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Essays on Westward Expansion

🌄 westward expansion: journey to the wild west.

Hey, history buffs! Ever wondered about Westward Expansion? It's an epic tale of adventure and discovery in the American frontier. So, why write an essay about it? Well, it's not just a school thing; it's a chance to relive the thrilling journey of pioneers, cowboys, and trailblazers who shaped the West. Let's saddle up and explore the frontier! 🤠

📝 Westward Expansion Essay Topics: Riding into the Unknown

Choosing the right topic for your Westward Expansion essay is key. You want to dive into something that sparks your curiosity. Check out these ideas:

🚀 Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the driving force behind Westward Expansion. Here are some essay topics to consider:

• What is Manifest Destiny, and how did it shape the Westward Expansion?
• Debates surrounding Manifest Destiny: expansion or imperialism?
• Notable figures who championed Manifest Destiny and their impact.
• The consequences of Manifest Destiny on indigenous peoples and nations.

🌟 Pioneers and Explorers

The West was explored by brave pioneers and adventurers. Explore these essay topics:

• The Oregon Trail: the challenges and triumphs of westward migration.
• The famous Lewis and Clark expedition: mapping the unknown West.
• Frontiersmen and women who made their mark on the wilderness.
• The Gold Rushes: how gold fever shaped the West and its communities.

⚔️ Indigenous Peoples and Conflicts

The Westward Expansion had a significant impact on indigenous populations. These essay topics delve into this complex history:

• The displacement and challenges faced by Native American tribes.
• Notable Native American leaders and their resistance efforts.
• Treaties and conflicts between settlers and indigenous peoples.
• Trail of Tears: the tragic journey of the Cherokee Nation.

🏙️ Impact on Society

Westward Expansion transformed American society. Explore these essay ideas:

• How Westward Expansion contributed to the growth of cities and urbanization.
• The role of women in shaping the West and advocating for their rights.
• The impact of the Homestead Act on land ownership and farming in the West.
• The legacy of the Wild West in American culture and media.

✍️ Westward Expansion Essay Example

📜 thesis statement examples.

1. "Westward Expansion, driven by the concept of Manifest Destiny, was a pivotal period in American history that transformed the nation's landscape, culture, and relationships with indigenous peoples. This essay explores the motivations, challenges, and consequences of this extraordinary journey."

2. "The pioneers and explorers who ventured into the untamed West epitomized the spirit of adventure and ambition. This essay delves into their remarkable stories, highlighting the challenges they faced, the discoveries they made, and the enduring impact they had on the American frontier."

3. "The Westward Expansion was a complex and often tragic chapter in American history, marked by the clash of cultures and the displacement of indigenous peoples. This essay examines the multifaceted aspects of this expansion, from the relentless drive for land to the enduring resilience of Native American communities."

4. "Westward Expansion not only reshaped the geography of the United States but also left an indelible mark on its social fabric. From the struggles of pioneers to the changing roles of women, this essay explores the multifaceted impact of this historic journey on American society and culture."

📝 Westward Expansion Essay Introduction Paragraph Examples

1. "In the early 19th century, a bold vision known as Manifest Destiny ignited the flames of westward expansion across the American continent. This essay is a time machine, taking us back to an era of pioneers, explorers, and frontiersmen who ventured into the unknown with dreams of prosperity, adventure, and discovery. Join us on this journey into the heart of the Wild West."

2. "The Wild West isn't just a Hollywood invention; it's a real chapter in American history, filled with untamed landscapes, daring pioneers, and epic adventures. In this essay, we'll embark on a quest to unravel the mysteries of Westward Expansion, from the rugged trails of the Oregon Trail to the confrontations with indigenous peoples who called the West home."

3. "The tale of Westward Expansion is a tapestry woven with ambition, hardship, and conflict. Beyond the romanticized images of cowboys and gold rushes lies a complex and transformative journey. This essay serves as our compass, guiding us through the diverse landscapes, cultures, and stories that define the American frontier."

🔚 Westward Expansion Essay Conclusion Paragraph Examples

1. "As we conclude this essay on Westward Expansion, we're reminded that the spirit of adventure and the pursuit of dreams have shaped our nation's history. The legacy of those who blazed trails and faced the unknown endures in the very fabric of the United States. Let us honor their courage and explore the lessons of the frontier as we continue our journey through time."

2. "In the annals of American history, the Westward Expansion stands as a testament to human ambition, resilience, and the enduring quest for freedom. The challenges faced and the sacrifices made by pioneers and indigenous peoples alike remind us of the complexities of our nation's past. Let this essay be a tribute to their stories and a reminder of the landscapes they shaped."

3. "Westward Expansion paints a vivid portrait of America's transformation, where untamed wilderness met the relentless ambition of pioneers. As we bid farewell to this essay, may we carry forward the lessons of the Wild West—lessons of perseverance, cultural exchange, and the enduring spirit of exploration. The West, with all its mysteries and challenges, remains an integral part of our nation's identity."

Manifest Destiny and Manifest Destiny

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Impact of Western Expansion

How westward expansion affected the united states, american revolution's negative impact on native american history, the effects of westward expansion on immigrant life in the united states, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Westward Expansion and The American Dream

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The Oregon Trail in American History

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Western Territories of the United States

The Westward expansion was a significant historical movement in the United States during the 19th century. It involved the gradual expansion of American settlers and their territories westward, primarily across the North American continent.

The historical context of the Westward expansion was shaped by several key factors. One significant factor was the idea of manifest destiny, a belief that it was the nation's destiny and duty to expand across the continent. This ideology fueled a sense of national pride and a desire for territorial expansion. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803, in which the United States acquired a vast amount of land from France, set the stage for the Westward expansion. This massive acquisition provided the opportunity for further exploration, settlement, and the extension of American influence. The Westward expansion was also influenced by economic factors. The discovery of valuable resources such as gold, silver, and fertile land in the West attracted settlers seeking new opportunities and wealth. The promise of economic prosperity and the allure of land ownership played a significant role in motivating people to venture westward. Additionally, political factors contributed to the Westward expansion. The desire to maintain a balance of power between free and slave states, as well as the notion of "American exceptionalism," spurred the expansion into new territories and the subsequent admission of new states to the Union.

Louisiana Purchase (1803): The acquisition of a vast territory from France doubled the size of the United States, opening up opportunities for westward expansion and settlement. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806): President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore and map the newly acquired western lands, paving the way for future migration and understanding of the region. Oregon Trail (1836-1869): The Oregon Trail became a vital route for pioneers seeking a new life in the Oregon Territory. Thousands traveled this arduous path, enduring hardships and dangers along the way. Texas Annexation (1845): Texas, previously an independent republic, was admitted as a state, fueling tensions with Mexico and eventually leading to the Mexican-American War. California Gold Rush (1848-1855): The discovery of gold in California attracted a massive influx of prospectors from around the world, dramatically accelerating westward migration and shaping the development of the region. Homestead Act (1862): The Homestead Act offered free land to settlers who were willing to develop and cultivate it, encouraging westward migration and the establishment of farming communities. Transcontinental Railroad (1869): The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad connected the eastern and western coasts of the United States, facilitating trade, travel, and further settlement in the West.

Thomas Jefferson: As the third President of the United States, Jefferson played a pivotal role in the Westward expansion by spearheading the Louisiana Purchase, which greatly expanded American territory. John O'Sullivan: Coined the term "manifest destiny," O'Sullivan advocated for the belief that it was America's divine mission to expand westward and spread democracy and American values. Jedediah Smith: A fur trapper and explorer, Smith played a crucial role in expanding American knowledge of the West. He explored vast territories, including the Great Basin and the California coast. Brigham Young: After the murder of Joseph Smith, Young led the Mormons on a perilous journey westward and established settlements, including Salt Lake City, in present-day Utah. John Sutter: Sutter's Fort, established by John Sutter in present-day California, became an important stop for settlers heading west during the California Gold Rush. Sacagawea: A Shoshone woman, Sacagawea served as a guide and interpreter during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, contributing to the success of their exploration.

Territorial Expansion: The Westward expansion resulted in the acquisition of vast territories, including the Louisiana Purchase, Oregon Country, and the Mexican Cession. This expansion laid the foundation for the future growth and development of the United States. Economic Transformation: The movement westward brought about significant economic changes. The discovery of valuable resources, such as gold and silver, spurred mining industries and economic booms. The fertile lands of the West also facilitated agricultural expansion, leading to increased food production and economic prosperity. Transportation and Communication: The Westward expansion stimulated the development of transportation and communication networks. The construction of railroads, canals, and roads facilitated trade and travel, connecting distant regions and fostering national unity. Migration and Cultural Exchange: The movement of people westward led to the creation of diverse communities and the blending of cultures. Immigrants from various backgrounds settled in the West, contributing to a rich tapestry of traditions, languages, and customs. Native American Displacement and Conflict: The Westward expansion had devastating consequences for Native American tribes, leading to forced removals, loss of lands, and conflicts. This tragic aspect of the expansion highlights the clash of cultures and the impact of colonialism on indigenous peoples. Shaping of American Identity: The Westward expansion played a vital role in shaping the American identity. It embodied the ideals of manifest destiny, individualism, and rugged frontier spirit. The experiences of pioneers, settlers, and explorers became woven into the fabric of American mythology and the national narrative. Political and Social Issues: The Westward expansion fueled debates and conflicts over issues such as slavery, land rights, and statehood. These tensions ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War, highlighting the profound political and social implications of the expansion.

