Westward Expansion In The Late 1800s And Early 1900s

During the mid-1800’s western expansion was influenced by economic growth. The attitudes that they needed more land in order to grow as a nation economically lead to more western expansion. So promises of land to homesteaders influenced Americans to travel west for economic gains.

In the late 19th century there was a spike in Railroad Construction in the United States. The growth began as a result of congress passing the Pacific Railroad Bill in 1862 which began the construction of the Transcontinental Railroads. In the near future the Transcontinental Railroads would connect both sides of the United States, therefore they would eventually lead up to the settling of the west. Railroads in the late 19th century would affect the settling of the west by allowing people to travel to find work in an efficient manner, by allowing faster and more efficient methods to transport goods to consumers, and improving the economy overall. Starting off Railroads greatly impacted travel time from one place to another.

After the Civil War ended many people were in hope of finding land since population was increasing. Since the West was underdeveloped and uncivilized, many decided to expand the land. First the Louisiana Purchase increased the opportunity of expansion. Then industrialization and the Homestead Act also caused many companies encouraged to move West due to the low cost of land and that the transportation was provided through the railroads. In order to complete such goals, something had to be done with the Natives since it conflicted with their home area.

The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. Former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson believed that the nation's future depended on its Westward Expansion. In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase took place, Expanding the size of the territory.

America today would not be the same without westward expansion, the railroad and the American dream. Westward Expansion is the all American story “Cowboys and Indians “is the first thing that comes to mind when people say America and without westward expansions that would have never happened. Without Railroads transporting items and people took thousands of dollars and a weeks upon weeks. “The railroads were the arteries of America” Tom

1. Railroad expansion provided new avenues of migration into the American interior. 2. Congress passed the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862. It gave the state governments millions of acres of western lands, which the states could then sell to raise money for the creation of "land grant" colleges specializing in agriculture and mechanical arts.

In the late 1800’s manifest destiny had taken over and many were moved to the west. With this movement came new inventions designed to make life easier and more productive, but it had a negative effect on the nation contrary to popular belief. The expansion of the railroads during the late 1800’s had a negative effect on many, including the natives Americans and other businesses. The Native Americans were the most affected by the expansion of the railroad. The first thing the iron roadway affected was the native American food source, the buffalo.

Americans believed that god predestined them to expand from coast to coast in the concept of Manifest Destiny. The increase in mining precious metals, building of a transcontinental railroad, cattle herding, and farming the Great Plains helped the US not only to reach their goals of expanding from sea to shining sea, but it also had the ideals that our Founding Fathers always wanted. America’s Western Expansion started from all the sightings of gold and other precious metals in the west. From the gold rush, people were settling west so that they can strike rich from all the precious metals that was there. Not only that, instead of using animals to travel a long way from their homes, the invention of railroads made travel easier, faster, and

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.

The westward expansion of of the U.S. began to happen around the 1800s. during that time the social opportunities increased since many people moved to the west because the government was paying them or giving them free land. The political opportunities did not increased as much since most of the people moving westwards were poor or immigrants and only white males had the right to participate in those events. The economic opportunities increased for the people who moved westward because of the gold rush and the opportu tires that were provided.

Westward Expansion Flash Draft Have you ever wondered about what would 've happened if the westward expansion never occurred? We wouldn 't have many things you know today and America would be a lot smaller. The westward expansion happened during the 1800s and helped shape the modern America. The westward expansion started with the Louisiana Purchase and was made even stronger by the Gold Rush. Many people came to strike it rich or just to start a new life out west.

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.

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

For some, it was destiny to move west. Although there were many conflicts and disagreements between ourselves and others, it was destiny to move west because of overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities. In the 19th Century, overpopulation was one of the major reasons for Westward Expansion. Immigrants were flooding into America for new opportunities and new ways of life and there was just not enough land to suffice the needs for all of the people. These immigrants were arriving in America in the port cities on the East Coast.

First of all, Native Americans were settled on a hotbed of natural resources which included oil and precious metals such as silver and gold. There was also much fertile land that would entice farmers and frontiersmen to move out west. On this land there was so much potential economic opportunity for farmers, cattle drivers, miners and many other occupations. The government developed the popular public misconception that the indians were misusing the land and that Americans had the right to take advantage of the opportunities that lie in the west. These ideas led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 which authorized encroachment of Indian lands by the US government in order to divide up reservations and control Indian activity.