Movement To The West In The 1850's And 1860

Sanghee Song Professor Jessie History 11 21 April 2015 Westward Movement For now, the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the new western states shadowed every discussion about the frontier. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise had tried to settle this question: It had let in Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, conserving the breakable balance in Congress. It had specified that in the future, slavery would be banned north of the southern boundary of Missouri in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase.

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

Following the great explorative successes, some Americans would soon venture westwards which was largely supported by rhetoric, law and the vision of the founding fathers to have a far-reaching territory. As the manufacturing industry rose in New England, the westward expansion was both timely and economically viable. The American settlers were moving rapidly to what is referred to as the Midwest today and this necessitated the development of infrastructure through the development of canals, roads, and railroads. The rapid expansion of infrastructure, more specifically the railroads, would then purge the country into a new era of medicine, manufacture, and agricultural inventions (Neil, 1964). The Midwest became an inspiration that saw the symbolic development of the American identity in the 19th century with development of acting, painting, and writing.

Many people migrated west for many reasons during the 1800's. Some of these reasons were government sponsored and others were not. Some examples of government sponsored reasons include the Homestead Acts, Mexican War, and the Gadsden Purchase. Some nongovernment sponsored reasons include the Gold Rush, and the Mormons. The Homestead Acts was one of the first reasons for westward expansion.

The transformation of the West changed the frontier into a new and growing part of the United States. Over the period of twenty five years the land changed drastically. New technologies were created allowing the expansion of the United States to continue marching forward. The Native Americans were conquered and the railroads brought greater civilizations. The United States had already started creating a path leading into the West by laying down railroad tracks, consequently the Indians fought back in fear of losing their homelands and people.

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.

In the years following the Revolutionary War the United States would begin to expand, although not popular among all citizens, it helped shape the country into what we know today. The first acquisition of territory would be as a result of the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain ending the Revolutionary War. This treaty marked the boundaries between the British colonies still located in North America and ceded the thirteen American colonies to a newly recognized country known as the United States of America. This would not be the only acquisition of territory that the United States would complete between the years of 1789 and 1815 but it would be the initial acquisition of territory that would develop this newly formed nation.

The Oregon Trail: Some reasons why the Pioneers decided to go along the Oregon trail and head west were to find opportunity, have free land, good farmland, large forests, free of diseases, and to find jobs. What was the Oregon trail like? - Many diseases like typhoid fever, Cholera, dysentery, Diphtheria, and measles. - They traveled 15 miles on a average day and 18-20 on a good day.

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.

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

The Oregon Trail is “this nation’s longest graveyard” (National Park Service). The emigrants on the trail looked for a new life in America. Some emigrants went looking for religious freedom, others went for land and power. They were not prepared for the dangers and difficulties that the trail presented.

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.

The similarities between the east and west didn’t stop there, with the introduction of the railroad the west became a booming place for business. A lot of smart business men saw this potential and jumped on it just as they had building huge manufacturing plants on the east coast they bought up land to create mega ranches that eventually put a lot of the smaller farms out of

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

Between 1800 and 1850, the North and South had grown distinctively different but they also had some similarities. Some of the differences & similarities between the North and South included the economy, social attitudes & structures, and daily life. The North and the South had differences & similarities with their economies. The North and the South had farmers and everyone including children worked on the family farms. As time went by, the North became more industrialized and manufacturing became the center point of their economy not agriculture.