indians lives were when the outsiders invaded their land. I have been enlightened through this material concerning the mental and physical aspects of the westward expansion. The poor treatment towards Indians are shown immensely through the removal, and the stripping of their culture.

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.

During the 1800s, the federal government promoted westward expansion in various ways. This expansion changed the shape and character of the country. America was able to get Westward Expansion in various ways like purchasing it and fighting for it. There were also various impacts that the expansion had on America, a positive result was the Homestead Act of 1862. This was when the government gave people land, but they had to grow a field full of crops in 5 years to obtain the land for free.

Without inventions such as the telegraph and the streetcar are very influential inventions that helped the life of Americans in the 19th century. Three specific inventions are the telegraph, streetcar, and plumbing system. The telegraph helped send messages across long distances in a short amount of time. The streetcar helped provide transportation to those that were poor or couldn’t afford a horse to get around . Industrialization changed life in the cities because you could go to work for longer at different time periods of the day.

Students responded well to the bell ringer and were instantly engaged in the lesson and were able to make predictions about what the term manifest means based on the statements I provided. The use of the painting helped students become familiar with the term Manifest Destiny. Students had a visual of the impact of Westward expansion, the new inventions, and the different people who were affected by Westward expansion. Students had opportunities to analyze and worked well in their groups to discuss and share their observations on the painting.