Westward Expansion Effects

Throughout the years, following the civil war (1860’s-1900’s), the United States was guilty of genocide on the behalf of the Native Americans. The Natives were discriminated against and were pressured into abandoning the Midwest and the Great Plains due to excruciating circumstances. The Homestead and Pacific Railroad Acts pushed the Native Americans to the brink of existence. The policies within the acts targeted these tribes in order to pursue the goals of the government. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed the selling of hundreds of acres of land to families, therefore tripling the amount of farms from two million to six million in a matter of decades. This led to over 500,000 natives migrating westward, while families inhabiting the former

The native population declined and their well being was not a priority. The US settlers became obsessed with this notion of westward expansion even if it meant that natives were going to be mistreated and oppressed. The creation of the railroad was the final nail in the coffin to the natives’ fate. The railroad allowed easy access and transportation to the new land. As stated in the text, “… Between 1790-1840, some 4.5 million people crossed the Appalachian Mountains – more than the entire U.S population at the time of Washington’s first inauguration.” (Pg. 336) This shows the dramatic increase in population and demand for westward expansion. Since natives occupied the land that was needed for building such infrastructure, the European settlers

The purchase of Louisiana doubled the United States in size and was the key to the beginning of westward expansion. This expansion of the U.S. served as one of the defining topics of American history but contrarily, it nearly demolished the entire democracy. Because of Louisiana’s high birth rate and rapid immigration, the United States’ population increased from about five million to more than twenty-three million people. Such expeditious growth as well as economic depressions drove millions of Americans to the west in search of fresh territory and opportunities also known as manifest destiny. At the start of the 1830’s almost one hundred twenty-five thousand Native Americans lived on southeast acres that their ancestors had inhabited for generations. But then President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian removal act which gave the government the authority to trade native held land for land to the west that the United States had obtained with the purchase of Louisiana. By the closing of the decade, only a few Natives were left because the Federal government mandated that they abandon their homeland and go to designated Indian territory. This expedition was better known as the Trail of Tears. The purpose of these reservations was to bring the Native Americans under United States government control, eliminate conflict between the Indians and settlers, and finally to further encourage Native Americans to take on the habits of settlers. In exchange tribes usually received money but it was never a lot and the majority were spent on purchasing food and supplies from traders. But the daily living conditions of the reservations primarily had the most catastrophic results with devastating and long lasting effects. Overall, the rapid territorial expansionism resulted in relocation and brutal mistreatment of Native American occupants of territories now occupied by the United

During the 19th century, the United States was rapidly expanding its territories. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought the territory known as Louisiana from the French for $15 million dollars. Later in 1845, the United States took control over the Republic of Texas making it an official state. Closely following, the Oregon territory was handed over from the English because of the Oregon Treaty in 1846; soon after Mexico was won in 1848. With all the newly acquired land, immigrants came pouring into the West looking for new opportunities and to change their lives by the promise of the undiscovered land. Three main groups of people moved west to lead new lives; cattlemen, miners, and western farmers made up a majority

The instances of social, political, and economic antagonism between cultural and ethnic groups that arose from Westward Expansion were racism and the assimilation forced against marginalized groups of people. According to the Document B, “...China—the greatest and oldest despotism in the world—for a cheap working slave...the meanest slave on earth—the Chinese coolie—and imports him here to degrade white Labor.” One can infer that many were not happy with the fact that Chinese immigrants were doing jobs that white settlers did for cheaper and thought of them as stealing their jobs which added to the conflicts between the two groups, Whites and Chinese. According to Document D, “Many of the Indian dogs were still found in the vicinity lately occupied by the lodges of their owners; they probably subsisting on the bodies of the ponies that had been killed and then covered several acres of ground nearby.” One can assume that Custer was very biased against the Native Americans and reported them as dogs and savages that would leave their kind behind, which further adds to the antagonism between Native Americans and White Settlers.

As many ventured into the unknowns of the western territories of the US, they were lured by the dream of a promised bountiful future. However, they were met with some of the most cruel, yet defining factors of westward expansion. Westward expansion was based on Manifest Destiny, the belief that expanding the United States and its territories was its destiny. The hope was that expansion would bring more economic gains, like natural resources and trade routes. However, expanding only increased the spread of slavery and the problems with Native Americans.

Westward expansion played a huge part in history and helped the United States become what it is today. In 1803, the United States started expanding westward by obtaining more land. The United States got land through purchasing, negotiation, war, and annexation. Such a great expansion would surely have an impact on the country. Westward expansion impacted both positively and negatively the people living in America, the environment, and the growth of the United States.

America’s westward expansion really affected the lives of the Native Americans in several ways. Since Americans were wanting land for farming, ranching, and mining, it took away the Native Americans land for hunting and gathering. In general, this dramatically changed the face of American history.

The Louisiana Purchase was the largest land deal in our history. It doubled the size of the United States and gave us a strong face as an economic power. It brought immigrants from all over the world for the idea of owning land and making a living for themselves. We also had a second expansion with the Adams-Onis treaty in 1819 (Davidson, 2002, p.p. 246-247) where we clearly defined the United States and Spanish board to the Pacific and obtained the Florida territory. This gave the United State a firm foothold and clearly defined boarders for the first time in our history.

I mostly agree with this statement because westward expansion caused the most tension politically, economically and territorially between the northern and southern states due to the balance of power. However, it could be argued that the north and south's views on slavery was a more significant cause the civil war.

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 opened the door to westward expansion. Thomas Jefferson purchased this extensive plot of land with the hopes of strengthening and expanding the Republic, unaware that it would have the opposite effect. Jefferson’s fateful decision to expand the United States nearly destroyed the Republic that Americans worked so hard to build. It triggered the rise of divisions amongst Americans. These small cracks continued to grow and tear at the seams of the nation. Although westward expansion between 1800 and 1848 granted many new opportunities to the American people, it also brought about tension that plagued the nation for years to come.

In the mid-1800s, many Americans began to move westward, with a variety of motivations. Farmers were drawn west by all of the fertile, open land in the west, offered to them cheap by the Homestead Act. The California Gold Rush was another reason many moved west. Gold was discovered in California, and miners flocked there, hoping to strike it rich. Additionally, cattle ranchers were attracted to the west because their beef cattle thrived on the abundant grasses and open range of the Great Plains. Later on, newly built railroads, including the first transcontinental railroad, made transportation of people and goods west much more feasible, and opened the West to rapid settlement (History Alive). Although Westward Expansion was a time of full

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.

A positive humanitarian effect of westward expansion is that it increased a sense of patriotism. Although the treatment of the Native Americans was indeed in humane but during the times, the thought process was different. Many people agreed that Manifest destiny was justified because of the growing population and also it was a god given right. In addition, the white settler believed that it was their duty to help the Native Americans. This brought people together to set out on missions to do what they believe what they think is right. On the contrary, seeing the inhumane treatment of the Native Americans allowed more people to speak up and take a stand.The wars between the Native Americans and settlers could have potentially showed the any side the repercussions of violence bringing people together to find more convenient solutions. The idea of Manifest Destiny and movement of Westward expansion hit the Native American hard. As the movement westward increased, the discovery of gold on native American lands resulted in the

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.