Americans have always had their eyes set on the west and through many challenges they eventually triumphed with perseverance and violence. Westward expansion was made possible by Rail systems. Without railroads, there would have been no way to move the necessary number of people and materials west to fuel the expanding country. The civil war left a complex system of railroads in the east but none were yet present going west. The Union Pacific railroad company and the Central Pacific Railroad Company’s started two railroads from the existing eastern systems and from the west coast, building them correspondingly to meet in the middle. Finally, in 1863, the two met creating a form of fast reliable transportation connecting the country. When moving west settlers realized that there already was a group of people in the way, Native Americans. Instead of attempting to find a peaceful solution, the existing American people decided that is was better to suppress and kill the Natives than …show more content…
The main target of American oppression was enslaved blacks but Native Americans were also later oppressed along with the working class. Slaves strived to achieve freedom by forming the underground railroad. The underground railroad was a series of stops for escaping slaves set up by slave sympathizers and northerners. One famous leader of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman, a former slave who went on countless trips into the southern territory to free slaves. Harriet had a 100% success rate which she maintained with her strict discipline and unorthodox tactics. She was known to chloroform babies to keep them quiet and pull guns of people who could possibly compromise the group. If someone didn’t listen to her she never hesitated to remove them from the group. That is one example of how black slaves strived to achieve
consideration as to the affects the settlement would have on the Native people. As Eastern-Indian tribes were moved west to make way for settlers, places like Shony Indian mission were established to help with the transition and lead the way for expansion. Manifest destiny was not just a political concept; millions of ordinary American believed that their best opportunities lay in the west. In the first half of the 1800s, at least 4 million people followed this dream. Many stopped for comfort or supplies
because he felt that throughout American history, westward expansion served as an important part of American development. Thus, this census report is significant to Turner because the termination of a frontier line shows that the Americans have completed their movement westwards which he concludes as the end of an era. 2. Turner considers the distinguishing feature of American life to be the development of America as the frontier line advanced westward. This was considered unusual according to Turner
The Frontier Thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner theorizes that the westward expansion of free land is responsible for creating the ideologies associated with the rapid Americanization of the West. It is suggested that, “the existence of an area of free land, it’s continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward” is a way in which American development can be explained (Horwitz,85). As Europeans fled across the free lands, they encountered harsh wilderness as well as indigenous
presented the “frontier thesis”. The thesis stated emphasized the idea that manifest destiny played a significant role in creating the “American” society. The creation of the American society accomplished first through the frontier line which led to the creation of American democracy and many other elements including sectionalism. The frontier line was just the beginning of what was to become of America. Acres upon acres of land scarce of settlers allowed for easy expansion. “Frontier history tells
right to expand westward. It became an American justification of expanding westward to the Pacific Ocean and conquering Native American territory. However, there had to be a reason why this term grew as a popular rationalization for the expansion of the United States. This research paper will serve to answer the following question: What are the components of Manifest Destiny? In other words, what ideologies, whether it be social, political, or economic, justified westward expansion – especially over
The Frontier Thesis may play a heavy part in U.S. history, but there are implications for truly understanding the outlines of this thesis. Fredrick Jackson Tuner during a great meeting of American Historical Association on July 12th, 1893 in Chicago, a paper named “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” This paper introduced an innovative way of astonishment to understanding the construction of America. Turner envisioned that the history of America was not focused one the prominence
The expansion to the west was considered to be a dead topic in the world of history. However one historian published a novel bringing forward new thoughts and opinions on the subject. Since Turners thesis, published in 1893 not many historians tried to reevaluate the topic of the frontier until Gregory H. Noble. Noble currently a history professor at Georgia Tech University is a very accomplished historian in early American and environmental history. In his novel, American Frontiers: Cultural Encounters
Final Writing Plan For my historical event analysis, I have chosen the Louisiana Purchase as my historic event. President Thomas Jefferson had a strong belief that western expansion would protect the United States. This was secured through the Louisiana Purchase. This event helped create better security and created many economic opportunities. This event was significant because it doubled the United States in size (Independence Hall Association, 2017). It also gave the United States government prime
In 1893 when Frederick Jackson Turner delivered his famous essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” the United States had recently fulfilled the goal of Manifest Destiny by finishing its conquest of the West. Westward expansion had been an integral aspect of the American identity and its citizens were left wondering what would continue to propel the United States into the future. At the same time, people were also looking back and trying to decide how exactly the frontier had
The Westward expansion began for the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. For $15 million dollars, President Thomas Jefferson purchased from France 828,000 square miles, including most of 14 current states, thus doubling the size of America. Jefferson now had the land, but how to populate it was another story. On a three year expedition, Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to explore the lands to get a better understanding of the geography and resources of the West. During the 1830s
There were acts passed during the Gilded Age that promoted Westward expansion, and, as a result, allowed for businesses to rise to prominence. The Morrill Grants, notably in 1890, established many agricultural and vocational colleges in the United States to promote more industry supplemented with an educated workforce to grow in the sparsely populated West. (Westward expansion.) The Homestead Act also was a source of motivation for many aspiring wealth-seekers to settle
is such a short story it says so much about America and some of the ideals that were held at the same time this was written/set, it embodies the purity and innocence of a new America. The story is also a microcosm for nature and the drive for expansion; it only shows a sliver of what is happening in the world but it still embodies those qualities. It encompasses not only the beauty and hope that Sylvia discovers while searching for the white heron, but also the strength and determination that
The chance at recreating your identity in the pursuit of longevity and financial security for the present and generations to come is what a Frontier consisted of in Turnerian terms. Correlated with Westward Expansion followed the advancement of democracy. The increase of West Coasters although on opposite sides of the Country led to a rise of patriotic sentiments according to Turner. As he says in, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”,
Tom Nowakowski 10/16/14 HI 324 Dr. Schandler Midterm Essay #1 “New Western History” entails a fundamentally different approach to looking at the history of the American West. Whereas the old narrative deemphasized the contributions of others, the new interpretative paradigm is now more inclusive of the roles of women, minority groups, the Federal Government, corporate capitalism, urbanization, and Spain too. In addition, a new environmental narrative has emerged as well. Prior to the implementation
massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in