Many Americans viewed the Westward expansion as a symbol of national progress and destiny. They embraced the idea of manifest destiny and believed it was the nation's divine mission to spread democracy, civilization, and American values across the continent. Expansionists saw the acquisition of new territories as an opportunity for economic growth, land ownership, and a chance to escape crowded eastern cities. However, not all Americans supported the Westward expansion. Some believed it violated the rights of Native Americans and led to unnecessary conflicts. Others expressed concerns about the expansion's impact on the balance of power between free and slave states, as it raised questions about the expansion of slavery into new territories. Native American tribes, on the other hand, had varying opinions about the Westward expansion. Some tribes initially formed alliances with American settlers, while others resisted encroachment on their lands. The expansion resulted in the displacement, mistreatment, and loss of Native American lives and cultures, leading to a deep sense of betrayal and grief among indigenous populations. Additionally, many settlers and pioneers who ventured westward were driven by personal motivations, such as seeking economic opportunities, landownership, and a fresh start. Their opinions varied depending on their experiences, the challenges they faced, and their interactions with Native Americans and other settlers.

Literature: "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy: This novel explores the brutal realities of the Westward expansion, focusing on the violent encounters between settlers, Native Americans, and outlaws along the Texas-Mexico border. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown: This historical account documents the experiences and tragic fates of Native American tribes during the Westward expansion, shedding light on the devastating impact of colonization.

Films and Television: "Dances with Wolves" (1990): Directed by Kevin Costner, this Academy Award-winning film tells the story of a Union Army lieutenant who befriends a Native American tribe while stationed in the Dakota Territory during the Civil War era, highlighting the clash of cultures and the impact of westward movement on Native Americans. "Deadwood" (2004-2006): This critically acclaimed television series depicts the growth of the lawless mining camp of Deadwood, South Dakota, and explores themes of capitalism, greed, and the clash between civilization and the wilderness during the Westward expansion.

1. From 1840 to 1860, an estimated 400,000 settlers journeyed along the Oregon Trail in search of new opportunities and a better life in the West. 2. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 sparked a massive influx of people seeking riches. By 1855, approximately 300,000 gold-seekers, known as "forty-niners," had flocked to California. 3. The Westward expansion led to a significant decline in the buffalo population. In the early 1800s, an estimated 30 million buffalo roamed the Great Plains, but by the late 1880s, hunting and mass slaughter had reduced their numbers to less than 1,000. 4. The Westward expansion resulted in the displacement and forced relocation of Native American tribes. Treaties were often violated, and conflicts such as the Trail of Tears (1838-1839) and the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) caused significant loss of life and cultural upheaval. 5. Land rushes were exciting events where settlers raced to claim available land. Notable examples include the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, when over 50,000 people rushed to stake their claims on the newly opened territory. 6. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the frontier "closed" in 1890, as much of the available land had been settled. This marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new phase in American history.

The topic of Westward expansion is highly significant and merits exploration in an essay due to its profound impact on American history and society. Understanding the motivations, events, and consequences of this transformative period provides valuable insights into the shaping of the United States as we know it today. Examining the Westward expansion allows us to delve into the complexities of American expansionism, manifest destiny, and the clash of cultures. It sheds light on the experiences of diverse groups, including Native Americans, settlers, and pioneers, as they navigated the challenges and opportunities presented by westward movement. The essay can explore themes such as land acquisition, territorial disputes, the displacement of indigenous peoples, the growth of cities and industries, and the impact on the environment. Moreover, the Westward expansion continues to resonate in contemporary America. Its legacies are still evident in land ownership, regional identities, cultural diversity, and ongoing debates around issues like resource management and the treatment of Native American communities. By examining this topic, we gain a deeper understanding of the nation's history, its complexities, and the enduring effects of westward expansion on the American identity.

1. Billington, R. A., & Ridge, M. (Eds.). (2001). Westward expansion: A history of the American frontier. University of New Mexico Press. 2. Brown, D. (2017). Bury my heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian history of the American West. Picador. 3. Hine, R. V., Faragher, J. M., & John Mack Faragher (2000). The American West: A new interpretive history. Yale University Press. 4. Hurtado, A. L. (2002). The book of the American West. University of Oklahoma Press. 5. Limerick, P. N. (2000). The legacy of conquest: The unbroken past of the American West. W.W. Norton & Company. 6. Milner II, C. R. (2016). The Oxford history of the American West. Oxford University Press. 7. Parrish, W. E. (Ed.). (2008). The Cambridge companion to the literature of the American West. Cambridge University Press. 8. Paxson, F. L. (1994). The last American frontier. Prentice Hall. 9. White, R. (2011). The middle ground: Indians, empires, and republics in the Great Lakes region, 1650-1815. Cambridge University Press. 10. Worster, D. (2003). Rivers of empire: Water, aridity, and the growth of the American West. Oxford University Press.

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Westward Expansion

By: History.com Editors

Updated: September 30, 2019 | Original: December 15, 2009

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. 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. (“Those who labor in the earth,” he wrote, “are the chosen people of God.”) In order to provide enough land to sustain this ideal population of virtuous yeomen, the United States would have to continue to expand. The westward expansion of the United States is one of the defining themes of 19th-century American history, but it is not just the story of Jefferson’s expanding “empire of liberty.” On the contrary, as one historian writes, in the six decades after the Louisiana Purchase, westward expansion “very nearly destroy[ed] the republic.”

Manifest Destiny

By 1840, nearly 7 million Americans–40 percent of the nation’s population–lived in the trans-Appalachian West. Following a trail blazed by Lewis and Clark , most of these people had left their homes in the East in search of economic opportunity. Like Thomas Jefferson , many of these pioneers associated westward migration, land ownership and farming with freedom. In Europe, large numbers of factory workers formed a dependent and seemingly permanent working class; by contrast, in the United States, the western frontier offered the possibility of independence and upward mobility for all. In 1843, one thousand pioneers took to the Oregon Trail as part of the “ Great Emigration .”

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.

In 1845, a journalist named John O’Sullivan put a name to the idea that helped pull many pioneers toward the western frontier. 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. The survival of American freedom depended on it.

Westward Expansion and Slavery

Meanwhile, the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the new western states shadowed every conversation about the frontier. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise had attempted to resolve this question: It had admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the fragile balance in Congress. More important, it had stipulated that in the future, slavery would be prohibited north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36º30’ parallel) in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase .

However, the Missouri Compromise did not apply to new territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, and so the issue of slavery continued to fester as the nation expanded. The Southern economy grew increasingly dependent on “King Cotton” and the system of forced labor that sustained it. Meanwhile, more and more Northerners came to believed that the expansion of slavery impinged upon their own liberty, both as citizens–the pro-slavery majority in Congress did not seem to represent their interests–and as yeoman farmers. They did not necessarily object to slavery itself, but they resented the way its expansion seemed to interfere with their own economic opportunity.

Westward Expansion and the Mexican War

Despite this sectional conflict, Americans kept on migrating West in the years after the Missouri Compromise was adopted. 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. They petitioned to join the United States as a slave state.

This promised to upset the careful balance that the Missouri Compromise had achieved, and the annexation of Texas and other Mexican territories did not become a political priority until the enthusiastically expansionist cotton planter James K. Polk was elected to the presidency in 1844. Thanks to the maneuvering of Polk and his allies, Texas joined the union as a slave state in February 1846; in June, after negotiations with Great Britain, Oregon joined as a free state.

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.

Westward Expansion and the Compromise of 1850

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican War and added more than 1 million square miles, an area larger than the Louisiana Purchase, to the United States. 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.

Bleeding Kansas

But the larger question remained unanswered. In 1854, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed that two new states, Kansas and Nebraska , be established in the Louisiana Purchase west of Iowa and Missouri. According to the terms of the Missouri Compromise, both new states would prohibit slavery because both were north of the 36º30’ parallel. However, since no Southern legislator would approve a plan that would give more power to “free-soil” Northerners, Douglas came up with a middle ground that he called “popular sovereignty”: letting the settlers of the territories decide for themselves whether their states would be slave or free.

Northerners were outraged: Douglas, in their view, had caved to the demands of the “slaveocracy” at their expense. The battle for Kansas and Nebraska became a battle for the soul of the nation. Emigrants from Northern and Southern states tried to influence the vote. For example, thousands of Missourians flooded into Kansas in 1854 and 1855 to vote (fraudulently) in favor of slavery. “Free-soil” settlers established a rival government, and soon Kansas spiraled into civil war. Hundreds of people died in the fighting that ensued, known as “ Bleeding Kansas .”

A decade later, the civil war in Kansas over the expansion of slavery was followed by a national civil war over the same issue. As Thomas Jefferson had predicted, it was the question of slavery in the West–a place that seemed to be the emblem of American freedom–that proved to be “the knell of the union.”

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History of Westward Expansion Essay

Introduction, unfair idea of the manifest destiny, were there other options, works cited.

Westward expansion was one of the key periods in the history of the United States of America. It meant significant economic and agricultural growth for white people but it was not the only reason for the expansion; the United States was experiencing certain increase in population and it was getting harder for people to find a job with a decent salary. Thus, moving to the West became a dream for the most ambitious Americans and their desire to achieve it was stronger than any difficulties that frontiersmen were facing. Due to that ambitiousness, the westward expansion was hard to be called a slow process. What is more, not all Americans saw expansion as an advancement. “As Americans poured West, expansion became a source of national political controversy” (Oakes et al. 370).

Manifest destiny was a very popular belief in the 19 th century; according to that, it was an essential destiny of the people from the United States to settle both developed and undeveloped areas of North America. The idea could not be called fair or at least fact-based; according to the manifest destiny, the westward expansion was seen as a naturally determined process conforming both state and moral law. Manifest destiny involved the idea of special virtues and mission of the colonists and it definitely was a powerful weapon of the government.

