what issues drove western expansion of colonial settlement

The western expansion refers to the process whereby the Americans moved away from their original 13 colonies in the 1800s, towards the west which was encouraged by explorers like Lewis and Clarke. These explore braved nature and hostile American natives in order to explore the lands at the west. They were later followed by the settlers.

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What led to the westward expansion?

Westward Expansion Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in "manifest destiny."

What were the effects of the westward expansion on American Indians?

Although advanced under the mantle of protection, the nation's American Indian population in the West bore the cost of these military and political undertakings, which accelerated the dispossession of American Indians and threatened the security of their lands, property, culture, and core existence.

What factors contributed to the westward expansion of the California Gold Rush?

The California Gold Rush was a major factor in expansion west of the Mississippi. That westward expansion was greatly aided by the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. That act provided free 160-acre lots in the unsettled West to anyone who would file a claim,...

What were the effects of the expansionist Civil War policies?

In the expansionist Civil War-era, Federal American Indian policies often resulted in violated treaties, violence, and the end of access to traditional lands, trade and migratory routes, water, food sources, and cultural practices.

Where did the American settlers move to?

What was the Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850?

Why was the Mexican American war so unpopular?

What was the Missouri compromise?

What did Jefferson believe about the Westward Expansion?

What was the Westward Migration?

How many square miles did the Gadsden Purchase add to the United States?

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What were the 5 reasons for the western expansion?

The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act. The discovery of wheat strains adapted to grow in the climate of the Plains.

What were the 3 major events that allowed expansion westward?

The California Gold Rush was a major factor in expansion west of the Mississippi. That westward expansion was greatly aided by the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and passage of the Homestead Act in 1862.

What were four reasons settlers moved west?

The Americans settled West for new land, to escape religious persecution, for gold, adventure, and it was their "right"/ manifest destiny.

What was the biggest issue with westward expansion?

Slavery in the Western Territories To many nineteenth-century Americans, the expansion of slavery into western territories caused a great deal of controversy.

How did westward expansion start?

A significant push toward the west coast of North America began in the 1810s. It was intensified by the belief in manifest destiny, federally issued Indian removal acts, and economic promise. Pioneers traveled to Oregon and California using a network of trails leading west.

What factors led to the settlement of the West in the years following the War?

What factors led to the settlement of the West in the years following the War? The need for balance between free and slave states. The Northerners wanted land and land exhaustion of growing tobacco was growing. This all contributed to settlement of the West.

What were the reasons for westward expansion quizlet?

Westward ExpansionManifest Destiny.Opportunity/adventure- Gold.No slavery/ spread slavery.Opportunity- Government offered Free Land [fertile land]Cities in the east were crowded and expensive.

Why did Americans expand westward quizlet?

Americans wanted to move west because land was becoming scarce in the east and they were seeking greater life for their family.

When did westward expansion start?

Westward expansion began in earnest in 1803. Thomas Jefferson negotiated a treaty with France in which the United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory – 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River – effectively doubling the size of the young nation.

What problems did the movement westward bring?

The movement westward brought many problems including the great suffering as the Natives lost their land. The Natives were forced out of their home to Oklahoma. The movement also leads to an end to slavery. African Americans were free and became citizens.

What were the negative effects of westward expansion?

Westward Expansion generally had negative effects on the Native Americans. Native Americans were forced to live on reservations. The buffalo, an important resource, experienced rapid population decline. Military conflict between Whites and Native Americans resulted in many deaths.

What challenges were faced by those who settled in the West?

Once they embarked, settlers faced numerous challenges: oxen dying of thirst, overloaded wagons, and dysentery, among others. Trails were poorly marked and hard to follow, and travelers often lost their way. Guidebooks attempted to advise travelers, but they were often unreliable.

What major events led to the expansion of the United States?

Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in "manifest destiny."

In what ways did the US government encourage westward expansion in the 1800s?

The War and Westward Expansion The Federal government responded with measures (Homestead Act, transcontinental railroad) and military campaigns designed to encourage settlement, solidify Union control of the trans-Mississippi West, and further marginalize the physical and cultural presence of tribes native to the West.

