Traveling thousands of miles through dangerous paths American pioneers took on hardships as they sought westward in hopes of a better life. The journey westward began in the early 1800s when the US exploded with new territories nearly tripling the United States' size. It all started in 1803 when the US bought the Louisiana Territory from France. Quickly, many farmers picked up their belongings and headed out west to the rich, fertile land for a fresh start. Next, Andrew Jackson invaded Florida claiming it for the US which was also another opportunity for settlers to begin a new life. Finally, the last major territory the US gained was the Pioneer Paradise, Oregon County. At this point, many people, of all different backgrounds, headed there …show more content…
One reason why Americans moved westward was to gain opportunities for themselves. The two most promising land claims were Oregon Country and the Louisiana Territory. The idea of starting a new life on the recently claimed land of Oregon Country lands all began when Lewis traveled to the land and discovered that “this passage across the continent as affording immense advantages to the fur trade,” (Doc 9). As a result of Lewis’s expedition some settlers headed to the new land to start trading on this land. Afterward, more Americans flooded this land upon learning that it was, “nice and (it had) streams full of fish,” and that “the valleys are rich and the mountains high …show more content…
They thought the expansion limited the equality for slaves and Native Americans. The reason this selective few believed that people were at a disadvantage was because Slaves were hunted by bounty hunters as shown in Doc 6. Others thought the Natives were treated unequally since they were pushed out of their lands. Andrew Jackson once wrote a letter to the Cherokee Tribe of Indians East of the Mississippi. In this letter he stated, “Every year will increase difficulties…Punishment will follow, and all who are engaged in these offences must suffer,” (Doc 7). Another group that suffered was the settlers in parts. This group of people lost some opportunity because many people died like shown in Doc 3, “July 2: One man of (our) company died. Passed 8 graves made 16 miles.” Due to the given information some people were concerned about the Natives and Slaves equality. Some were also concerned that settlers’ opportunity was taken away when they traveled on this dangerous path. Even though people were at disadvantage these problems led to better outcomes or were already a problem. For example, Natives were forced to leave making which didn’t show the ideal of equality but in the long run Jackson stopped a larger war-like conflict from out breaking. The other situation was sadly already a problem in the US, slaves already ran away and were hunted by bounty hunters so the western expansion didn’t play a huge role in this
Problems of British Settlers in Early 17th Century Going to another country or land always means to explore or advent. By viewing the new world can open people’s mind, especially for people who remain in the same place for a long time. Because of the advanced technology and the development of the map, British people started to explore America in the early 17th. However, starvation during the winters, no central authority, and low quantity of the population were some of the major issues British settlers had when they tried to settle at the beginning. Without a central authority would be hard to settle and build up the foundation of civilization in a new land.
Grasso 1 Michael Grasso Ms. Vargas 20TH US HI. 21 September 2014 Westward Expansion in the 1800s After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which was the United States buying the huge territory known as Louisiana from the French, the country doubled in size. This gave the country great opportunity due to the abundance of land and natural resources. Some citizens believed in manifest destiny which is the belief that the American settlers were destined to expand as a country throughout the continent. In the 1860s when the Civil War was coming to an end the west was still greatly undeveloped and rural.
During the 1800’s the United States were going through many changes following the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the California Gold rush. Due to these factors along with several others caused the Westward Expansion. Life in the west consisted of three major groups, miners, cowboys, and farmers. Moving west gave poor families opportunities the chance to better themselves and provide for their loved ones. Of course, these opportunities came with a high price, the possibility of losing your life.
