Heading Out West Research Paper
Donavan Hoffman
American History
Pd. 5
What is the motivation for heading out west? Heading out west was very popular back in the 1800s, as well as a huge step for the american people. The Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the United States, which provided so much land to explore. So when it comes to the motivation, there are many varying reasons. Reasons varied due to differences in the type of person, or what that person’s occupation was. For instance, someone who was a farmer differentiated from a person that was a gold miner. Then there are people wanted to start anew, and leave everything behind. Even the government promoted buying land and moving out West at one point in time. The motivation for people heading out west was to search for gold, to farm, and the belief in Manifest Destiny. …show more content…
Marshall discovered gold in Sacramento Valley in California(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). He brought it back to the East, and showed everyone the nugget of gold he found. Not only did he say that he found gold, but he spread the word about how much gold there was to be found. That caused what is known today as the “Gold Rush”. The “Gold Rush” is the time when people traveled to California to search for gold. Before Marshall discovered gold, the non-native population of California was about 800 in March, 1848(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). By the end of 1849, the non-native population grew to about 100,000(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). That means the population grew by over 90,000, just the year after gold was discovered. Because of that, searching for gold is considered one of the motivations because of how many people moved west with the ambition to find gold, and become wealthy. The sudden growth in population proves that. But, there are other motivations for people moving out
American History
Pd. 5
What is the motivation for heading out west? Heading out west was very popular back in the 1800s, as well as a huge step for the american people. The Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the United States, which provided so much land to explore. So when it comes to the motivation, there are many varying reasons. Reasons varied due to differences in the type of person, or what that person’s occupation was. For instance, someone who was a farmer differentiated from a person that was a gold miner. Then there are people wanted to start anew, and leave everything behind. Even the government promoted buying land and moving out West at one point in time. The motivation for people heading out west was to search for gold, to farm, and the belief in Manifest Destiny. …show more content…
Marshall discovered gold in Sacramento Valley in California(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). He brought it back to the East, and showed everyone the nugget of gold he found. Not only did he say that he found gold, but he spread the word about how much gold there was to be found. That caused what is known today as the “Gold Rush”. The “Gold Rush” is the time when people traveled to California to search for gold. Before Marshall discovered gold, the non-native population of California was about 800 in March, 1848(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). By the end of 1849, the non-native population grew to about 100,000(http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849). That means the population grew by over 90,000, just the year after gold was discovered. Because of that, searching for gold is considered one of the motivations because of how many people moved west with the ambition to find gold, and become wealthy. The sudden growth in population proves that. But, there are other motivations for people moving out