What are the three characteristics the myth of the West developed?

They were beliefs in individualism, political democracy, and economic mobility.

When did the westward expansion happen?

When Was the Westward Expansion? The westward expansion of the United States took place during the 19th century, starting in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase and ending in 1890 when the U.S. Census superintendent formally announced that the country's frontier had been settled.

History: Timeline of Westward Expansion - Ducksters

History >> Westward Expansion 1767: Daniel Boone explores Kentucky for the first time. 1803: Louisiana Purchase - President Thomas Jefferson buys the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. This doubles the size of the United States and provides a large area to the west of the country for expansion.

What is Western colonialism?

Western colonialism, a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world.

How did Portolanic maps help voyagers?

Portolanic maps aided voyagers by showing Mediterranean coastlines with remarkable accuracy, but they gave no attention to hinter lands. As Atlantic sailings increased, the coasts of western Europe and Africa south of the Strait of Gibraltar were shown somewhat correctly, though less so than for the Mediterranean.

Which two Augsburg houses furnished capital for voyages and New World enterprises?

Later, during the great discoveries, the Augsburg houses of Fugger and Welser furnished capital for voyages and New World enterprises.

Where did the Venetians distribute their condiments?

The Venetians distributed these expensive condiments throughout the Mediterranean region and northern Europe; they were shipped to the latter first by pack trains up the Rhône Valley and, after 1314, by Flanders’ galleys to the Low Countries, western Germany, France, and England.

Which countries were colonized by the discovery of the Mediterranean?

With these events sea power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and to the emerging nation-states of Portugal, Spain, the Dutch Republic, France, and England. By discovery, conquest, and settlement, these nations expanded and colonized throughout the world, spreading European institutions and culture.

What was the Renaissance short of?

Early Renaissance Europe was short of cash money, though it had substantial banks in northern Italy and southern Germany. Florence possessed aggregations of capital, and its Bardi bank in the 14th century and the Medici successor in the 15th financed much of the eastern Mediterranean trade.

How did the Industrial Revolution affect colonial expansion?

The changing nature of the relations between centres of empire and their colonies, under the impact of the unfolding Industrial Revolution, was also reflected in new trends in colonial acquisitions. While in preceding centuries colonies, trading posts, and settlements were in the main, except for South America, located along the coastline or on smaller islands, the expansions of the late 18th century and especially of the 19th century were distinguished by the spread of the colonizing powers, or of their emigrants, into the interior of continents. Such continental extensions, in general, took one of two forms, or some combination of the two: (1) the removal of the indigenous peoples by killing them off or forcing them into specially reserved areas, thus providing room for settlers from western Europe who then developed the agriculture and industry of these lands under the social system imported from the mother countries, or (2) the conquest of the indigenous peoples and the transformation of their existing societies to suit the changing needs of the more powerful militarily and technically advanced nations.

What was the heart of Western expansionism?

At the heart of Western expansionism was the growing disparity in technologies between those of the leading European nations and those of the rest of the world. Differences between the level of technology in Europe and some of the regions on other continents were not especially great in the early part of the 18th century.

How did nonindustrialized countries adapt to the industrialized world?

The adaptation of the nonindustrialized parts of the world to become more profitable adjuncts of the industrializing nations embraced, among other things: (1) overhaul of existing land and property arrangements, including the introduction of private property in land where it did not previously exist, as well as the expropriation of land for use by white settlers or for plantation agriculture; (2) creation of a labour supply for commercial agriculture and mining by means of direct forced labour and indirect measures aimed at generating a body of wage-seeking labourers; (3) spread of the use of money and exchange of commodities by imposing money payments for taxes and land rent and by inducing a decline of home industry; and (4) where the precolonial society already had a developed industry, curtailment of production and exports by native producers .

What was the global expansion of Europe between the 1760s and the 1870s?

The global expansion of western Europe between the 1760s and the 1870s differed in several important ways from the expansionism and colonialism of previous centuries. Along with the rise of the Industrial Revolution, which economic historians generally trace to the 1760s, and the continuing spread of industrialization in ...