With help of this idea, it was able to make people believe in a natural necessity of the United States to expand its boundaries. Supporters of the westward expansion believed it to be able to “strengthen it [the country], providing unlimited economic opportunities for future generations” (Haynes par. 4). Moreover, expansionists also used a religion as an instrument as the right to colonize other territories was believed to be given to Americans by God (Oakes et al. 362). When all is said and done, the manifest destiny does not seem to be reasonable as we know what it means to state a superiority of a particular nation over other ones.

Manifest destiny was proclaiming Americans to be God’s favored people who had to perform their mission by means of expansion. In spite of other opinions on the rights and mission of the United States, this idea was successfully incorporated into the vision of the common goal for all Americans. If the United States had not conducted its policy in accordance with the manifest destiny, it might have experienced a certain economic decline caused by a resource scarcity; a swell in population might have yielded to heavy mortality due to the increased fights for the limited resources and the spate of criminal activities caused by high unemployment.

The discussed historical period could be characterized by strong opposition of the colonialists, Mexicans and Native Americans. Thus, it would be interesting for many people to know if there was a way to prevent the conflict, or it was absolutely inevitable. As for the armed conflict between Mexico and the United States, it was caused by strong turf battle after the annexation of Texas that took place in 1845. The conflict was hard to prevent as both aggrieved parties believed to possess priority of territorial supremacy and they saw no solution of the conflict but war. As for the conflict between colonialists and Native Americans, it was likely to be inevitable as the policy of the US government was conducted in accordance with the manifest destiny that supposed invasion to be feasible for performing the mission of the United States.

To conclude, the idea of manifest destiny has played an important role in preparing the country for the westward expansion. As for the latter, it was the way to avoid possible economic decline of the United States and this is why the conflict was inevitable.

Haynes, Sam Walter. Manifest Destiny . PBS. 2006, Web.

Oakes, James, et al. Of the People : A History of the United States , Volume 1: To 1877 . Oxford University Press, 2012.

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Bibliography

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National Geographic Education Blog

Bring the spirit of exploration to your classroom.

What is Westward Expansion?

During the 19th Century, more than 1.6 million square kilometers (a million square miles) of land west of the Mississippi River was acquired by the United States federal government. This led to a widespread migration west, referred to as Westward Expansion.

A variety of factors contributed to Westward Expansion, including population growth and economic opportunities on what was presented to be available land.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was settlers’ God-given duty and right to settle the North American continent. The notion of Manifest Destiny contributed to why European settlers felt they had a right to claim land, both inhabited and uninhabited, in western North America. They believed it was the white man’s destiny to prosper and spread Christianity by claiming and controlling land.

Manifest Destiny was used to validate the Indian Removal Acts , which occurred in the 1830s. Such legislation forced the removal of Native Americans and helped clear the way for non-native settlers to claim land in the west. When the settlers reached land populated or previously promised to Native Americans, they had no qualms claiming it for their own benefit.

It was not just spiritual prosperity that inspired settlers—outright moneymaking opportunities also motivated Westward Expansion.

Throughout most of the 19th century, there were two main ways to make money west of the Mississippi River: through gold and silver prospecting, and through developing land for agriculture, industry, or urban growth. These two activities often supported each other. In California, for instance, the actuality of “ striking it rich ” was quite short-lived, although immigrants continued to populate the new state and contribute to its agricultural and economic growth well after gold fields were discovered there in 1848.

The idea of “free land” was fairly short-lived as well. By 1890, the U.S. Census reported that there were so many permanent settlements west of the Mississippi that a western “frontier” no longer existed in the United States.

This declaration inspired a young historian, Frederick Jackson Turner, to write his famous “Frontier Thesis.” Turner claimed the “close of the frontier” was symbolic. He  asserted that Westward Expansion was the most defining characteristic of American identity to date. With the close of the frontier, he thought, America was that much more “American”—liberated from European customs and attitudes surrounding social class, intellectual culture, and violence.

Many historians criticize the Frontier Thesis, and many reject the idea of an American “frontier” (which Turner described as “the meeting point between savagery and civilization”) entirely. These historians recognize that the “free land” that defined Westward Expansion came at a severe cost to Native American and Spanish-speaking populations, as well as more recent immigrants from Asia (who migrated east, across the Pacific). The Frontier Thesis ignores the development and evolution of these identities almost entirely.

To delve deeper into this complex period of American history, check out our curated resource collection page  on Westward Expansion  at the National Geographic Resource Library .

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11. A Nation on the Move: Westward Expansion, 1800–1860: Introduction

After 1800, the United States militantly expanded westward across North America, confident of its right and duty to gain control of the continent and spread the benefits of its “superior” culture. In John Gast’s  American Progress  (Figure 11.1), the White, blonde figure of Columbia—a historical personification of the United States—strides triumphantly westward with the Star of Empire on her head. She brings education, symbolized by the schoolbook, and modern technology, represented by the telegraph wire. White settlers follow her lead, driving the Native peoples away and bringing successive waves of technological progress in their wake. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the quest for control of the West led to the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican-American War. Efforts to seize western territories from Native peoples and expand the republic by warring with Mexico succeeded beyond expectations. Few nations ever expanded so quickly. Yet, this expansion led to debates about the fate of slavery in the West, creating tensions between North and South that ultimately led to the collapse of American democracy and a brutal civil war.

American History to 1865 Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Westward Expansion

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. In 1893 historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the frontier closed, citing the 1890 census as evidence, and with that, the period of westward expansion ended.

Explore these resources to learn more about what happened between 1810 and 1893, as immigrants, American Indians, United States citizens, and freed slaves moved west.

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Westward Expansion

Westward expansion facts.

Western Territories Of The United States

Indian Removal Act Klondike Gold Rush The Lewis And Clark Expedition War Of 1812 Louisiana Purchase Monroe Doctrine Mexican American War Transcontinental Railroad Homestead Act Kansas-Nebraska Act California Gold Rush Pony Express Battle Of The Alamo The Sand Creek Massacre French And Indian War The Oregon Territory The Oregon Trail Manifest Destiny

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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 of Americans expanding their nation westward, continued the practices established under the principle of Manifest Destiny.

Even before the American colonies won their independence from Britain in the Revolutionary War, settlers were migrating westward into what are now the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as parts of the Ohio Valley and the Deep South. Westward expansion was greatly aided in the early 19th century by the Louisiana Purchase (1803), which was followed by the Corps of Discovery Expedition that is generally called the Lewis and Clark Expedition;  the War of 1812, which secured existing U.S. boundaries and defeated native tribes of the Old Northwest, the region of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi valleys; and the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forcibly moved virtually all Indians from the Southeast to the present states of Arkansas and Oklahoma, a journey known as the Trail of Tears.

In 1845, a journalist named John O’Sullivan coined the term “Manifest Destiny,” a belief that Americans and American institutions are morally superior and therefore Americans are morally obligated to spread those institutions in order to free people in the Western Hemisphere from European monarchies and to uplift “less civilized” societies, such as the Native American tribes and the people of Mexico. 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.

The debate over whether the U.S. would continue slavery and expand the area in which it existed or abolish it altogether became increasingly contentious throughout the first half of the 19th century. When the Dred Scott case prevented Congress from passing laws prohibiting slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska act gave citizens of new states the right to decide for themselves whether their state would be free or slaveholding, a wave of settlers rushed to populate the Kansas-Nebraska Territory in order to make their position—pro- or anti-slavery—the dominant one when states were carved out of that territory.

The slavery debate intensified after the Republic of Texas was annexed and new lands acquired as a result of the Mexican War and an agreement with Britain that gave the U.S. sole possession of a portion of the Oregon Territory. 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. 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, live on the land for five years and make improvements to it, including building a dwelling.

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.” In less than a century, westward expansion stretched the United States from a handful of states along the Eastern Seaboard all the way to the Pacific. The acquisition of Hawaii and Alaska in the mid-19th century assured westward expansion would continue into the 20th century.

The great losers in this westward wave were the Native American tribes. Displaced as new settlers moved in, they lost their traditional way of life and were relegated to reservations. However, westward expansion provided the United States with vast natural resources and ports along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts for expanding trade, key elements in creating the superpower America is today.

Timeline of Westward Expansion

Manifest destiny.

Manifest Destiny, a term coined by journalist John O’Sullivan in 1845, was a driving force in 19th century America’s western expansion—the era of U.S. territorial expansion is sometimes called the Age of Manifest Destiny. It was the notion that Americans and the institutions of the U.S. are morally superior and therefore Americans are morally obligated to spread those institutions in order to free people from the perceived tyranny of the European monarchies.

Those beliefs had their origins in the Puritan settlements of New England and the idea that the New World was a new beginning, a chance to correct problems in European government and society—a chance to get things right. Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense, echoed these sentiments in arguing for immediate revolution for independence: “We have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

Manifest Destiny found its greatest support among Democrats, particularly in the northeastern states, where Democratic newspapers preached a utopian dream of spreading American philosophies through nonviolent, noncoercive means. 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.

Citizens of the Midwestern states were more inclined to active acquisition of territory, rather than relying on noncoercive persuasion. 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.

Although Manifest Destiny’s proponents envisioned the use of nonviolent means to achieve their goals, in practice America’s westward expansion was greatly hastened by a war with Mexico and the violent suppression of the native tribes of the West. It also nearly resulted in war with Great Britain over the Oregon Territory. Learn more about Manifest Destiny .

Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, during President Thomas Jefferson’s administration, the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 50 million francs and the cancellation of debts totaling about 18 million francs. This purchase more than doubled the area of the U.S., removed France entirely from North America, and secured access to New Orleans and transport along the Mississippi River.

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France’s Louisiana Territory stretched from New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico northward through the plains into what is today part of Canada, and from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains—encompassing all or part of 15 states and two Canadian provinces. To secure New Orleans and the trade route to the western territories, Thomas Jefferson sent envoys to purchase New Orleans from France, authorizing them to pay up to $10 million. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte offered them the entire territory for $15 million.

The constitutionality of the purchase was questioned by many members of the U.S. House of Representatives and even by Jefferson himself, but the security and economic benefits of acquiring the territory won out, and the treaty was ratified on October 20, 1803. Learn more about the Louisiana Purchase

The Corps of Discovery Expedition (Lewis and Clark Expedition)

In late 1802, Jefferson asked his private secretary and military advisor, U.S. Army captain Merriweather Lewis, to plan an expedition through the Louisiana Territory to survey its natural resources, look for “the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent,” and explore the Pacific Northwest in order to discover and claim it before Europeans could. Following the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, finalized in October 1803, Jefferson expanded the mission of the Corps: they would also establish friendly, diplomatic contact with as many of the Native American tribes as possible.

In June 1803, Lewis selected William Clark to be joint commander of the expedition, which would be a corps in the U.S. Army created solely for the expedition. Over the next year, they assembled the Corps of Discovery, a 32-man mixed group of soldiers, skilled civilians, and Lewis’ slave York. Along the way they were joined and aided by a French trader named Toussaint Charboneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea , who gave birth to her first child—named Jean Baptise—on February 11, 1805, just before they departed with the Corps of Discovery on April 7.

After a two and half year journey—the first transcontinental expedition—the Corps of Discovery arrived back in St. Louis on September 23, 1806. They had achieved their objectives, except for the discovery of a Northwest passage via water to the Pacific, although the route that they took became part of the Oregon Trail. Their journey helped open the American west to further exploration and settlement, providing valuable geographical and diplomatic information, giving the U.S. a foothold in the region’s fur trade and making contact with more than 72 Native American tribes. Their scientific data alone provided great advances, including the discovery of 178 new plants and 122 previously unknown species and subspecies of animals. Learn more about the Lewis And Clark Expedition

The War of 1812

The War of 1812 is sometimes called the second war for independence in the U.S. since it was fought against British colonial Canada, which allied Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader of a confederation of native tribes. The Americans initially saw themselves both as defenders of their own country and as liberators of the Canadian settlers, but after the first handful of battles fought on the Canadian border in Michigan and near Niagara Falls, it became clear that the Canadians did not want to be “liberated.” Instead, the war unified the Canadians and is viewed with great patriotic pride to this day.

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

The War of 1812 did have a clear loser, however: the native tribes. Tecumseh’s confederation was greatly weakened when he was killed on October 5, 1813, at the Battle of the Thames. The confederation completely dissolved at the end of the war when the British retreated back into Canada, breaking their promises to help the tribes defend their lands against U.S. settlement. Prior to the war, many settlers in Ohio, the Indiana Territory, and the Illinois Territory had been threatened by Indian raids; following the war, the tribes were either restricted to ever-shrinking tribal lands or pushed further west, opening new lands for the United States’ westward expansion.

Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

When the slaveholding territory of Missouri applied for statehood in 1819, it led to a confrontation between those who favored the expansion of slavery and those who opposed it. An agreement called the Missouri Compromise was passed by Congress two years later, under which states would be admitted in pairs, one slaveholding and one free. Then, in the 1857 Dred Scott case the Supreme Court ruled Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in the territories. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 repealed the law that prohibited slavery above the 36 degrees, 30 minutes longitude line in the old Louisiana Purchase. Territories would henceforth have the right of popular sovereignty, with the settlers of those territories, not Congress, determining if they would permit or prevent slavery within their borders. As a result, settlers on both sides of the issue poured into the Kansas and Nebraska territories, eager to establish their sides’ claim, swelling the population there faster than would have occurred otherwise. Learn more about the Kansas-Nebraska Act

Monroe Doctrine

December 2, 1823, the U.S. adopted the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that America would view any additional colonization in the Western Hemisphere by any European country as an act of aggression. It was the closest that Manifest Destiny would come to being written into official government policy. The doctrine was authored mainly by John Quincy Adams, who saw it as an official moral objection to and opposition of colonialism. Although the doctrine was largely ignored—the U.S. did not have a large army or navy at the time to enforce it—Great Britain supported it, mainly on the seas, as part of Pax Britannica. The Monroe Doctrine implied that the U.S. would expand westward into remaining uncolonized areas—indeed, it necessitated expansion to free or annex European colonies. Learn more about The Monroe Doctrine .

Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears

On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, which formally changed the course of U.S. policy toward the Native American tribes. It had immediate impact on the so-called Five Civilized Tribes—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole—who had been until then been permitted to act as autonomous nations on their lands the southern U.S. While removal to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) was supposed to be voluntary, the Indian Removal Act allowed the U.S. government to put enormous pressure on the chiefs to signs removal treaties and provided some legal standing to remove them by force.

The first treaty signed following the passage of the act was on September 27, 1830: the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek removed the Choctaws from land east of the Mississippi River in exchange for land in Oklahoma and money. The U.S. Army and the newly formed Bureau of Indian Affairs did not plan the removal well, resulting in delays, food shortages, and exposure to the elements, including a blizzard in Arkansas during the first phase of the tribe’s removal. A Choctaw chief who was interviewed in late 1831 shortly after the blizzard called the removal a “trail of tears and death” for his people—a phrase that was widely repeated in the press and seared into popular memory when it was applied to the brutal removal of the Cherokee from Georgia in 1838.

Georgia had been one of the strongest supporters the Indian Removal Act. Tensions between the Cherokee and settlers had risen to new heights with the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1829, leading to the Georgia Gold Rush—the first U.S. gold rush. The state put enormous pressure on the Cherokees to sign a treaty, and a minority of the tribe signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835. After much legal maneuvering, the treaty was narrowly passed in the House and Senate in 1836 without Chief John Ross’s agreement or that of the majority of Cherokees. From May 18 to June 2, 1838, the Cherokees were rounded up into forts as settlers began moving onto their lands. Some Cherokee were forced to live in the forts—little more than stockades—on Army rations for up to five months before starting their journey to Indian Territory. Of the approximately 16,000 Cherokees, more 4,000 died as a result of conditions in the forts, some from the journey—on foot, by wagon and steamboat—to Oklahoma, and some from the consequences of the relocation. About 1,000 Cherokees stayed behind, living on private lands or eking out an existence in the wilderness. Read more about the Indian Removal Act .

The Oregon Trail And Oregon Territory

Disputes over who owned the Oregon Territory nearly led to a third war between the United States and Britain. Ultimately, the question was settled peacefully in a manner that gave the United States clear possession of its first important Pacific port, the area of Puget Sound.

The Oregon Territory stretched from the northern border of California into Alaska, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. Britain, Spain, Russia and the U.S. all laid claim to parts or all of it. The U.S. claim was based on the fact that in 1792 Captain Robert Gray had sailed 10 miles up a river, which he named for his vessel, the Columbia. By international principle, his journey gave the United States a claim to all the area drained by the river and its tributaries.

President John Quincy Adams, who dreamed of an America that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, used threats and diplomacy to end Spain’s claims to the northwest in Transcontinental Treaty, signed in February 1819. This treaty also defined the western borders of the Louisiana Purchase, which had been somewhat vague. The southern borderline would be the 42nd parallel, the top of present California, and would extend across the Rockies to the Pacific.

That left the northern boundary to be defined. The Anglo-American Convention of 1818 between the U.S. and Britain placed the border of British North America (Canada) along the 49th parallel, from the Great Lakes to the Rockies, and opened all of the Oregon Territory to citizens of either country. Under the treaty, the question of dividing that region could be revisited every 10 years. In 1824, Russia abandoned its claims south of the 54 degrees, 40 minutes parallel (54-40).

In the 1840s, Americans began their major push west of the Mississippi, into lands that were largely unsettled except by the indigenous tribes. Some went in search of land, some in search of gold and silver, and in the case of the Mormons, in search of religious freedom. Four trails provided their primary pathways: the Santa Fe Trail into the Southwest, the Overland Trail to California, the Mormon Trail to the Great Salt Lake (in the future state of Utah), and the Oregon Trail to the Northwest. Braving harsh weather, attacks by Indians or wild animals, and isolation, their numbers rose into the tens of thousands. Increasingly, Americans talked of the prospect of a transcontinental railroad.

The Oregon Territory took on renewed importance to America’s dream of Manifest Destiny. In the presidential election of 1844, Democrat James K. Polk narrowly won on a platform of national expansion. The youngest president up to that time, Polk tended toward confrontational diplomacy. Britain had long offered to split the Oregon Territory, along the line of the Columbia River. The U.S. preferred the 49th parallel as the boundary. The only area of contention was Puget Sound, which promised its owner a deep-water port for trade with China and Pacific Islands.

In March 1845, the British ambassador spurned Polk’s offer to divide Oregon along the 49th parallel, not even informing his government of the offer. Polk then demanded the whole territory, north to the 54-40 line. In April 1846, Congress authorized Polk to end the joint agreement of 1818. Americans took up the slogan “54-40 or fight,” and war loomed with Britain. The British, however, saw little value in another war with its former colonies in order to protect the interest of the Hudson Bay Company along the Pacific Coast. An agreement was reached that split the Oregon Territory along the 49th parallel (excepting the southern portion of Vancouver Island) in exchange for free navigation along the Columbia for the Hudson Bay Company. Despite the “54-40 or fight” rhetoric, the United States didn’t need war with Britain; a war with Mexico was breaking out.

