Across The West Summary

This article is about the influence of western expansion on the American Indians who occupied these lands. To set the stage, West describes “Across the Continent,” one of the better known lithographs from this time. This picture shows the horizon with a train cutting through the plains while billowing smoke into the air. On one side of the train is the settlers; schools, people, and churches. On the other side of the train are two American Indians on horses. They are helplessly watching as Western culture expands into their land. All of these aspects affect the symbolism which the author of the painting portrays. The train represents Western Culture which is pushing into the native land without regard for the people already settled here. The
In the 1830s, the beginning of the transcontinental railroad only extended to about 3,000 miles of track, but as Western expansion became an economically viable option, the amount of railways increased to more than 115,000 miles in 1840. With each mile the tracks pushed west, the white settlers further expanded their land. The American Natives were understandingly distraught about this expansion. To make this more fair for the natives, the U.S. government put restrictions on the land that the railroad companies were allowed to expand to. The government declared that track could only be laid on unopposed lands. This forced companies to negotiate lands disputes with Natives before spreading westward. However, companies were not always willing to negotiate when they felt that had a right to this land. The Kansas-Nebraska Act began the legal dispossession of Natives. The Shawnees who were living on much of the land under the Kansas-Nebraska Act were given low compensation for vast expanses of land. This was followed by other legislature such as Isaac Stevens treaties in 1855 which allowed him to create a railway from St. Paul, Minnesota to Puget