How Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny Effected The U.S.

Were the events that
took place in the 1800’s, and westward expansion beneficial for the U.S. and
its future? Or was westward expansion just a negative to the U.S. and its
future? The 1800’s in American history was a time period of change and benefits
for the U.S. It was when many events took place. For example, Thomas Jefferson
purchased the Louisiana territory. Many settlers moved west because of the gold
rush of 1849, and the Homestead Act. Also
many railroads were built, so now produce, meats, and people could travel from
place to place, faster. Furthermore, railroads redistributed the population,
carried homesteaders into the Great Plains, and opened the U.S. to settlement.
Lastly it was when westward movement affected the Native Americans the most.
Back in the 1800’s it was America’s Manifest Destiny to “conquer” and claim the
land in the west.

Why settlers moved westward.

Thomas Jefferson wanted to buy New Orleans because it was
west of the Mississippi (good for farming) and was where a lot of trading took
place. So Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to offer 7.5 million dollars to
buy New Orleans. Napoleon was on the brink of war with Britain, so he decided
to give an offer they couldn’t resist, to give all of the Louisiana Territory
for double the price (15 million). On 1803, April 30th, Thomas
Jefferson accepted Napoleon’s offer and purchased the Louisiana Territory from
Napoleon for 15 million dollars (HA 202-203). After acquiring
all this land, the Americans decided since they were all “squished” northeast,
to move westward. But to lure even more people to move west, there was the
Homestead Act. The Homestead
Act was passed in 1862, and as stated in the Homestead Act, any person that is
the head of a family, at least 21 years old, and was a citizen of the United
States could receive 160 acres of public land by just paying a fee (AJ 534). This attracted
farmers because of all the farming land, and if enough farmers moved west, and
“made” farms, there is a possibility of a surplus of food. Another reason why
settlers wanted to move westward was because of the 1849 gold rush. The gold rush attracted over 100,000
people, and significally increased California’s population. (in 1848 the
population of California was about 20,000, and in just 4 years the population
skyrocketed to more than 220,000.) Many people who moved west hoped to later
on, fulfill their vision of the godly life (AJ 376-378). (Basically
becoming “rich” and owning a lot of land). Lastly, thousands of settlers moved west because of 1 economic
deal of buying land: (more specifically buying land from the Burlington and
Missouri River R.R. Co) low prices (Doc 3)

The impact of railroads on the development of the west.

During the 1800’s a new
way of traveling had been invented and used. Trains. Railroads became a big
part of the west as it
redistributed the population, helped transport people and materials faster, and
affected the way people thought of time. (AJ 554) In addition, 4 new improvements
were made. The first one by
George Westinghouse, he invented air brakes which improved the system for
stopping cars. The second one by Eli H. Janney, who made it easier to link cars
together. A third one by Gustavus Smith, who invented refrigerated cars, which
allowed people to transport meats. And a last one by George M. Pullman, who
invented the Pullman sleeping car, which was a luxury railway car with seats
that converted into beds(AJ 553) Also The U.S purchased the Gadsden
Purchase which was an area that was flat and good for railroads. So it was used
to connect California to the east. Lastly people took the passage on the railroad from Omaha to San
Francisco, because San Francisco had
lots of land to farm in, very fine timber, and the best kept land.(Doc
6)

Impact of westward movement on the lives of Native Americans

Since the U.S acquired
Oregon (the U.S and Britain
were fighting over who should get the land because Lewis and Clark (American)
were the people who explored all of that area. And Britain explorers discovered
the Columbia River (AJ 355-356). So to make it fair, both the U.S. and
Britain agreed to split the land at the 49th parallel. The land
below the 49th parallel was for the U.S. and the land above is
Britain’s.) And Native Americans lived on the Americans land, they too wanted
to move west. So later when the Native Americans (some of them) lived in
Oregon, lots of non-native
American settlers started moving to Oregon as well (from 1805 to 1900, the
non-native population increased by about 95,000 people. It mainly spiked between
1841 to 1870) (Doc 1) so Native Americans Started to move out. Also
westward movement affected
the Native Americans when they got in a war with the U.S. All their chiefs were
killed, and their people were starving and freezing to death (Doc 7)

In Conclusion, the
1800’s was when America “evolved” and adapted the most, and also when America
gained new technologies like trains, when many settlers moved west, and when
Native American movement affected the Native Americans the most. This time
period was when America’s manifest Destiny came into play the most, and America
acquired a lot of land. Without what happened in the 1800’s, America would not
be what it is today.