Mexican-American War

In 1845, during the administration of President John Tyler, the U.S. annexed the Republic of Texas (present-day U.S. state of Texas and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico). Texas had won independence from Mexico in 1836, although Mexico refused to officially acknowledge the republic or its borders.  Tyler’s successor, James K. Polk, who had campaigned on a platform that supported Manifest Destiny and expansion, secretly sent diplomat John Slidell to Mexico City to negotiate the purchase of provinces of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México—present-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Upon learning Slidell was there to purchase more territory instead of compensate Mexico for Texas, the Mexican government refused to receive him. Slidell wrote to Polk, “We can never get along well with them, until we have given them a good drubbing.” Polk began preparations to declare war based on Slidell’s treatment.

In January 1846, to defend the disputed Texas border and put pressure on Mexican officials to work with Slidell—and perhaps to provoke the Mexicans into a military response—Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor with a small U.S. Army contingent to the north bank of the Rio Grande. Texas and the U.S. government said the Rio Grande was the southern border Texas; Mexico said the border was about 200 miles farther north, along the Nueces.

On April 25, 1846, a patrol under Captain Seth Thornton encountered a force of 2,000 Mexican soldiers; 11 Americans were killed and the rest captured. One wounded man was released by the Mexicans and reported news of the skirmish. Polk received word of the conflict a few days before he addressed Congress. The Thornton Affair, which “shed American blood upon American soil,” provided a more solid footing for his declaration of war, though the veracity of the account is still questioned today.

Some opposed the war on grounds that war should not be used to expand the U.S. Some thought that Polk, a Southerner, wanted to expand slavery and strengthen the influence of slave owners in the federal government. Despite the opposition by Whigs—Polk was a Democrat—the U.S. declared war on Mexico May 13, 1846. Many Whigs continued to question the validity of Polk’s war, including a freshman Congressman from Illinois, the future president Abraham Lincoln.

American success on the battlefield was swift. By August, General Stephen W. Kearny had captured New Mexico—there had been no opposition when he arrived in Santa Fe. Securing California would take longer, although on June 14, 1846, settlers in Alta California began the Big Bear Flag Revolt against the Mexican garrison in Sonoma, without knowing of the declaration of war. Armed resistance by the Californios didn’t end until mid January 1847.

In Northeastern Mexico, Taylor had immediate success in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Cumulative U.S. victories threw the Mexican government into turmoil, and in mid-August, its former president Antonio López de Santa Anna saw an opportunity to come out of self-imposed exile in Cuba. He promised the U.S. that he would negotiate a peaceful end to the war and sell New Mexico and California, if given safe passage through the U.S. blockade. Once in Mexico City, however, he reneged on the agreement and seized the presidency. Taylor pushed south into Monterrey, Mexico, in September. After a hard-won victory, Taylor negotiated the surrender of the city and agreed to an eight-week armistice, during which the Mexican troops would be allowed to go free.

Polk, upset by these conciliatory terms and nervous about Taylor becoming a political rival, began to shift Taylor’s men to other commanders to participate in Major General Winfield Scott’s invasion of central Mexico. In January 1847, Santa Anna learned of the U.S. plans and moved to defeat Taylor, and then attack Scott on the coast. Instead, Taylor, with about 500 regulars and some 4,500 volunteers who had not yet seen combat, was able to defeat Santa Anna’s force of about 22,000 men at the Battle of Buena Vista on February 23, 1847. Santa Anna began the long march back to Mexico City.

Scott’s forces captured Veracruz by the end of March 1847 and began the campaign toward Mexico City, which they captured and occupied on September 13, 1847. Although the fighting was largely over, the war didn’t end until February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which Mexico renounced all rights to Texas, set the permanent border at the Rio Grande, and ceded land that is now California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado for $15 million. In 1853, James Gadsden, the American minister to Mexico, arranged for the purchase of what is now part of southern Arizona and New Mexico for an additional $15 million. Read more about the Mexican American War .

California Gold Rush

On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range northeast of Sacramento. Although he and Sutter tried to keep it a secret, word got out—the first printed notice of the discovery was in the March 15, 1848, San Francisco newspaper The Californian. Not long after, gold was discovered in the Feather and Trinity Rivers, also located northeast of Sacramento.

The first people to rush the gold fields were those already living in California, but as word slowly got out overland and via the port city of San Francisco, people from Oregon, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Pacific Islands arrived 1848 to find their fortunes. In 1849, there was such a huge influx of gold-seekers—approximately 90,000—that they would be referred to collectively as “forty-niners.” They came over the Rockies from other parts of the U.S. Foreign treasure hunters came by ship from Australia, New Zealand, China and other parts of Asia, and some from Europe, mainly France. It is estimated that by 1855 some 300,000 people had streamed into California hoping to strike it rich. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in 1859, further drove California’s population growth and development—over the course of the gold rush, California went from a military-occupied part of Mexico to being a U.S. possession to statehood as part of the Compromise of 1850. The port town of San Francisco went from a population of about 1,000 in 1848 to become the eighth largest city in the U.S. in 1890, with a population of almost 300,000. Read more about the California Gold Rush .

Klondike Gold Rush

The Klondike gold rush consisted of the arrival of thousands of prospectors to the Klondike region of Canada as well as Alaska in search of gold. Over 100,000 people set out on the year long journey to the Klondike, with less than one third ever finishing the arduous journey. Only a small percentage of the prospectors found gold, and the rush was soon over. Read more about the Klondike Gold Rush .

Transcontinental Railroad

The first concrete plan for a transcontinental railroad in the United States was presented to Congress by dry-goods merchant Asa Whitney in 1845. Whitney had ridden on newly opened railway lines in England and an 1842–1844 trip to China, which involved a transcontinental trip and the transport of the goods he had bought, further convinced him that the railroad was the future of transport. In 1862, Congress passed the first of five Pacific Railroad Acts that issued government bonds and land grants to the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The act, based on a bill proposed in 1856 that had been a victim of the political skirmishes over slavery, was considered a war measure that would strengthen the union between the eastern and western states.

The Central Pacific started work in Sacramento, California, in January 8, 1863, but progress was slow due to the resource and labor shortage caused by the Civil War. The Central Pacific faced a labor shortage in the west and relied heavily on Chinese immigrants, who represented over 80 percent of the Central Pacific’s laborers at the height of their employment. The California Gold Rush and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad brought the first great waves of emigration from Asia to America. Learn more about the Transcontinental Railroad

The Union Pacific also faced war shortages as well as incompetence, corruption, and lack of funds; it broke ground in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 12, 1863, but the first rail wasn’t laid until July 10, 1865. Since construction began in earnest after the end of the war, most of the workers on the Union Pacific were Army veterans and Irish immigrants who had come to the U.S. because of the Irish Potato Famine.

When the railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the last spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, it had already facilitated further population of the western states in concert with the Homestead Act. The railroads led to the decline and eventual end to the use of emigrant trails, wagon trains, and stagecoach lines, and a further constriction of the native population and their territories. The supposed Great American Desert—the western Great Plains—was rapidly populated. Telegraph lines were also built along the railroad right of way as the track was laid, replacing the first single-line Transcontinental Telegraph with a multi-line telegraph.

Homestead Act

The Homestead Act of 1862 was intended to make lands opening up in the west available to a wide variety of settlers, not just those who could afford to buy land outright or buy land under the Preemption Act of 1841, which established a lowered land price for squatters who had occupied the land for a minimum of 14 months. In the 1850s, Southerners had opposed three similar efforts to open the west out of fear that western lands would be established as free, non-slaveholding areas. Most of those objecting to such legislation left Congress when the Southern states seceded, allowing the Homestead Act to be passed during the American Civil War. Learn more about the Homestead Act

The Homestead Act required settlers to complete three steps in order to obtain 160-acre lots of surveyed government land. First, an application for a land claim had to be filed, then the homesteader had to live on the land for the next five years and make improvements to it, including building a 12 by 14 shelter. Finally, after five years, the homesteader could file for patent (deed of title) by filing proof of residency and proof of improvements with the local land office, which would then send paperwork with a certificate of eligibility to the General Land Office in Washington, DC, for final approval. The land was free except for a small registration fee. Homesteaders could also apply for patent after a six-month residency and after making small improvements, but they would have to pay $1.25 per acre for the land.

The first homesteader was Daniel Freeman, a Union Army scout scheduled to leave Gage County, Nebraska Territory, on January 1, 1863. On New Years Eve, he met local Land Office officials and persuaded them to open early so he could file a land claim. By the end of the century, more than 80 million acres had been granted to over 480,000 successful homesteaders. In total, about 10 percent of the U.S. was settled because of the Homestead Act, which was in effect until 1976 all states except for Alaska, which repealed the Homestead Act in 1986.

Other Events of Westward Expansion

Pony Express : The Pony Express was a system of horse and riders set up in the mid-1800s to deliver mail and packages. It employed 80 deliverymen and between four and five hundred horses. Read more about Pony Express .

Battle Of The Alamo : The battle of the Alamo was fought from 2/23-6/6/1826 between the United States and Mexico for what is now San Antonio, Texas. It resulted in Mexico taking control. Read more about Battle Of The Alamo .

French Indian War : The French and Indian War was fought from 1756-1763 between the British and the French. It took place in North America and involved many Native American people. Read more about French Indian War .