What was the main goal of the first maritime activity?

The latter, it was hoped, would serve the interdependent aims of widening foreign commerce and controlling ocean shipping routes. But in the long run many of these initial bases turned out to be steppingstones to future territorial conquests. Because the indigenous populations did not always take kindly to foreign incursions into their homelands, even when the foreigners limited themselves to small enclaves, penetration of interiors was often necessary to secure base areas against attack.

Which country imposed stiff tariffs on cotton?

The classic illustration of this last policy is found in India. For centuries India had been an exporter of cotton goods, to such an extent that Great Britain for a long period imposed stiff tariff duties to protect its domestic manufacturers from Indian competition. Yet, by the middle of the 19th century, India was receiving one-fourth of all British exports of cotton piece goods and had lost its own export markets.

What was the Westward Expansion?

Westward Expansion summary: The story of the United States has always been one of westward expansion, beginning along the East Coast and continuing, often by leaps and bounds, until it reached the Pacific —what Theodore Roosevelt described as "the great leap Westward.". The acquisition of Hawaii and Alaska, though not usually included in discussions ...

What was the only way to settle the question of slavery?

The question was only settled by the American Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery. When gold was discovered in California, acquired through the treaty that ended the war with Mexico in 1848, waves of treasure seekers poured into the area.

Why did the South view manifest destiny?

As the century wore on, the South came to view Manifest Destiny as an opportunity to secure more territory for the creation of additional slaveholding states in Central America and the Caribbean.

Why did the Whigs oppose manifest destiny?

The Whig Party stood in opposition, in part because Whigs feared a growing America would bring with it a spread of slavery. In the case of the Oregon Territory of the Pacific Northwest, for example, Whigs hoped to see an independent republic friendly to the United States but not a part of it, much like the Republic of Texas but without slavery. Democrats wanted that region, which was shared with Great Britain, to become part and parcel of the United States.

What was the Great Leap Westward?

From the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 through the migration that resulted from the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act, Americans engaged in what Theodore Roosevelt termed "the Great Leap Westward.".

How long did the War of 1812 last?

The war lasted for three years and was fought on three fronts: the lower Canadian Frontier along the Great Lakes, along the border with Upper Canada—now Quebec—and along the Atlantic Coast. Although both countries invaded each other, borders at the end of the war remained the same. There was no clear victor, although both the U.S. and Britain would claim victory. Learn more about the War Of 1812

What was the Monroe doctrine?

The Monroe Doctrine, adopted in 1823, was the closest America ever came to making Manifest Destiny official policy; it put European nations on notice that the U.S. would defend other nations of the Western Hemisphere from further colonization. Westward the Course of Empire.

What were the consequences of the expansionist Civil War?

In the expansionist Civil War-era, Federal American Indian policies often resulted in violated treaties, violence, and the end of access to traditional lands, trade and migratory routes, water, food sources, and cultural practices.

What was the impact of the American Indians on the West?

Although advanced under the mantle of protection, the nation's American Indian population in the West bore the cost of these military and political undertakings, which accelerated the dispossession of American Indians and threatened the security of their lands, property, culture, and core existence.

What was the Confederacy's plan for the Southwest?

Using Texas as a base, the Confederate plan focused on dislodging Union forces from the Southwest and continuing north to the resource-rich mines of Colorado, and possibly on to the California gold fields.

Why were the soldiers in the Army spirited east?

Originally meant to protect the interests of a minority of settlers and miners , these soldiers were ill-positioned for guaranteeing the well being of nearly 97% of the U.S. population that resided east of the Missouri River . These regular soldiers were spirited east as quickly as possible. With more than 10,000 soldiers serving in the western posts, this eastward movement triggered concerns over security for those left behind. President Abraham Lincoln soon authorized raising of volunteers within the states and territories "to aid in enforcing the laws and protecting public property," to replace many of the departing Regular Army soldiers and established additional forts to protect new interests. California, for example, quickly raised an infantry regiment and five cavalry companies "for the protection of the Overland Mail Route between California and the Eastern States, by way of Salt Lake City."

