Westward Expansion Flashcards
Louisiana Purchase
1803
- from France
- signed by James Monroe
- 2.1 million km2
- for less than 3 cents an acre
- Jefferson sent Monroe to acquire new Orleans and West Florida
- but Napolean had given up on America and so sild the whole of Lousiana
IMPORTANCE
- The purchase doubled American land territory
Gadsden Purchase
1853
President - Franklin Pierce
Reason - wanted to keep the favor of the pro-slavery Democratic party
How - James Gaden ( a southern slave owner) negotiated the deal
Gadsden was sent to Mexico to negotiate 250,000 sq miles
- 9000 sq miles removed for the senate to accept it
- Became Southern Arizona
Florida Purchase
Reason - Florida was owned by Spain and therefore pose a threat to the US
PROCESS
1810 - American settlers seized the republic of Florida
1812 - it became a part of Louisiana
1817-19 - the majority of Florida was acquired
1819 - Adams- Onis Treaty signed - Spain ceded Florida
Homestead Act
1862
- 160 acres of land, if farmed the land for 5 years
- only previously established farmers took the opportunity
- state governments and railways were the largest promoters of westward expansion
IMPOTANCE
- 10% of America’s land was allocated through this
Timber Culture Act
1873
Further 160 acres if settlers planted 40 acres of trees within 10 years
Repealed in 1883 as impossible to grow trees in the plains
- unsuccessful
Desert Land Act
1877
- 640 acres irrigated withing two years
- UNSUCCESSFUL
MORRILL ACT
1862
Set up institutions in each state educating people in agriculture, mechanical arts, and home economics
- states gave 30,000 acres per representative in congress, and the senator had to raise the funds
Lands used to fund the setting up of new schools or existing schools
Second Morrill Act
1890
- allowed black students to attend institutions
Pull Factors
- masses of fertile land homestead act - fresh start railways developments - settlements such as Cincinnati in Ohio job prospects in manufacturing in Chicago, Illinois
Push Factors
- land in the east was becoming very expensive
- farmers in the east struggled to make a profit
- there was heavy competition from western farmers with larger production
- Virginia and Maryland soil was exhausted - planatation farmers moved west
- Plantation farmers moved west because crops were unprofitable without slave labour
- soldioirs post civil war moved west
- religious groups moved west to avoid persecution (mormons)
- Manifest Destiny
Geographical Impact of Expansion
- Atalantic to Pacif Ocean
Popuation - 1869 - 38 million
- 1899 - 92 million
Economic Advantages of Westward Expansion
- gold rush - good for economy
- farm production doubled from 1869-99
- value of manugfacturing grew sixthfold
- westawrd expansion incrased the railway an dcommunications development
Economic disadvantages of Westward Expansion
- eastern agricultire struglled to compete
- only 40% of Homesreaders who went out recived their land (because condutions were harsh)
1889-93 - Bankruotcy and droubt led to 11,000 homesteads being reposessed
Social Advantages of Westward Expansion
- land opportunity
- escape form prevsious curcumstances
Social Disadvantages of Westward Expansion
- expansion destroyed Native American wya of life
- expanded savery
- further secular tension craeted
Political Advantages and Disadvantages of Westward Expansion
A - Honestead Act, created a more positive view of the government
D - Westward expansion was used by Politicains to gain votes and popularity
Cultural Advantage of Westward Expansion
- regions explored furthering scientific discovery
- mapping of land
conservation efforts, yellopw stone national park founded in 1872
Cultural Disadvantages of Westward Expansion
- cpnservation efforts came to late
- large scale deforestation
- Buffalo had been culled
- major impact on Natives as and wa sdetroyed and Buffalo scarce.
Farming
1831 - mechanical reaper and orher devices made it possible to cultivate prarie soil and grow wheat
- wells and windmills encouraged further westward mirgration
- Plowing and Harrowing allowed soil to maintain water
- threshers and combine Harvesters alllowed for alrge scale wheat prodiction
- 1874 - Barbed Wire - fenced off land for cattle
Texas becaudsme the braedbasket of the country producing 7 billion litres of grain
Cattle
- 5 million longorn cattle on Texas grassland
Price - West $3-$4
- East $30-$40 dollars a head
Cattle had to be brough to the Missouri specific railway
- concerned farmers as cows trampled crops and carried diseases
1867 - 35,000 cattle trabsported
1871 - 70,000 cattle tarnsported east
1876 - quarenteen grounds for cattle establsihed
1866-1888 - 6 to 10 million cattle were tarnsported for meat packing in Chicago
- Texas Ranches were estbalished
1885 - 1887
- Harsh Winter and 90% of cattle died
- thsi lead to the development of smaller fenced in farms
Fur Trade
- initial draw west
- created financial profits and knowledge of the west
- opened up trails from appalacians to rocies mountain
- declined post war
California Gold Rush
1848 - 49
- led to 100,000 new sttlers within months
Comstock Lode
(Nervada) 1859
- discrovery if silver ore
- attracted large number of labourers hooing to amke the fortune
Copper in Arizona and Montana
1860s
Gold Black HIlls of Dakota
1870s
- mining led to the develoment of Virginia city
- this large scale settlment was due to the set up of big coporate mining companies
- in teh eoak year 300,000 people moved west
1880 - surface metals had been taken
- meaning only the companies had the tools to continue mining in the region
- thsoe who weny out to suppiort the miners, being logers, farmers and reatilers mad e the most money
- these people remained after the gold rush
Trails and Roads
1808 - National Road built - linking ohio with Atlantic
1830 - extended to reach illanois - encouraging settlers to follow
Steamboats and Canals
1807 - first commercial syeam boat on Hidosn river
IMPORATNCE - steamboats reduced cost and time of transporting goods
1816 - 160km of canal
1840 - 5000km of canal
1817 - 17 steaboats by 1836, 361 steamboats on the mississppi
Railway
1861-69
Transcontinental Railway
- in response to settlers in Oregon and California but also encouraged further sttlements
July 1862 - Pacific Railraod Act chattred
Union Pacific company - built west from Nebraska
Central Pacific, built east from Scaremento California
- the two railways met in 1869 ater initially misisng one another
By 1900 - 139,000 km of railroad west of Mississippi
Ideological Reasons
Manifest Destiny (coined in 1845)
- encouraged westward expansion
- some moved west seeing it as victorious colonisation
- others belived it was their God given duty to ccvilise the continent
Religious Reasons
Mormons
1837 - Economic devesatation caused mormon banks to crash
- causing mormons to flee
- after being declared ‘public enemies’
They moved from ohio to missouri to illonois to Utah
10,000 mormons settled at salt lake in Utah
- this craeted the relation between freedim and the West
- proved it was possible to irrigate and grow crops in the west
Lewis and Clark
- expedition 1804 - 06
- travelled through NA territory to the Pacific Ocean
- claimed the north west for teh USA
- claimed Orgeon
- investigated Louisiana purchase
Investigation of the Louisiana Purchase
Lietrenetant Pike - authorised military exploration of the Louisiana purchase 1806-07
