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American West > Westward Expansion > Flashcards

Westward Expansion Flashcards

1
Q

Louisiana Purchase

A

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

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2
Q

Gadsden Purchase

A

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

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3
Q

Florida Purchase

A

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

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4
Q

Homestead Act

A

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

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5
Q

Timber Culture Act

A

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Repealed in 1883 as impossible to grow trees in the plains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
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6
Q

Desert Land Act

A

1877

  • 640 acres irrigated withing two years
  • UNSUCCESSFUL
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7
Q

MORRILL ACT

A

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

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8
Q

Second Morrill Act

A

1890

- allowed black students to attend institutions

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9
Q

Pull Factors

A 
- masses of fertile land
 homestead act
- fresh start
railways developments
- settlements such as Cincinnati in Ohio
job prospects in manufacturing in Chicago, Illinois
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10
Q

Push Factors

A
  • 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
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11
Q

Geographical Impact of Expansion

A
  • Atalantic to Pacif Ocean
    Popuation - 1869 - 38 million
    - 1899 - 92 million
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12
Q

Economic Advantages of Westward Expansion

A
  • gold rush - good for economy
  • farm production doubled from 1869-99
  • value of manugfacturing grew sixthfold
  • westawrd expansion incrased the railway an dcommunications development
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13
Q

Economic disadvantages of Westward Expansion

A
  • 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
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14
Q

Social Advantages of Westward Expansion

A
  • land opportunity

- escape form prevsious curcumstances

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15
Q

Social Disadvantages of Westward Expansion

A
  • expansion destroyed Native American wya of life
  • expanded savery
  • further secular tension craeted
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16
Q

Political Advantages and Disadvantages of Westward Expansion

A

A - Honestead Act, created a more positive view of the government
D - Westward expansion was used by Politicains to gain votes and popularity

17
Q

Cultural Advantage of Westward Expansion

A
  • regions explored furthering scientific discovery
  • mapping of land
    conservation efforts, yellopw stone national park founded in 1872
18
Q

Cultural Disadvantages of Westward Expansion

A
  • cpnservation efforts came to late
  • large scale deforestation
  • Buffalo had been culled
  • major impact on Natives as and wa sdetroyed and Buffalo scarce.
19
Q

Farming

A

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

20
Q

Cattle

A
  • 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
21
Q

Fur Trade

A
  • initial draw west
  • created financial profits and knowledge of the west
  • opened up trails from appalacians to rocies mountain
  • declined post war
22
Q

California Gold Rush

A

1848 - 49

- led to 100,000 new sttlers within months

23
Q

Comstock Lode

A

(Nervada) 1859

  • discrovery if silver ore
  • attracted large number of labourers hooing to amke the fortune
24
Q

Copper in Arizona and Montana

A

1860s

25
Q

Gold Black HIlls of Dakota

A

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
26
Q

Trails and Roads

A

1808 - National Road built - linking ohio with Atlantic

1830 - extended to reach illanois - encouraging settlers to follow

27
Q

Steamboats and Canals

A

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

28
Q

Railway

A

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

29
Q

Ideological Reasons

A

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
30
Q

Religious Reasons

A

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
31
Q

Lewis and Clark

A
  • expedition 1804 - 06
  • travelled through NA territory to the Pacific Ocean
  • claimed the north west for teh USA
  • claimed Orgeon
  • investigated Louisiana purchase
32
Q

Investigation of the Louisiana Purchase

A

Lietrenetant Pike - authorised military exploration of the Louisiana purchase 1806-07

American West (3 decks)

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