The Sand Creek Massacre : The Sand Creek Massacre was the brutal attack of Cheyenne Indians consisting mostly of women and children by Union Soldiers that occurred, despite the flying of an American flag to show that they were peaceful and a white flag after the attack began, in Colorado in 1864. . Read more about The Sand Creek Massacre .

Oregon Territory : The Oregon Territory was the name given to the area that became the state of Oregon. It became an official state in February of 1859. Read more about Oregon Territory .

The Oregon Trail : The Oregon Trail is a reference to the path that stretches 2,000 miles across the United States. It was used by thousands of people to populate the western frontier. Read more about The Oregon Trail .

Black Hawk War : The Battle of Black Hawk refers to several conflicts between the United States government and a group of Native Americans called the British Band. They were led by a Sauk warrior named Black Hawk. Read more about Black Hawk War .

The Mountain Meadows Massacre : The Mountain Meadows Massacre refers to an event where militia men from Utah attaché a group of wagon travelers that had made camp for a rest. . Read more about The Mountain Meadows Massacre .

John Jacob Astor : John Jacob Astor was a wealthy merchant and fur trader whose enterprise was played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States. Read more about John Jacob Astor .

O.K. Corral : The O.K. Corral refers to a fight at this corall in Tombstone, Arizona. It’s one of the most famous gunfights in American history and has many films made about it. Read more about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral .

Davy Crockett : Davy Crockett was a famous Tennessee outdoorsman who also served many political offices in North America. He was part of the Texas Revolution and died at the Alamo. Read more about Davy Crockett .

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17.1: The Westward Spirit

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While a small number of settlers had pushed westward before the mid-nineteenth century, the land west of the Mississippi was largely unexplored. Most Americans, if they thought of it at all, viewed this territory as an arid wasteland suitable only for Indians whom the federal government had displaced from eastern lands in previous generations. The reflections of early explorers who conducted scientific treks throughout the West tended to confirm this belief. Major Stephen Harriman Long, who commanded an expedition through Missouri and into the Yellowstone region in 1819–1820, frequently described the Great Plains as a arid and useless region, suitable as nothing more than a “great American desert.” But, beginning in the 1840s, a combination of economic opportunity and ideological encouragement changed the way Americans thought of the West. The federal government offered a number of incentives, making it viable for Americans to take on the challenge of seizing these rough lands from others and subsequently taming them. Still, most Americans who went west needed some financial security at the outset of their journey; even with government aid, the truly poor could not make the trip. The cost of moving an entire family westward, combined with the risks as well as the questionable chances of success, made the move prohibitive for most. While the economic Panic of 1837 led many to question the promise of urban America, and thus turn their focus to the promise of commercial farming in the West, the Panic also resulted in many lacking the financial resources to make such a commitment. For most, the dream to “Go west, young man” remained unfulfilled.

While much of the basis for westward expansion was economic, there was also a more philosophical reason, which was bound up in the American belief that the country—and the “heathens” who populated it—was destined to come under the civilizing rule of Euro-American settlers and their superior technology, most notably railroads and the telegraph. While the extent to which that belief was a heartfelt motivation held by most Americans, or simply a rationalization of the conquests that followed, remains debatable, the clashes—both physical and cultural—that followed this western migration left scars on the country that are still felt today.

MANIFEST DESTINY

The concept of Manifest Destiny found its roots in the long-standing traditions of territorial expansion upon which the nation itself was founded. This phrase, which implies divine encouragement for territorial expansion, was coined by magazine editor John O’Sullivan in 1845, when he wrote in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review that “it was our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our multiplying millions.” Although the context of O’Sullivan’s original article was to encourage expansion into the newly acquired Texas territory, the spirit it invoked would subsequently be used to encourage westward settlement throughout the rest of the nineteenth century. Land developers, railroad magnates, and other investors capitalized on the notion to encourage westward settlement for their own financial benefit. Soon thereafter, the federal government encouraged this inclination as a means to further develop the West during the Civil War, especially at its outset, when concerns over the possible expansion of slavery deeper into western territories was a legitimate fear.

The idea was simple: Americans were destined—and indeed divinely ordained—to expand democratic institutions throughout the continent. As they spread their culture, thoughts, and customs, they would, in the process, “improve” the lives of the native inhabitants who might otherwise resist Protestant institutions and, more importantly, economic development of the land. O’Sullivan may have coined the phrase, but the concept had preceded him: Throughout the 1800s, politicians and writers had stated the belief that the United States was destined to rule the continent. O’Sullivan’s words, which resonated in the popular press, matched the economic and political goals of a federal government increasingly committed to expansion.

Manifest Destiny justified in Americans’ minds their right and duty to govern any other groups they encountered during their expansion, as well as absolved them of any questionable tactics they employed in the process. While the commonly held view of the day was of a relatively empty frontier, waiting for the arrival of the settlers who could properly exploit the vast resources for economic gain, the reality was quite different. Hispanic communities in the Southwest, diverse Indian tribes throughout the western states, as well as other settlers from Asia and Western Europe already lived in many parts of the country. American expansion would necessitate a far more complex and involved exchange than simply filling empty space.

Still, in part as a result of the spark lit by O’Sullivan and others, waves of Americans and recently arrived immigrants began to move west in wagon trains. They travelled along several identifiable trails: first the Oregon Trail, then later the Santa Fe and California Trails, among others. The Oregon Trail is the most famous of these western routes. Two thousand miles long and barely passable on foot in the early nineteenth century, by the 1840s, wagon trains were a common sight. Between 1845 and 1870, considered to be the height of migration along the trail, over 400,000 settlers followed this path west from Missouri (Figure 17.1.2).

DEFINING AMERICAN: WHO WILL SET LIMITS TO OUR ONWARD MARCH?

America is destined for better deeds. It is our unparalleled glory that we have no reminiscences of battle fields, but in defense [sic] of humanity, of the oppressed of all nations, of the rights of conscience, the rights of personal enfranchisement. Our annals describe no scenes of horrid carnage, where men were led on by hundreds of thousands to slay one another, dupes and victims to emperors, kings, nobles, demons in the human form called heroes. We have had patriots to defend our homes, our liberties, but no aspirants to crowns or thrones; nor have the American people ever suffered themselves to be led on by wicked ambition to depopulate the land, to spread desolation far and wide, that a human being might be placed on a seat of supremacy. . . .

The expansive future is our arena, and for our history. We are entering on its untrodden space, with the truths of God in our minds, beneficent objects in our hearts, and with a clear conscience unsullied by the past. We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march? Providence is with us, and no earthly power can.

—John O’Sullivan, 1839

Think about how this quotation resonated with different groups of Americans at the time. When looked at through today’s lens, the actions of the westward-moving settlers were fraught with brutality and racism. At the time, however, many settlers felt they were at the pinnacle of democracy, and that with no aristocracy or ancient history, America was a new world where anyone could succeed. Even then, consider how the phrase “anyone” was restricted by race, gender, and nationality.

Click and Explore:

Visit Across the Plains in ‘64 to follow one family making their way westward from Iowa to Oregon. Click on a few of the entries and see how the author describes their journey, from the expected to the surprising.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE

To assist the settlers in their move westward and transform the migration from a trickle into a steady flow, Congress passed two significant pieces of legislation in 1862: the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act. Born largely out of President Abraham Lincoln’s growing concern that a potential Union defeat in the early stages of the Civil War might result in the expansion of slavery westward, Lincoln hoped that such laws would encourage the expansion of a “free soil” mentality across the West.

The Homestead Act allowed any head of household, or individual over the age of twenty-one—including unmarried women—to receive a parcel of 160 acres for only a nominal filing fee. All that recipients were required to do in exchange was to “improve the land” within a period of five years of taking possession. The standards for improvement were minimal: Owners could clear a few acres, build small houses or barns, or maintain livestock. Under this act, the government transferred over 270 million acres of public domain land to private citizens.

The Pacific Railway Act was pivotal in helping settlers move west more quickly, as well as move their farm products, and later cattle and mining deposits, back east. The first of many railway initiatives, this act commissioned the Union Pacific Railroad to build new track west from Omaha, Nebraska, while the Central Pacific Railroad moved east from Sacramento, California. The law provided each company with ownership of all public lands within two hundred feet on either side of the track laid, as well as additional land grants and payment through load bonds, prorated on the difficulty of the terrain it crossed. Because of these provisions, both companies made a significant profit, whether they were crossing hundreds of miles of open plains, or working their way through the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. As a result, the nation’s first transcontinental railroad was completed when the two companies connected their tracks at Promontory Point, Utah, in the spring of 1869. Other tracks, including lines radiating from this original one, subsequently created a network that linked all corners of the nation (Figure17.1.3).

In addition to legislation designed to facilitate western settlement, the U.S. government assumed an active role on the ground, building numerous forts throughout the West to protect and assist settlers during their migration. Forts such as Fort Laramie in Wyoming (built in 1834) and Fort Apache in Arizona (1870) served as protection from nearby Indians as well as maintained peace between potential warring tribes. Others located throughout Colorado and Wyoming became important trading posts for miners and fur trappers. Those built in Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas served primarily to provide relief for farmers during times of drought or related hardships. Forts constructed along the California coastline provided protection in the wake of the Mexican-American War as well as during the American Civil War. These locations subsequently serviced the U.S. Navy and provided important support for growing Pacific trade routes. Whether as army posts constructed for the protection of white settlers and to maintain peace among Indian tribes, or as trading posts to further facilitate the development of the region, such forts proved to be vital contributions to westward migration.

WHO WERE THE SETTLERS?

