The Economic Impacts Of Westward Expansion

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 to 1840s, to promote further territory expansion, the “manifest destiny” came into play – which was the idea that America was destined to expand across the entire country westward. Quickly, the nation expanded.

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

Westward expansion was a time of successes and failures, a time celebrations and grief, a time full of life and death but in the end it shaped how America is the way is today. Westward expansion was put in action because of the belief of Manifest Destiny, the belief that it is America fate to expand from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean. The economical, political and humanitarians impacts were necessary to achieve the goal of manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion.

Manifest Destiny is a term coined by John L. Sullivan in 1845 when talking about the annexation of Texas. He believed, along with other expansionists, that it’s inevitable that the US population would spread across North America because the land is given by Providence to the United States and that it’s natural that the land should be part of the country [Doc 1]. The idea of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny had positive and negative effects on the politics, society and the economics of the United States and

Any American including freed slaves could claim a land up to 160 acres for free if they worked on the land for 5 years (Doc. B). What this meant for the Native Americans was that they now have less land to hunt on so they are resorted to the reservations. Forty-eight million acres were given away. In 1872 there was an advertisement on the Homestead Act showing millions of acres in Iowa and Nebraska (Doc. E). Also in 1862, the Morrill Land-Grant Act was created to allow the creation of land-grant colleges in the US (Doc. C). It was a huge uplift to higher education in

Westward expansions of the united states molded and affected the nations advancement socially, politically and economically holding quick to its connections to agriculture, its relations with and through slavery with the westward expansion therefore there would not be an abolishment movement and the women would not have been there to find against it. Although the Indian removal has helped shape the westward expansion politically and economically because it has given America more land and cotton. The Mexican war shaped the western expansion culturally and politically because the Mexican were racially religiously superior.

The westward expansion saw the emergence of major cities, railway networks, more interactions and improved agriculture which kept on improving in the 1800s. In the interactive map helped me realized a few important things. For instance. there are several ways through which the United States experienced a huge growth during the 1860–1890 westward expansion. Increased population, development of railroads, as well as large-scale agriculture are amongst the decades' major achievements as indicated on the decade base maps. Furthermore, the map showed as some of the natural barriers that prevented growth as well as the indigenous populations which existed prior the expansion (Billington, Allen, and Martin 2001, 201).

Thomas Jefferson purchased land from the French during the Louisiana Purchase which gave the United States land west. He sent Lewis and Clark west to explore what he had just purchased. During the same time of the Louisiana Purchase, there was a concept of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a main idea during the 1800s. It is the belief that the land west was the Americans land to settle and that the resources were theirs to use. This belief was self-centered and did not focus on the Native Americans. The Americans did not reach out to the Natives to build a strong nation and instead they took the tools, ideas, and materials to build their nation and left the Natives out of it. Americans saw their dream as a free country and it was their right to conquer others’ property without their consent. During westward expansion, American identity evolved into one image for all Americans that emphasized greed and power and the belief that American settlers should create their own sovereign land.

Westward Expansion started with President Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from the French for only fifteen million dollars. This allowed landless families to migrate from where they currently were to a new place with fresh lands to claim. This had a few effects such as increasing the size of the country, while providing land and means for income to families. During the course of westward expansion the size of the United States took a drastic population increase, with the overall population going from five million to seventy-six million. This set the U.S. on the fast track to expand out to the west coast. Abraham Lincoln signed in to law the Homestead Act, which gave people willing to

Prior to the 1800s, US expansion had been accepted by the government in the thirteen colonies. Despite the government's favor for territorial expansion, the controversy was spread throughout the 13 colonies on the idea of expansion. An American who influenced expansion in America, John O’ Sullivan, conjectured that territorial expansion was destined and it was god’s given right to expand America coast to coast, or in this case into westward territories. This thought was defined as Manifest Destiny and aided the fuel of western settlement, Native American Removal and war with Mexico. Many Americans did, however, oppose expansion and war causing, but their inputs didn’t change the idea of expansion. During the period of 1800-1855, America’s idea to expand territory succeeded in events such as the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Indian Removal Act. These events certainly satisfied proponents of expansion and influenced America's westward expansion. Despite these achievements, opponents of expansions opposed because of events like the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American war. America’s shape today is indeed based on these beliefs of expanding America.

Westward expansion from 1860 to 1890 represented a time for significant change within America. During this time period the U.S would experience rapid growth within cities, agricultural land, and the railroad network. With everything beginning to fall into place and technology booming, America would soon become one of the world’s greatest superpowers. Without Westward expansion, America would not have developed as fast as it did.

A change in the economy can cause lots of problems and can really impact a country in a brutal way. Meaning an economy can affect a country and its people in a short amount of time and can plumet a country's wealth, progress, and economy from one wrong decision or move. Westward expansion was a factor in something that impacted our country. Switching from an agricultural economy to an industrial also had an impact on our economy and ways of living. Immigration too had an impact on Americans and American life. Immigrants came to America to be free and even for a better life. Sometimes this could have meant taking hundreds of American jobs. The Progressive era is also an affect on our country and economy. The Progressive Era was the era when Teddy Roosevelt was president and had his goal to progress America and its economy and country together.

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.

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.

This text is a sampling of times, places, and people of the Westward Expansion. A teacher teaching the Westward Expansion will find historical images and stories behind the historical times and the sheet music that correlates to the topics. This cross-curricular resource allows for the stories to be read and the pictures to study, and ultimately the music to be incorporated into the classroom learning. Ultimately this book can be utilized to bring adventure, danger, dreams, and the realities of American life during the Westward Expansion to come alive for students. This will make history fun for all students, allowing students to build more of a connection to the past. This is another great resource but because I don’t teach Western Expansion