What were the western volunteers filling in behind the Regular Army soldiers?

The western volunteers filling in behind the Regular Army soldiers were of a distinctly different mettle. As one officer noted, they were men "made of stern stuff. . . inured to mountain life. . . pioneers and miners; men self-reliant and enduring" but also prone to have "advocated the extermination of the Indians.".

What was the role of the Territorial Patronage?

Territorial patronage was a vital tool for Lincoln. The ability to appoint men of his choice to key territorial roles -such as governors, secretaries, federal district judgeships, land office commissioners, and territorial marshals - served not only to recognize those who had lent support to him but also to institutionalize support for the issues he valued. With seven western territories ripe for patronage appointments in 1861, Lincoln predominantly named Republican supporters - known pejoratively as "The Tribe of Abraham" -to the territories' thirty-five prime positions and dozens of others. These included gubernatorial nominees William Gilpin of Colorado Territory and William Jayne of Dakota Territory, who both supported federal financing of the transcontinental railroad.

What was the Westward Movement?

Until the eve of the Civil War, the Westward Movement was Manifest Destiny incarnate; as such, it was consistently popularized as an East-to-West phenomenon. As unabashedly romanticized in Leutze's 1861 mural study, established routes -including the Oregon, California and Santa Fe Trails -siphoned settlers and miners westward . In response to calls for their protection from the American Indians, the federal government responded by establishing frontier and coastal forts garrisoned by Regular Army soldiers. By 1861, almost 75% of the Army's soldiers served at dozens of posts west of the Mississippi River, ranging from Pickett's post in Washington Territory to Fort Point in California's San Francisco Bay to forts scattered throughout the Southwest. The civil war brought dramatic change to these outposts. Shortly before the bombardment of Fort Sumter, U.S. Army responsibility for national protection and security set in motion an unprecedented eastward movement of soldiers and equipment.

Where did the American settlers move to?

Thousands of people crossed the Rockies to the Oregon Territory, which belonged to Great Britain, and thousands more moved into the Mexican territories of California, New Mexico and Texas. In 1837, American settlers in Texas joined with their Tejano neighbors (Texans of Spanish origin) and won independence from Mexico.

What was the Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850?

Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850. Bleeding Kansas. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. 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.

Why was the Mexican American war so unpopular?

That same month, Polk declared war against Mexico, claiming (falsely) that the Mexican army had “invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil.” The Mexican-American War proved to be relatively unpopular, in part because many Northerners objected to what they saw as a war to expand the “slaveocracy.” In 1846, Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot attached a proviso to a war-appropriations bill declaring that slavery should not be permitted in any part of the Mexican territory that the U.S. might acquire. Wilmot’s measure failed to pass, but it made explicit once again the sectional conflict that haunted the process of westward expansion.

What was the Missouri compromise?

The acquisition of this land re-opened the question that the Missouri Compromise had ostensibly settled: What would be the status of slavery in new American territories? After two years of increasingly volatile debate over the issue, Kentucky Senator Henry Clay proposed another compromise. It had four parts: first, California would enter the Union as a free state; second, the status of slavery in the rest of the Mexican territory would be decided by the people who lived there; third, the slave trade (but not slavery) would be abolished in Washington, D.C.; and fourth, a new Fugitive Slave Act would enable Southerners to reclaim runaway slaves who had escaped to Northern states where slavery was not allowed.

What did Jefferson believe about the Westward Expansion?

To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms.

What was the Westward Migration?

Westward migration was an essential part of the republican project , he argued, and it was Americans’ “ manifest destiny ” to carry the “great experiment of liberty” to the edge of the continent: to “overspread and to possess the whole of the [land] which Providence has given us,” O’Sullivan wrote.

How many square miles did the Gadsden Purchase add to the United States?

Did you know? In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase added about 30,000 square miles of Mexican territory to the United States and fixed the boundaries of the “lower 48” where they are today.

Manifest Destiny

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Westward Expansion and Slavery

Westward Expansion and The Compromise of 1850

Bleeding Kansas