In the nineteenth century, as today, it took money to relocate and start a new life. Due to the initial cost of relocation, land, and supplies, as well as months of preparing the soil, planting, and subsequent harvesting before any produce was ready for market, the original wave of western settlers along the Oregon Trail in the 1840s and 1850s consisted of moderately prosperous, white, native-born farming families of the East. But the passage of the Homestead Act and completion of the first transcontinental railroad meant that, by 1870, the possibility of western migration was opened to Americans of more modest means. What started as a trickle became a steady flow of migration that would last until the end of the century.

Nearly 400,000 settlers had made the trek westward by the height of the movement in 1870. The vast majority were men, although families also migrated, despite incredible hardships for women with young children. More recent immigrants also migrated west, with the largest numbers coming from Northern Europe and Canada. Germans, Scandinavians, and Irish were among the most common. These ethnic groups tended to settle close together, creating strong rural communities that mirrored the way of life they had left behind. According to U.S. Census Bureau records, the number of Scandinavians living in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century exploded, from barely 18,000 in 1850 to over 1.1 million in 1900. During that same time period, the German-born population in the United States grew from 584,000 to nearly 2.7 million and the Irish-born population grew from 961,000 to 1.6 million. As they moved westward, several thousand immigrants established homesteads in the Midwest, primarily in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where, as of 1900, over one-third of the population was foreign-born, and in North Dakota, whose immigrant population stood at 45 percent at the turn of the century. Compared to European immigrants, those from China were much less numerous, but still significant. More than 200,000 Chinese arrived in California between 1876 and 1890, albeit for entirely different reasons related to the Gold Rush.

In addition to a significant European migration westward, several thousand African Americans migrated west following the Civil War, as much to escape the racism and violence of the Old South as to find new economic opportunities. They were known as exodusters, referencing the biblical flight from Egypt, because they fled the racism of the South, with most of them headed to Kansas from Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Over twenty-five thousand exodusters arrived in Kansas in 1879–1880 alone. By 1890, over 500,000 blacks lived west of the Mississippi River. Although the majority of black migrants became farmers, approximately twelve thousand worked as cowboys during the Texas cattle drives. Some also became “Buffalo Soldiers” in the wars against Indians. “Buffalo Soldiers” were African Americans allegedly so-named by various Indian tribes who equated their black, curly hair with that of the buffalo. Many had served in the Union army in the Civil War and were now organized into six, all-black cavalry and infantry units whose primary duties were to protect settlers from Indian attacks during the westward migration, as well as to assist in building the infrastructure required to support western settlement (Figure 17.1.4).

The Oxford African American Studies Centerfeatures photographs and stories about black homesteaders. From exodusters to all-black settlements, the essay describes the largely hidden role that African Americans played in western expansion.

While white easterners, immigrants, and African Americans were moving west, several hundred thousand Hispanics had already settled in the American Southwest prior to the U.S. government seizing the land during its war with Mexico (1846–1848). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war in 1848, granted American citizenship to those who chose to stay in the United States, as the land switched from Mexican to U.S. ownership. Under the conditions of the treaty, Mexicans retained the right to their language, religion, and culture, as well as the property they held. As for citizenship, they could choose one of three options: 1) declare their intent to live in the United States but retain Mexican citizenship; 2) become U.S. citizens with all rights under the constitution; or 3) leave for Mexico. Despite such guarantees, within one generation, these new Hispanic American citizens found their culture under attack, and legal protection of their property all but non-existent.

Section Summary

While a few bold settlers had moved westward before the middle of the nineteenth century, they were the exception, not the rule. The “great American desert,” as it was called, was considered a vast and empty place, unfit for civilized people. In the 1840s, however, this idea started to change, as potential settlers began to learn more from promoters and land developers of the economic opportunities that awaited them in the West, and Americans extolled the belief that it was their Manifest Destiny—their divine right—to explore and settle the western territories in the name of the United States.

Most settlers in this first wave were white Americans of means. Whether they sought riches in gold, cattle, or farming, or believed it their duty to spread Protestant ideals to native inhabitants, they headed west in wagon trains along paths such as the Oregon Trail. European immigrants, particularly those from Northern Europe, also made the trip, settling in close-knit ethnic enclaves out of comfort, necessity, and familiarity. African Americans escaping the racism of the South also went west. In all, the newly settled areas were neither a fast track to riches nor a simple expansion into an empty land, but rather a clash of cultures, races, and traditions that defined the emerging new America.

Review Questions

Which of the following does not represent a group that participated significantly in westward migration after 1870?

African American “exodusters” escaping racism and seeking economic opportunities

former Southern slaveholders seeking land and new financial opportunities

recent immigrants from Northern Europe and Canada

recent Chinese immigrants seeking gold in California

Which of the following represents an action that the U.S. government took to help Americans fulfill the goal of western expansion?

the passage of the Homestead Act

the official creation of the philosophy of Manifest Destiny

the development of stricter immigration policies

the introduction of new irrigation techniques

Why and how did the U.S. government promote western migration in the midst of fighting the Civil War?

During the first two years of the Civil War—when it appeared that the Confederacy was a formidable opponent—President Lincoln grew concerned that a Union defeat could result in the westward expansion of slavery. Thus, he hoped to facilitate the westward movement of white settlers who promoted the concept of free soil, which would populate the region with allies who opposed slavery. To encourage this process, Congress passed the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act in 1862. The government also constructed and maintained forts that assisted in the process of westward expansion.

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Course: US history   >   Unit 6

• The Gold Rush
• The Homestead Act and the exodusters
• The reservation system
• The Dawes Act
• Chinese immigrants and Mexican Americans in the age of westward expansion
• The Indian Wars and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• The Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee

Westward expansion: economic development

• Westward expansion: social and cultural development
• The American West
• Land, mining, and improved transportation by rail brought settlers to the American West during the Gilded Age.
• New agricultural machinery allowed farmers to increase crop yields with less labor, but falling prices and rising expenses left them in debt.
• Farmers began to organize in local and regional cooperatives like the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance to promote their interests.

Who owns the West?

Developing the west.

• (Choice A)   Railroads led to the discovery of profitable minerals. A Railroads led to the discovery of profitable minerals.
• (Choice B)   Railroads brought more people to the East Coast. B Railroads brought more people to the East Coast.
• (Choice C)   Railroads allowed farmers to sell their goods in distant markets. C Railroads allowed farmers to sell their goods in distant markets.

Farmers in an industrial age

The grange and the farmers’ alliance, what do you think.

• The Homestead Act , 1862.
• See OpenStax, The Westward Spirit , U.S. History, OpenStax CNX, 2019.
• See David M. Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen, The American Pageant: A History of the American People, 15th (AP) Edition, (Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2013), 584-585.
• Kennedy and Cohen, The American Pageant , 512-513.
• See Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 5th AP Edition (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2016), 593.
• Kennedy and Cohen, The American Pageant , 594-596.
• Kennedy and Cohen, The American Pageant , 596-598.
• See Foner, Give Me Liberty! , 641-643.

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• Americanization
• Battle of Wounded Knee
• Bonanza Farms
• California Gold Rush
• Comstock Lode
• Fence Cutting War
• Gorras Blancas
• Homestead Act
• Manifest Destiny
• Sand Creek Massacre

Introduction

• The Westward Spirit
• Homesteading: Dreams and Realities
• Making a Living in Gold and Cattle
• The Loss of American Indian Life and Culture
• The Impact of Expansion on Chinese Immigrants and Hispanic Citizens

In the middle of the nineteenth century, farmers in the “Old West”—the land across the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania—began to hear about the opportunities to be found in the “New West.” They had long believed that the land west of the Mississippi was a great desert, unfit for human habitation. But now, the federal government was encouraging them to join the migratory stream westward to this unknown land. For a variety of reasons, Americans increasingly felt compelled to fulfill their “Manifest Destiny,” a phrase that came to mean that they were expected to spread across the land given to them by God and, most importantly, spread predominantly American values to the frontier ( Figure ).

With great trepidation, hundreds, and then hundreds of thousands, of settlers packed their lives into wagons and set out, following the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails, to seek a new life in the West. Some sought open lands and greater freedom to fulfill the democratic vision originally promoted by Thomas Jefferson and experienced by their ancestors. Others saw economic opportunity. Still others believed it was their job to spread the word of God to the “heathens” on the frontier. Whatever their motivation, the great migration was underway. The American pioneer spirit was born.

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Westward Expansion and the Quest to Conserve

Written by: Mark Thomas, University of Virginia

By the end of this section, you will:.

• Compare attitudes toward the use of natural resources from 1890 to 1945

Suggested Sequencing

Use this Narrative after the Chapter 10 Introductory Essay: 1898-1919 to allow students to learn more about the American conservation movement and the steps its leaders took to preserve the natural environment.

The United States in the nineteenth century was characterized by abundance, notably of land and natural resources. Perhaps the most important resource for the expansion of the industrial sector of the American economy was timber. Trees not only covered much of the land and were ripe for harvesting, they also needed to be cut down if agriculture, the dominant sector of the economy, were to produce enough food to sustain the rapidly growing population. Timber was used to build houses and provide furniture and heating for residents; to erect factories and fuel machines; to construct ships to carry cotton (and, after 1870, wheat) across the Atlantic; to build canal barges for carrying produce from the Midwest to Atlantic seaports and imported goods from the seaports to the Midwest; to provide the sleepers on which the iron tracks for railroads rested; and to supply power for the locomotives that rode on the tracks. Gradually, as the cost of shipping goods around the country diminished because the limitations of distance were overcome, other natural resources became more important, most notably, coal, petroleum, and ores of iron, copper, and other minerals. Land was no longer simply being cleared of old-growth forests but was increasingly mined for materials needed by industry. However, sound environmental management was not always a concern, and eventually, there was a price to pay for scarring the land.

