During the mid-late 1800s, economic and industrial developments profoundly transformed the land and the peoples of the American West. Immigrants and non-Indians who longed for new opportunities in life settled there. This influx of westward movement was primarily initiated as a result of deliberate policy by the federal government. Since the United States government secured more land in central North America after the Louisiana Purchase and annexation of southern and western states (Boyer 317), the Republicans were eager to designate public plots of land (considered as Native American property) for independent farmers. By passing a series of acts in 1862 to encourage non Indians to expand to the west, the U.S. government guided non-Indians…
The westward expansion happened in the 1800`s. It was a period of time when the United States was trying to obtain more states in the Union from throughout North America; it was titled the Manifest Destiny. One of the reasons was because immigrants wanted to come to America to have freedom of religion, uninhabited land, and access to special metals. Martin Van Buren (1837 - 1841), William Henry Harrison (1841, he died of pneumonia in office), John Tyler (1841 - 1845), and James K Polk (1845 - 1849) were all presidents who were supporters of the westward expansion. James K Polk had an especially big influence on the westward expansion, although only half his plans succeeded. Some of his plans also eventually started the Mexican and American War.…
forward our country has ever taken. It nearly tripled the size of our country and increased the…
The westward expansion negatively impacted the native americans. The settlers did a lot of awful things to get their gold. The native americans were kicked out of their land by the settlers. The native americans fought for their land against the settlers. The settlers killed a lot of native american people for their gold. Westward expansion negatively impacted the native american people by causing war that devastated the native american land, the native americans were forced out of their land, and the journey to the west was long and hard.…
America’s acquisition of the West took huge strides during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A major move in American history towards this innuendo was the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, under Thomas Jefferson. It was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the United States acquired more than 800,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. Another major factor was the result of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe. It was a peace treaty that granted the United States with the territories of present day Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and most importantly California. These large acquisitions, combined with the ideas of Manifest Destiny and a growing population led to desire of Westward Expansion.…
Many Americans including westerners felt that these frontiers west of the Mississippi River and East of the Rocky Mountains were considered vast wildlife with extreme beauty. As people started to understand what our country possessed and what it had for itself an immense growth in nationalism arose causing different people to act in unique ways to alter society for the boon of the people. This gratefulness for the wildness in the west of the country enabled people to gain pride in their country and develop a say to prosper it further. People started to move to these frontier lands to get away from social conformity and move out away from governmental means. This newly developed precedent of moving westward began to shape people to have a say in what they believe is correct rather then living in the backfire of the government. As people started to realize this land was vacant and accessible they started to move away from the major governmental cities and begin to move to these lands in the…
Why did the colonists expand westward? Well at the time the colonists were very close together on the east coast and many people wanted to explore their living westward away from most of the civilization, to make their own. I am thankful for westward expansion because I live in west. The westward expansion was a great help to everyday life. This had great exploration westward for the brave people that decided to endure this excruciating journey. The people that expanded westward had to endure great challenges or setbacks on their exploring. They encountered a lot of weather challenges, Indian attacks and animal attacks. During this time of exploration the president Thomas Jefferson was not helping everyone explore. The westward expansion was actually a major part of his wild soul that just wanted to get out there and explore. The explorers and present day us got lots of benefits but also consequences.…
In the early 1800’s, Americans pushed steadily westward, moving even beyond the territory of the United States. They traveled by canoe and flatboat, on horseback, and by wagon train. Some even walked much of the way. American merchant John Jacob Astor created one of the largest fur businesses, the American Fur Company. His company bought skins from western mountain men. These adventurers were some of the first easterners to explore the map of Rocky Mountains and lands west of them. Mountain men lived lonely and often dangerous lives. They trapped animals on their own, far from towns and settlements. Mountain men like Jedediah Smith, Manuel Lisa, Jim Bridger, and Jim Backwourth survived many hardships during their search for wealth and adventure. To survive on the frontier, mountain men adopted Native American customs and clothing. In addition, they often married Native American women. The Indian wives of trappers often worked hard to contribute to their success. Recognizing the huge economic value of the Pacific Northwest, the United States made treaties in which Spain and Russia gave up their claims to various areas. The United States also signed treaties with Britain allowing both countries to occupy Oregon County, the Columbia River, and its surrounding lands.…
west to be an empty wilderness. And in less than fifty years, from the 1803…
America is often considered one of the most wealthy and powerful countries in the world. The United States is associated with global reverence and respect; however, could a nation so great preserve indigenous societies continuously impeding the country’s potential growth without giving up on aspirations of success and expansion? Would our country exist as the power symbol it is today without certain actions that removed the barriers preventing American expansion and growth? Although the aboriginal people of America had claimed their land before the settlement of white colonists, the Native Americans proved an impediment towards the ultimate growth in America’s economic and commercial power. However harsh the treatment of Native Americans in the past was, the relocation and removal of the Natives was a necessary action, allowing the United States with the global status it possesses today. The relocation movements of Native Americans during the period of Western Expansion, though at times inhumane and cruel, were crucial for the ultimate growth and development of America.…
By the mid nineteenth century, the United States was expanding westward rapidly. And as America expanded, so did the sectionalism. The rifts between the North and the South, caused by conflicting views on Westward Expansion were becoming more evident. Not only were the debates over westward expansion tedious; the ever growing social debate was also becoming alarmingly prevalent. And in 1860, the Civil War broke out, ultimately because of economic, political and social aspects of westward expansion. Therefore, westward expansion caused the Civil War.…
The economic and social differences highlighted by westward expansion led to the creation of two complete different sections of America, the North and the South. Yes, the North and South were already created; however, the economic and social changes, which became more clear through westward expansion, led them to growing farther apart and the two sides having a political conflict between each other’s ideas for the future of America. Westward expansion led to the North and South having to try and come to an agreement on whether the new states and territories would become a slave states or a free states. The North valued the abolition of slavery while the South thrived on slavery. Many compromises were created due to this conflict between two…
From 1800 to 1850 territorial expansion tore the United States apart. Territorial expansion itself was not a debated issue. Spurred by the concept of Manifest Destiny, almost everyone believed that America should extend from sea to shining sea and maybe even farther. But it was the issue of the expansion of slavery into the new territories that pitted the North against the South and split our nation apart.…
The United States serves as a giant puzzle. From coast to coast, each region of land is slowly being put together. This is very similar to westward expansion. From 1801 to1844, westward expansion spread rapidly and America experienced a serious change in national unity. During this period territorial expansion had a very large impact and overall brought Americans together. During the early 1800’s (1800-1823) the Louisiana Purchase and Treaty of 1818 increased national unity. The Louisiana Purchase was economically beneficial and generally cemented the union. The Treaty of 1818 resolved boundary issues between the United States and the United Kingdom and Ireland allowing joint occupations of the Oregon territory. This eventually led to the purchase of the Oregon Territory and eventually the Mexican Cession. American expansion to the Pacific was a reasonable goal and was made ultimately uniting American to what it is today “from sea to shining sea”.…
How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.…