Impacts Of Westward Expansion Flashcards
Geographical
Agricultural Development: Vast tracts of prairie and plains were converted into farmland, significantly altering ecosystems. The invention of the steel plow and other farming technologies enabled large-scale agriculture.
Deforestation: Extensive logging in areas like the Pacific Northwest changed forest ecosystems and landscapes.
Louisiana Purchase (1803): Doubled the size of the United States, adding approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River.
Transcontinental Railroad (completed in 1869): Linked the eastern U.S. with the West Coast, facilitating movement of people and goods. It also spurred the development of towns and cities along its route.
Boomtowns and Ghost Towns: Rapid growth of mining towns (e.g., during the California Gold Rush) followed by equally rapid decline when resources were exhausted.
Mining and Resource Extraction: Intensive mining activities (gold, silver, copper) led to soil erosion, water contamination, and landscape scarring.
Buffalo Population Decline: Overhunting and habitat disruption led to the near-extinction of the American buffalo, which had profound ecological impacts on the Great Plains.
Economic
Increased Production: The acquisition of vast tracts of fertile land enabled significant increases in agricultural production. The Great Plains, in particular, became the breadbasket of the country.
Cash Crops: Farmers began to focus on cash crops like cotton, wheat, and corn, which were highly profitable and became major exports.
Technological Advances: Innovations such as the steel plow and mechanized reapers increased efficiency and productivity.
Railroads: The construction of transcontinental railroads facilitated the movement of goods and people, linking eastern markets with western resources. This reduced transportation costs and opened new markets.
Canals and Roads: Infrastructure projects like the Erie Canal and National Road also improved connectivity and trade routes.
Gold Rush: The California Gold Rush of 1848-1855 and subsequent discoveries in other states spurred economic booms, attracting thousands of prospectors and leading to rapid settlement and infrastructure development.
Resource Exploitation: The westward expansion enabled the exploitation of vast natural resources, including timber, minerals, and fossil fuels, which fueled industrial growth.
Political
Admission of New States: As territories in the West grew in population, they were admitted as states. This increased the number of states and thus the number of representatives in Congress, altering the balance of power between the North and the South, as well as between free and slave states.
Missouri Compromise (1820): This was a significant legislative effort to balance the power between free and slave states, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also established a geographical line for the prohibition of slavery in future states.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): This act allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether they would allow slavery, effectively nullifying the Missouri Compromise and leading to violent conflict known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
Republican Party Formation: The expansion of slavery into western territories was a key issue that led to the formation of the Republican Party in the 1850s, which opposed the spread of slavery. This ideological conflict ultimately contributed to the Civil War.
compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850: A package of five bills aimed at defusing political tensions between free and slave states. Key components included admitting California as a free state and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Law.
The acquisition of new territories following the Mexican-American War reignited the debate over the expansion of slavery. California’s request for admission as a free state threatened the balance between free and slave states.
The Compromise of 1850 did not resolve the underlying tensions between the North and the South; instead, it intensified them.
Introduced the concept of popular sovereignty, allowing territories to decide the issue of slavery for themselves. This principle led to violent conflicts, notably “Bleeding Kansas,” where pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers clashed.
While intended to be a temporary solution, the Compromise of 1850 failed to address the root causes of sectional strife.
Set the stage for the breakdown of national unity and contributed to the sequence of events leading to the Civil War.
bleeding kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed the settlers in those territories to determine whether they would allow slavery within their boundaries through popular sovereignty. This effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in that region.
The act led to a rush of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas, each group hoping to influence the outcome of the slavery question. Pro-slavery settlers, often from neighbouring Missouri, and anti-slavery settlers from the North clashed violently.
The conflict saw numerous violent confrontations, including the sacking of the town of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces in May 1856. In response, abolitionist John Brown led an attack at Pottawatomie Creek, killing five pro-slavery settlers.
bleeding Sumner
In May 1856, Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, delivered a fiery speech titled “The Crime Against Kansas,” in which he denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its authors.
Sumner specifically targeted Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina, making personal and scathing remarks.
Two days later, Representative Preston Brooks, a relative of Butler, approached Sumner at his desk in the Senate chamber and brutally beat him with a cane.
Sumner was severely injured and took several years to recover fully.
The attack on Sumner shocked the nation and highlighted the intensity of the sectional conflict.
It further polarized the North and South, with many in the North viewing Sumner as a martyr for the anti-slavery cause, while many in the South praised Brooks’ actions.
