Westward Expansion Flashcards
what is manifest destiny
the ideology that European immigrants had a god-given right to ‘conquer’ the West and establish white settlement of the entire continent:
- gives divine right for them to spread liberty and freedom as well as values of republic and christian faith
- furthered view that expansion was inevitable so americans had the right to move
- reflected aggressive imperialism of european expansion
two examples of manifest destiny being used as justification
‘the democratic review’ in 1845 against opposition of annexation of texas
- John O sullivan campaigned for the continuation of fighting for expansion and the addition of texas and oregon to the union
Mexcian American war of 1846-48
- war ended in Mexican loss and treaty of guadalupe hidalgo which mexico ceded 55% of its territory including california and Arizona amongst many more
how was manifest destiny used as justification for treatment if native Americans
Used to justify the ‘civilisation’ of NA through white supremacist motivation and spreading of european values
which piece notoriously presented cowboys as heroes, spreading light and civilisation to the untamed west
‘American Progress’ by John Gast in 1872
what was the 1862 homestead act
gave a free 160 acre plot of land to anyone who claimed it, as long as they farmed it for 5 years
they had to pay a $12 claim fee and some went to the land agent as commission
gave opportunity to share croppers, immigrants, women freed slaves etc.
by 1865 how many homesteaders had settled on the plains
20 000
what was the timber and culture act of 1873
gave landowners the same area of land nce over as long as 25% was covered in planted trees
what was the desert and land act 1877
offered 640 acres of land at $1.25 an acre provided some was irrigated
by 1880 how many farms in the west were bonanza farms (over 1000 acres)
3000
name two policies against native americans prior to 1865
Indian Removal Act of 1830 - gave president the power to grant land west of the mississippi river to tribes that agreed to give up their homeland
Trail of Tears 1831-50 - forced displacement of nearly 60 000 NAs to modern day oklahoma (named due to starvation, disease and exhaustion on the journey)
give two examples of military action against NAs post 1865
Great Sioux War in 1876
- took place in the modern day dakotas
- tribespeople declined a $6m deal for their land after a second gold rush
- they were given an ultimatum to leave or face military action
- many were not made aware of the ultimatum and very few chose to leave
- more than 300 indians were killed
Wounded Knee Massacre 1890
- 2 weeks after sitting bull’s murder
- US army surrounded camp of Sioux Indians near wounded knee creek in south dakota
- shot was fired and soldiers began killing indiscriminately
- 200 sioux died, 31 soldiers died
what was the dawes act 1887
it aimed to assimilate natives into mainstream US society
it broke up tribal lands and gave out individual allotments to families in exchange for citizenship
consequences of the dawes act
significant erosion of tribal sovereignty and much of the allocated land was sold off to white settlers
many NAs did not understand the policy so they saw it as their land being taken away from them
the gov expected NAs to farm the land they were given, however this was against their cultural traditions so little agriculture took place on their allotments
by 1934, NAs had lost two thirds of their land due to this policy
give an example of federal policy encouraging the expansion of railroads
in 1862 lincoln signed the pacific railroad act
- gave 2 companies the right to build a transcontinental railroad
- two lines met in Promontory, Utah in May 1869
granted 170m acres of land in total - more than the entire state of texas
gov were so keen for this because it furthered the success and grot of oil and steel industries, as well as improving transportation of goods
the railroad companies lured settlers onto the plains with buy now, pay later schemes
the companies were also allocate subsidies for each mile of track they laid
how many passengers travelled by rail in 1882 compared to 1870
15k - 1 million
how did transcontinental rail develop in the gilded age
by 1890s there were in total 5 transcontinental railroads
it allowed for the settlement in places that were otherwise uninhabitiable and unreachable
it also allowed towns such as denver to transform into booming economic hubs due to key rail networks
what key invention was hugley beneficial for food transportation, and massively encouraged further expansion
the refrigerator 1867:
- food could be transported west more efficiently making it easier to sustain life in the west
- permitted those in the midwest to transport their goods back to the cities in the east and west
where was gold first discovered in 1848 by James Marshall
Sutter’s Mill, California
describe the california gold rush 1849
from 1848-1852 California’s population increased from 15 000 to 250 000
it also fast tracked california to admission as a state in 1850
following the california gold rush, where was gold also found in 1859
Nevada and Colorado
what was the effect of the gold rushes on the west
Prospects of wealth lured miners and entrepeuners west, particularly to california:
- extracted $550m worth of gold 1848-57 (nearly 2% of country’s GDP)
San francisco grew from 1000 to 34 000 from 1848 to 1852
profits from gold funded further industrial development and infrastructure projects in the west
attracted not only americans but also 300 000 immigrants to california 1848-52
the gold rush led to the creation of nearly 500 boom town - towns that grew rapidly during the gold rush and were left deserted once the source was depleted
describe the second gold rush
took place in the black hills of Dakota in mid 1870s
started when small deposits were found in Custer in 1874
a year later large ores were found in deadwood and thousands flocked to seek their fortunes
when was the statue of liberty erected
1886
how much did the population of new york increase by from 1870-1910
405%
what two farm inventions increased the production of wheat and maize
threshing machine and combine harvester
when was barbed wire invented and by who
1873 by Joseph Glidden
how much wheat was exported in america in 1867 and 1900
6 million bushels
102 million bushels
how much wheat was produced in america in 1867 and 1900
211 million bushels
599 million bushels
how much died the price of corn fall
78 cents per bushel to 31 cents per bushel
when did the Census Bureau close the frontier
1890
when did Frederick Jackson Turner deliver his lecture on the frontier
1893
