It was the start of a new era in America and the thought of more land in the west caused many people to take up their belongings and head over. This was the beginning of the Westward Expansion. The people that moved over had different incentives on why they wanted to move across America. The main purpose that many sought was to gain cheap and bountiful land. However, the whole ordeal was not just fine and dandy. There were challenges that played out as they tried to expand. Many of the challenges were overcome, but there were still obstacles that had to be examined. The economic motivations that encouraged the Westward Expansion were one of the reasons that many truly wanted to expand. The people that were expanding gained land for America …show more content…
Crossing the land was not as easy as it was thought to be. There were wars with the Native Americans, on who owned the different pieces of land. While they were traveling many animals were unhappy that there were settlers on their land, which created another challenge; animal attacks were unavoidable challenges that they had to face. As they moved to the West they had to learn how to let go of some of their belongings and learn how to handle rough roads. They had to pack light when they were traveling because the wagons that they rode in where small and their belongings would tumble around because of the bumpy roads. Diseases were a big part of the challenges these travelers faced. Yellow fever was a deadly disease that took the lives of many people. Troops could not be spared because a lot of the soldiers were dying from the diseases. One last challenge was a rumor that was spreading. This rumor said that the west would have a lack of rainfall and trees. This rumor caused the birth of the title the “Great American Desert.” Not many were willing to give up their land to move out to a desert that only few had …show more content…
It was believed that they could gain natural resources that were needed by expanding. They saw that the Mississippi River would be a helpful source. The river would allow for more food, would become a trade center, would provide a natural barrier, and, of course, be a source of water. There were more than just essentials that were wanted from the expansion. People wanted gold. The idea that they could get rich was very intriguing. There was enough gold but the amount of gold was not the only problem. There was not enough food for all the people that were coming to the west. The people, also, wanted to double in size after. This would allow for more living space and help their expanding population to grow even more. They would use the extra land to resettle the Native Americans’ land that they invaded when they were expanding to the West. There was a lot of land that was obtained after the Westward Expansion. In April 30, 1803, there was a treaty signed for America to finally gain the Louisiana Territory from France. The Louisiana Territory was located from the Mississippi River to the Rocky
What Impact did Railroads Have on South Dakota South Dakota’s history with railroads is very interesting. The first area in South Dakota was owned by white settlers. They were hearing about how railroads were a faster way to send letters because there were no telephones in 1800s. South Dakota was settled in 1861(John).
They census data fro 1830 and 1840 show a staggeringly rapid population increase of 32.71%," (Source 1, par. 8) This occurred because travelers from other countries, such as China and Mexico for example, moved to the West Coast. They wanted to start a new life and obtain economic prosperity as well. New land was found and people wanted to settle in the vast acreage.
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
Different than how the East was developed, the West was to be assembled and settled much faster than any other portion of the country. “The later peopled states of New-England did by no means come as rapidly to the same state of relative, intellectual and moral culture as many portions of the West have already arrived at, in the short period of forty, thirty, and even twenty years” (Beecher). It was to be established basically in the blink of an eye. With the quick establishment in the region, it was sought out that that area of the nation would have churches and educated people to make it a prosperous place. The eastern half of the United States had time to develop.
The United States payed fifteen million dollars to France for this land. Authority of this large region of land was transferred to the United States by France in December 1803. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States and made westward expansion much more possible. The purchase included modern day states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and New
The common people were trying their hardest to fix their lives with a changing economy, and it worked out for the best. Westward Expansion was how the Americans were trying to move Westward, but they wanted the Native Americans
The Louisiana purchase was a vital event leading to westward expansion. One cause of the Louisiana purchase was Thomas Jefferson couldn't buy the land directly from the French so he made a treaty saying that he could buy the land. This demonstrates the Louisiana Purchase being a right because it was a amendment in the constitution the Jefferson used. The French also were in the middle of a war with great Britain, which meant they needed money badly to supply food, pay the troops, and for more reasons. They needed money a lot more than territory on a different continent, however the constitution stated that he couldn't buy the land directly from other countries so he twisted the words of the constitution using an elastic clause.
The expansion west brought about a change where some people moved to new land and other Native Americans were forced to leave. The new land that was discovered brought about many new arrivals. The idea of a better lifestyle was the dream of all. People liked the idea of being free for once in their lives.
Arizona is known for its desolate deserts, and it’s unreal summer temperatures. It goes without saying, that for something to live here, be it, plants, animals, or people, that they would need to be strong and resilient. This gave rise to desert plants and animals like the Saguaro and jackrabbit, but today I will be focusing on how resilience and Guns, Germs and Steel affected ancient Arizonians and how it will affect future Arizonians. Many of these ancient tribes had some of the fiercest, most cunning, and adaptable people that the world had ever seen. One has to wonder, why did the Europeans discover and take over the Americas, instead of it being the other way around?
It started the migration west for the United States. It doubled the size of the nation. The Louisiana Purchase is one of the biggest piece of land bought by the United States in history. Who was the land bought from? The land was bought from France.
No one thought moving west would be easy, but no one really realized how uneasy the process would actually be. Many knew of the agricultural challenges in the west but like many other things, settlers underestimated it. Upon arriving on the plains after a gut-wrenching journey many things were quite
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.
People were drawn to the West because it was scene as the last resort to make a living when all else failed in the East. Communication with friends and family who had moved west led these pioneers to believe the journey would be easy and the reward for getting west would be best. And the greatly available land was the strongest pulling factor to people interested in adventuring west. Migration was a personal choice that depended on several key factors, “Age of the head of household; economic status; personal attitudes; and projected costs and benefits of the resettlement.” Most historians agree that the majority of the people who migrated west were middle class and mostly immigrants to the US.
People in America during this time seeking for opportunities out west that they did not think they had in the east. During this time, gold was discovered in California that attracted many people not just from America, but all over the world. Plus, the government encouraged people to go mining for gold by giving miners cheaper land to live on out west. As stated in the Homestead Act of 1862, United States Congress, a law providing free land for citizens of the United States in western territories. This act encouraged people to mine for gold in California so they could have cheaper land than they would anywhere else.
The Westward Expansion consisted of almost 7 million Americans migrating west, hoping to get land and be wealthy. It is often called Manifest Destiny, because many people believed settlers was intended to expand the west. Because so many people thought this way it was also thought the U.S was physically separated from Europe. This migration of people included people from Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries. The Western Expansion had a part in the foreign policies in the expansion towards the pacific and the way the U.S treated their relationship with other