Westward expansion will forever be a reminder of the horrors Native Americans endured for the sake of the country that never treated them justly to begin with. Likewise, one can see in document 5 the population of buffalo from 1800-1889, how it decreased drastically after the beginning of westward expansion. This elucidates that not only were Native Americans dealt with unjustly, but so were that which they held dear were dealt unjustly too. An important part of Native American culture revolved around the animals they would take care of, use for resources, and be apart of their daily lives. However, when westward expansion took place, Native Americans were not considered for, nor what
Americans were naturally curious about the land west of them after receiving letters from the emigrants describing “really great land”. “To get free land in the heavenly country where sickness was hardly ever known” also “ The emigrants sent letters back home describing the great land. This is showing that the oregon trail was the Americans right because there was only emigrants there meaning that it was unclaimed, and that the land was great meaning that it had excellent farming, it was free.and there was hardly ever any sicknesses. Another reason that people moved west on the Oregon trail was because of the discovery of gold. “After the discovery of gold in California in 1848, more prospectors set out on the Oregon Trail”.
Have you ever imagined yourself traveling from Tennessee all the way west to Oregon with only a group of families, a wagon, and a constant shortage of food? Here, in Tennessee, going to states that are in the far west, like Oregon or California, isn 't that difficult. Though the trip takes some time, improved ways of transportation like cars, trains, and planes gets us to any destination in a matter of hours or days. Well back in the early 1800’s, American Settlers had many hardships moving west during the Western Expansion. Without the availability of any modern transportation, their journey was by foot, cattle, or wagon, which would take dreading months of starvation and work.
Hundreds of years ago many people of different ethnicities immigrated to the west in hopes of finding a better life. The journey brung its consequences and every choice made affects the chances of survival. Multiple issues also played a role in the development of western territory. The desire to expand towards the west was called Manifest Destiny - the dream to have the country expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The Louisiana purchase began the period of westward expansion.
In the year 1620 English colonists or Pilgrims arrived on the shore of the Cape Cod Bay in America, quite a long distance from England. America at that times was known as the New World since many boarded the Mayflower (ship that sailed to America from England carrying supplies and 101 people) to escape from religious persecution, others simply came in order to take part in a new economic enterprise. These were the first people to start the colonization of America however they did face constant difficulties that come with starting all over in a far away place. Yet still despite the horrible conditions the people faced they still chose to continue and deal with those hardships rather than give up. It is seen in Verlyn Klinkenborg’s article “Why was Life so Hard For the Pilgrims?” that the colonists faced many dangerous circumstances and difficulties.
The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.
Starting in the early 1600’s settlers from England came to “The New World.” England and Spain were competing to claim this new undiscovered land. The English were the first to claim the land by sending the first group of settlers, the Chesapeake settlers. They settled in present day Virginia and Maryland. The Chesapeake settlers came for commercial and profit.
Happiness In the novel My Antonia, Jim states that happiness is “to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.” Antonia, his dear childhood friend in the novel, would most likely not agree with this definition of happiness. Antonia is a hardworking, independent girl who is not one to wait around for happiness; she is more likely to go looking for it herself if she truly wishes to be happy.
The families came together to form what was called a wagon train in May 1846. Another reason for the Americans movement westward, was the belief in manifest destiny. Manifest destiny was the belief of the United States expanding towards the California coast. It was also because the views on religious freedom, were nowhere near as strict as they wear on the East
The westward expansion is a movement of settlers promoted by the federal government that pushed west to get things that benefit them. Such as gold, land, financial reasons, and religious freedom. During this time, America was going through Indian removal acts, economic issues and so much more. The westward expansion occurred due to gold and cheaper land resulting in Native Americans being forced off their own land. To begin, One of the reasons for the westward expansion was gold.
The Westward Expansion consisted of almost 7 million Americans migrating west, hoping to get land and be wealthy. It is often called Manifest Destiny, because many people believed settlers was intended to expand the west. Because so many people thought this way it was also thought the U.S was physically separated from Europe. This migration of people included people from Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries. The Western Expansion had a part in the foreign policies in the expansion towards the pacific and the way the U.S treated their relationship with other
Manifest Destiny was positive for the US. In this essay I will be proving to you why Manifest Destiny was a positive thing to happen in US History. Manifest Destiny was a very important thing in US history I will be showing you why it was positive in my sources. I will be showing you three sources that agree with my thesis and one source that disagrees with my thesis In my first source it explains how the louisiana purchase helped the US and what the Louisiana purchase was about.