Westward Expansion, The Gold Rush, And The Oregon Trail

Name: Maddux, Korzenko Date 5/25/2023 Mrs. Cimini / Mrs. Golden Westward Expansion Westward ExpaWestward Expansion Table of Contents Introduction Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark The Oregon Trail Native American Struggles California Gold Rush Introduction Westward Expansion was a time of many events, and in this report I will talk about a bunch of important events about the Westward Expansion. Some of these included the Louisiana Purchase, or the famous explorers Lewis and Clark who explored many lands.

The first transcontinental railroad in the United States was built between 1863 and 1869. It was 1,776 miles long and covered the western half of America from Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad connected California to Omaha, Nebraska and eastern cities. By 1900, the railroad track grew from 35,000 miles of track to 167,000 miles, which was more than the total of railroad route in Europe and Russia. Prior to the transcontinental railroad was built, many settlers began to move westward across the United States.

The construction of railroads in the western United States made the West more accessible. People realized that without the railroad, western land would be unreachable

The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.

Moving into 1870 though, railway travel to San Francisco was becoming increasingly easier. The construction of railroads was one of the leading job industries in the country. Between 1870 and 1890 almost 75,000 miles of railroad track were completed. During this same time frame, two significant events occurred that solidified Denver as the pivotal city for American expansion west. The first event occurred in 1879 in the small town of Leadville, CO.

Over 300,000 people migrated to California during the California Gold Rush. One way that these migrants contributed to Westward Expansion was that they boosted the economy in California. Many small cities in California that had previously consisted of a few hundred citizens soon had tens of thousands of residents. Another way that the 49ers contributed to Westward Expansion was their impact on the Native Americans. As the mining industry in California grew, the Native’s sources for food were killed and contaminated by chemicals and silt.

Most of the pioneers who settled the west became cash croppers. The South wanted to expand slavery into the North during the westward expansion but the North did not want slavery to be legal. The Gold Rush brought even more people to the west.

The miners moved west because of the California Gold Rush. They traveled west to "strike it rich". James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill near the city of Coloma. He tried to keep it a secret, but word got out and over 300,000 people traveled to California to mine for gold. A lot of miners did not "strike it rich", and faced starvation.

The westward expansion was impacted by three main things and that is social, political, and economic. The westward expansion was impacted on a social scales with the tension between the Native Americans and the U.S., also during the journey to the west many people died. On a political scale the westward expansion was affected by the many wars and treaties that has to happen in order for the U.S. to gain the land, which then allows us to expand to the west. The westward expansion was effected by the economy because of the many technology that was created like trains, also because of the westward expansion there was an increase in business and industry's triumphed and since businesses grew there were many job opportunities which inclined people

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.

During the first half of the 19 century America expanded west through land purchases,wars, and treaties. The trails to the west were the oregan trail and the santa fe trail. In 1803 the United States bought a huge amount of territory. During this time when settlers came to the west they moved Indianas off there land. The new lands were first made in to territory’s.

After their exploration, many people started to take interest in moving West. There were many different reasons why people moved, including a search for a fresh start at life, a chance at starting an economic success through agriculture and

They could start a shop and get money rather than being oppressed by their home country. California quickly rose in population and consequently job opportunities opened up and the economy of California and the United States grew. It became evident that there should be a quicker way to travel from Boston to San Francisco and vice versa, so the building of the transcontinental railroad was

In between California and the rest of the country were the Great Plains which were not heavily populated so there was no easy way of trade and transportation to the growing western territories. A group of men called the “Big Four” which consisted of Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, decided what the country needed was a transcontinental railroad. Their company, The Central Pacific Railroad company would hire 15,000 Chinese men to work on constructing the railroad due to the fact that they would work for less than the average American. This made transportation cheaper and quicker than ever

Gold Rush had important economic, social, and political implications. In 1848 James K Polk notified congress in his annual message and gold fever broke out. Thousands of people made their way as a group or individually to the west coast. These were called companies and they helped lessen the cost of the trip and often belt not always disbanded when they arrived