Essay On Western Expansion

The western expansion was a better life for the American people. The Louisiana purchase changed the united states for the better. People loved the idea that the west provided to them. The United States population had tripled to thirteen million people.(pg.9) Of course it was better for the settlers to move because there was no room for new farmers in the east. Even though settlers were always willing to move where ever there was better land so it wasn't a big surprise. The settlers did not have any money so when they entered the western land they didn't pay for where they chose to live, the American settlers took over the Indian land.
Mining gold
The gold rush was also a big reason Americans favored expansion to the west. Once gold was discovered in California people rushed there to become rich. Gold that was found in rivers before became dried out and had no gold left. This led to mining, which required skill and heavy duty equipment. Whites expected to strike gold their first time mining. But of course, they didn't know how to find gold itself they knew much less about mining. So foreigners actually stayed and taught whites how to mine properly.
Homestead Act When the word got out
It was the promised land. They had nothing, to begin with, no money no food they were homeless. The west offered them a golden ticket. The only way they saw a better life was entering it. Most freed slaves traveled to Kansas because it was the closest to the south and it was a free state. Harriet Tubman played a big role in this because she was the reason slaves successfully were able to have new beginnings. She was a woman who was also a slave but freed herself. She not only freed herself but she freed hundred of slaves as well. Even with all the knowledge of what it was like to be in captivity she still went back. She developed the underground railroad that would take people to their