Dbq Western Expansion Analysis

Western Expansion DBQ
Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, many Americans considered the lands west of the Mississippi as the "Great American Desert" and unfit for civilization. However, by the mid-1840s, migrants from the eastern United States transformed this vast desert into a fruitful land awaiting settlement and civilization known as the frontier. The development of the frontier was the result of the mass population of the many different regions of the far West. These regions were diverse in climate as well as in natural resources and, as a result, attracted different types of settlers (Doc I). The wide-ranging natural landscape of the far West offered promising lifestyles to those who chose the occupations of farmers,
cattle ranchers, and miners. These groups helped to develop the western United States into a thriving, economic metropolis (Doc D).
Farming quickly became a popular occupation for migrants from the eastern United States.
Farming originally became an attractive occupation because of the successful cultivation of the Great Plains. Settlers were attracted by the short grass pastures for cattle and sheep, the sod of the plains, and by the meadowlands of the mountains that could be found in this region. An influx in rainfall after the 1870s turned the formerly barren plains into workable farmland. The initial journey westward for farmers was by wagon or cart. These journeys were often very difficult and dangerous (Doc E). Climate and the threat of territorial Native Americans in the West made the journeys last for long, grueling months (Doc H). Also, the idea of the farmer's lifestyle was that of the sturdy, independent farmer. However, as drought and debt plagued the farmlands of the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century, fewer farmers sought to be independent and more sought to be commercial (Doc C). The lifestyle of the commercial farmer was reasonably better and less self-sufficient than that of the independent farmer; however, they were still plagued by overproduction and economic distress. The settlement of farmers also contributed to the development of the west in different ways. Farmers helped to create new markets and new outposts of commercial agriculture in the Great Plains for the nation's growing economy. The independent farmer began by cultivating the land and selling to national markets
while the commercial farmers expanded farming and sold cash crops in national and world markets.
Cattle ranching also became very prominent in this region.
Initially, the vast grasslands of the Great Plains were attractive to cattle ranchers. The open range was a huge domain wherein cattle raisers could graze their herds free of charge and unrestricted by the boundaries of public farms. The map in Document A exhibits the vast open ranges of the Great Plains on which cattle ranchers would roam. This occupation was particularly appealing to veterans of the Confederate army and African Americans who had been dislocated after the Civil War. Another aspect to consider is the cattle ranchers who enjoyed a life of solitary adventure among the vast plains. Every cattle rancher operated from a permanent ranch. These ranches started out small but grew and became more defined as the cattle ranchers were forced to compete with farmers for possession of land in the Great Plains. Finally, the cattle ranchers contributed to the economic development of the west by connecting the cattle industry of the west to the markets of the east. Ranchers combined their herds and drove them on "long drives" for profit. Cattle ranchers began to expand farther west and created a sturdy relationship with eastern corporations that funded
them.
Mining also offered substantial and quick profits to settlers. Miners were first attracted to the West by the description of mineral-rich mountains and plateaus. Settlers hoped to make quick fortunes by finding precious metals. The ideal mining areas of California, Colorado, Nevada, and South Dakota were in particular attractive to mass groups of miners. The lifestyle of a miner was hectic and unsound. Very few miners ever truly "struck it rich" and because mineral deposits were exhausted so quickly boomtowns substituted as the mining community. When one deposit was exhausted the town would pack up and travel to wherever the next mineral boom had sprung up. The lifestyle of a miner depended solely on wherever the next mineral vein would be discovered. In addition, the settlements of western miners largely contributed to the economic development of the west. Many successful mines were uncovered and made large profits in the markets of gold, silver, quartz, copper, zinc, and other valuable minerals. Boomtowns explored the frontier and expanded Anglo-American settlement while contributing to the growing industrial economy of the East.
The West expanded and became extremely prominent in very little time (Doc G). Farmers, cattle ranchers, and miners truly helped this expansion and in the development of the western frontier by tying this region to the growing industrial economy of the East. The promising natural environment attracted these settlers with its fertile farming areas, wide-open ranges, and rich mineral deposits. Settlers adjusted to their environments accordingly and worked the natural environment to successfully develop the far West. The many natural attractions of the West during the mid-1840s were significant to the settlement and development beyond the Mississippi.