What Factors Contributed To Western Settlement From 1854 To 1890

A) Many factors contributed to western settlement from 1854 to 1890, especially the desire for natural resources, federal government policies, and technological developments. The desire for natural resources during this time period contributed greatly to western expansion of the time. This desire led to the growth of the cattle industry and mining empires. The desire for natural resources also sparked the phenomenon of the California Gold Rush. These events all stemmed from the earlier Americans desire for natural resources and their goals of capitalizing on their possession of such resources. This desire has clearly encouraged Americans to explore and settle the western American frontier.

Federal government policies also encouraged westward
Put in place by Republicans, protective tariffs of the time helped build U.S. industries such as sugar beet farming and sheep ranching in the West which also pushed western settlement. The federal policy that perhaps had the greatest weight in contributing to western settlement of the time period was the Homestead Act (1862). The Homestead Act gave 160 acres of federal land to ay applicant who occupied and improved the property. Republicans hoped that the bill would help build up the interior American West. Although this vast stretch of land was inhabited by native American Indians, the area remained “empty” on U.S. government survey maps. The desire for natural resources, federal government policies, and technological developments would change that.

Technological developments that contributed to western settlement from 1854 to 1890 include the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the railroad system expansion with the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, hydraulic mining, and barbed wire. The railroads led to economic and industry growth and transportation that was easier
It is important to note that before the Civil War, Congress reserved the Great Plains for American Indian communities. Americans who were settling the west encroached American Indian lands and even wanted to explore and settle beyond those lands -- they wanted to reach and settle all the way to the Pacific Ocean, a goal that was further encouraged by cultural beliefs of the time which included Manifest Destiny. It is important to note that when dealing with American Indian, the U.S. government originally confined American Indians to reservations. The failure of the reservation system -- which was in part due to the fact that white settlers wanted more of the land that was reserved for American Indians as they settled the West -- made way for the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 and many conflicts. As the U.S. government tried to take more land from American Indians, conflict erupted, such as the First Dakota War, the Great Sioux War of 1876, and the Nez Perce War. The military stopped the Dakota uprising because Dakota warriors killed 400 white settlers in Minnesota; the area that is now Minnesota was originally occupied by two major Native American tribes -- the Dakota (or Sioux) and the Ojibwa. They were clearly angry that Americans were settling their country land. Fighting also broke out between American Indians and the U.S. Army in the Black