The westward expansion‚ which started in the 1820s‚ was one of the biggest steps forward our country has ever taken. It nearly tripled the size of our country and increased the population by monstrous amounts. It also improved the economy greatly though agricultural means‚ prompted political leaders to sent people to explore (Lewis and Clark)‚ started a civil war‚ motivated huge amounts of people to move west‚ and almost destroyed our country. The expansion was magnified greatly by the
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One of the key parts of westward expansion in the US was The Homestead Act that was implemented on January 1st‚ 1863. This act stated that men and women (who were not married) and 21 or older could apply for up to 160 acres of land in the west. The requirement was that they must live on the land for 5 years and “improve upon the land”. If they did this then the land would become theirs for $10. The Homestead Act favored white homesteaders and they were able to acquire over 285 million acres of land
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Morgan explains his point of view on American history through his article‚ “There is No True History of the Westward Expansion.” He states many times that westward expansion was fueled by everyday‚ normal‚ American people; contrary to other beliefs that westward expansion was fueled by Thomas Jefferson and others. This claim is made by Stephen Ambrose and Chief Joseph. First off‚ Stephen Ambrose‚ in “Undaunted Courage‚” writes about how Thomas Jefferson is the cause of westward expansion. This claim
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labor in the earth‚ are the chosen people of god." These claims helped fuel the manifest destiny. Manifest Destiny was a movement started by journalist John O’Sullivan to state his opinion that expansion was a part of the "the great experiment of liberty." This promoted the great Westward expansion. The Westward Expansion highlights 3 of the largest characteristics of the American spirit‚ the desire for freedom‚ the need of wealth‚ and the willing to sacrifice for others. With new land ownership
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The most underrated factor of westward expansion would have to be the railroad. Many would think of the most important factor as the gold rush of 1848‚ but before mass droves of people could move westward‚ an easier way of traveling had to be constructed and railroads were the answer. Before railways‚ the Oregon Trail lead people from major cities like Independence‚ Missouri to Oregon City or Sacramento in Oregon and California. This ‘train’ of sorts moved as low as 350‚000 people across America
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Effects of Westward Expansion on Native Americans In the westward expansion of the united states caused a lot of disruption to the Native Americans. The Native Americans had all of the land in the U.S. for centuries‚ but when gold was found in the west‚ the whites wanted to travel west no matter what it took. This impacted the Native Americans in both positive and negative ways. The Native Americans had their land taken from them and adapted to the white culture as the Westward expansion was happening
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Westward Expansion. Westward Expansion is when the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory‚ and when many people migrated westward. Westward Expansion doubled the size of America. President Thomas Jefferson thought that this would be the key to the U.S.A wealth‚ but his hopes had actually almost destroyed the country. With these new territories people didn’t know if they would be free states or not. Many other problems and solutions came from making the Louisiana Purchase. One large problem
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The Westward Expansion took action in the late 1800’s. Many settlers were moving into the west and away from the south. This had a huge impact on Native Americans and the United States settlers including many conflicts and judgemental thoughts. This also impacted the way they continued to live the rest of their lives. The western territory settled when the Homestead Act took place. The United States government was giving away land to settlers who met requirements. The government plan was that‚
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debated over the years from the date of start of the history of United States. Despite debating for many years‚ these historians have not agreed on the issue but one thing is for sure‚ and that is America has a very rich history. History suggests that westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health and it was effective between 1803 and 1861. Between these years‚ both individuals and institutions in the country expanded to Oklahoma. This expansion was characterized by the rise of manufacturing in
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migrated westward in hopes of securing land and being prosperous. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans‚ and it doubled the size of the United States. The move westward was not justified and was forcing people out their homes and they were getting killed. Westward expansion supported the US and was not fair to the nearby places. Us gained much land after the Louisiana Purchase and Thomas Jefferson supported the expansion.
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