Throughout this period of continental expansion, the U.S. government pursued policies that promoted westward expansion and continental settlement. This was a matter not simply of negotiating the transfer of land from France (the Louisiana Purchase in 1803), Spain (the Florida/Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819), and Mexico (the Gadsden Treaty of 1853 for present-day Arizona and New Mexico). It also meant establishing a process by which these new territories should be settled. The governing authority to do so was established a century before by the Northwest Ordinances (1785, 1787), which provided for the systematic survey and sale of land west of the Appalachians.

As the spread of railroads accelerated the process of continental settlement and the potential for future economic opportunities, federal land policies became more generous. The turning point was the Homestead Act of 1862, which carved western lands into parcels of 640 acres and sold them to settlers for a token payment. Later, legislation followed, such as the Timber Culture Act (1873) and the Desert Land Act (1877), each designed to promote rapid transfer of federal land into private hands to boost economic expansion through the use of natural resources.

This map of the United States shows America’s expansion up to 1853.

But the tide was already turning, as attitudes toward the rapid and seemingly unstoppable consumption of natural resources began to change. The Transcontinental Railroad had been completed in 1869, permanently linking the East and West Coasts of the United States and allowing continuous movement of goods and people across the continent. Not only were the lines of communication and transportation complete but the settlement of the continental United States seemed close to completion as well. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner gave voice to this idea with his address on the significance of the frontier in American history, delivered to the American Historical Association in 1890. With the closing of the frontier came fears that the fundamental character of the American people would change, because it had been shaped by that frontier. Moreover, the belief that America was blessed with a near-infinite abundance of resources was under challenge.

A number of intellectual movements shaped the last decades of the nineteenth century and entered the mainstream of American intellectual and social thought in the first decades of the twentieth. The first was the idea of efficiency. Manufacturers hoping to drive down production costs embraced efficiency by reducing their consumption of resources, whose prices were rising as demand caught up with supply. Efficiency later also became the watchword of Progressivism, which sought to order an increasingly complex and chaotic world by using scientific measurement and the policy insights of experts. Scientific management and national efficiency were key elements of this movement; legislation to curb the perceived excesses of urban industrial life was among its products. Another intersection between Progressivism and the perceived closing of the frontier was the growing belief that not only was the innocence of American economic life being sullied by modernization, technology, urbanization, and the inexorable rise of big business but so was the innocence and purity of the American environment.

The settlement of the West had unleashed creative energies and an entrepreneurial spirit, and it contributed to economic, social, and geographic mobility. But as faith in abundance was increasingly replaced by an awareness of limits and fear of overuse, a budding environmental movement found itself split between those who believed in scientific management to conserve the environment for sustainable future use and those who wanted to preserve it untouched.

There were, in effect, two strands in the movement toward conserving the environment. One was represented by John Muir, a disciple of transcendentalist author Ralph Waldo Emerson and advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas before their wholesale destruction by human settlement and intensive logging. Muir was a pioneering environmentalist who became a highly influential figure through the publication of numerous books and articles on the flora, fauna, and beauty of wilderness areas, especially in the western states. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the creation of Yosemite National Park in 1890 and the establishment in 1892 of the Sierra Club, which remains a major force in the conservation movement today. Muir did not found the environmental movement in the United States; George Perkins Marsh, a diplomat deeply interested in conservation, had delivered a speech opposing deforestation as early as 1849 and published Man and Nature , considered the most significant early work in the conservation movement, in 1864. Nor did Muir begin the national park movement; the first national park, Yellowstone, was dedicated in 1872. But he did become the movement’s most famous advocate.

This 1906 photograph shows Theodore Roosevelt (left) and John Muir (right) on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, with Yosemite Valley in the background.

The other strand of the environmental movement was personified by Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the U.S. Forestry Service, who argued for scientific conservation. This was the purposeful, structured harvesting of forest resources, designed simultaneously to minimize waste and damage to western forests from industrial demands and maximize the potential for future harvesting to support continued economic expansion. Pinchot recommended not the end of logging but rather the efficient use of resources. He wanted to reduce waste by private enterprise on government-owned land and ensure the availability of lumber for the needs of industry. Order, not chaos, was his prevailing philosophy.

Both these strands of thought were reflected in the actions of Theodore Roosevelt, an instinctual preservationist and a pragmatic conservationist who was the political embodiment of the conservation movement. With his friend, fellow hunter and outdoor enthusiast George Bird Grinnell, Roosevelt founded the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887, which later became his brain trust on how to balance the interests of the natural environment with the demands of a modern American economy. Roosevelt was acutely aware of the combination of circumstances that made a solution so urgent. He also understood that the West represented the last frontier of American expansion, and that the tensions between nature and modernization would be fought on land that was under the federal government’s control. He saw it as a national problem that could be solved only by the national government.

Roosevelt was by no means the first U.S. president to take steps to protect the environment. In 1891, Congress had repealed the Timber Culture Act, replacing it with the Forest Reserve Act, which gave the federal government the power to create forest reserves on some 50 million acres of federal land that were set aside over the next decade. But it was Roosevelt, through a combination of publicity and policy, who became known as the conservation president. His actions added an additional 230 million acres to protected terrain in the form of forest reserves, national parks, and game and bird reserves. Much of this was done by presidential edict through executive order, but Congress added to the powers of the presidency by passing the Newlands Reclamation Act in 1902, which laid down the basis for irrigation of arid western lands that has shaped the geography of the region over the past century.

Congress and the president joined forces in 1905 to create the U.S. Forest Service. Pinchot was appointed the first head of the agency, with extensive powers to shape conservation policy. But his proposal to extend the precepts of scientifically managed conservation to the national parks angered preservationists such as Muir, who sought protection of wilderness areas.

The rapid expansion of national forests (121 were established during Roosevelt’s presidency, mostly by executive order) created tensions between the president and Congress, especially among representatives from the western states who thought the policy had gone too far too quickly. In 1907, to restrain Roosevelt’s use of presidential power, Congress passed legislation that prevented the establishment of new national forests by executive order. In the same year, the Denver Public Lands Convention, set up by the governor of Colorado and attended mostly by representatives of western ranching and mining interests, called for a moratorium or halt on the setting aside of national forests and national parks, because they wanted to use the land’s natural resources.

Gifford Pinchot, pictured here in 1909, was the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service and an advocate for scientific conservation.

In the end, neither vision of environmentalism prevailed over the other. Congress continued to create national parks and national forests. Roosevelt left the presidency in 1909 and Pinchot was fired from the Forestry Service in 1910 after a political spat with the secretary of the Interior, but both men continued their advocacy of conservation policies as private individuals and both remained influential. (Pinchot became a two-term governor of Pennsylvania in the 1920s and 1930s, pursuing progressive policies including unemployment relief and public works programs.) But the Golden Era of conservation had passed, and the ideas that had fostered it were eclipsed by more the immediate issues of war, prosperity, and depression. It was not until the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962 that a new wave of environmentalism began, stimulated by industrialism’s impact not just on the well-being of wilderness areas but on the health and welfare of the American people.

Review Questions

1. A systematic process for the survey and sale of western lands and the orderly admission of new states into the Union was established by the

• Northwest Ordinance
• Missouri Compromise
• Compromise of 1850
• Homestead Act of 1862

2. The goal of federal land policy before the late nineteenth century was

• protecting natural resources
• establishing a national park system
• nationalizing the timber and mining industries
• fostering economic expansion by increasing private ownership of land

3. The conservation movement of the early twentieth century echoed the progressive movement’s emphasis on

• increasing efficiency and scientific management
• expanding the American western frontier
• decreasing immigration to the United States
• increasing the power of the rural western states

4. Efficient use of the environment and its resources through government regulation is best represented by the ideas of

• logging and mining interests
• the Sierra Club
• Gifford Pinchot

5. Actions taken by the U.S. government to protect the environment before the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt included all the following except

• the establishment of federal forest reserves
• the creation of the U.S. Forest Service
• the establishment of Yosemite National Park in California
• the creation of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

6. Theodore Roosevelt became known as the conservation president largely because

• he was the first president to support actions to protect the environment
• he undertook environmental policy initiatives that generated publicity
• he had unlimited congressional support for his environmental policies
• he united ranching and mining interests in support of federal environmental policies

Free Response Questions

• Explain why the environmental movement developed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Explain how Theodore Roosevelt’s actions reflected the environmental ideas of both John Muir and Gifford Pinchot.

AP Practice Questions

“Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us. . . . Moreover, I believe that the natural resources must be used for the benefit of all our people, and not monopolized for the benefit of the few . . . Conservation is a great moral issue, for it involves the patriotic duty of insuring the safety and continuance of the nation. Let me add that the health and vitality of our people are at least as well worth conserving as their forests, waters, lands, and minerals, and in this great work the national government must bear a most important part.”

Theodore Roosevelt, “New Nationalism Speech,” August 31, 1910 (A speech delivered at the dedication of the John Brown Memorial Park in Osawatomie, Kansas)

1. Which of the following developments represented a continuation of the sentiments in the excerpt?

• Support for laissez-faire economic policies
• Expansion of mechanized farming on the Great Plains during the 1920s and 1930s
• Development of post-World War II suburbs
• Restrictions on pesticide use after the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring

2. This excerpt most directly reflected a growing belief that

• the United States was transitioning to an urban, industrial economy
• greater government action was needed to counter problems with economic development
• presidential leadership was superior to congressional action
• the growth of popular culture led to uniformity of public opinion

3. This excerpt was most directly shaped by

• creation of the National Park System during the Progressive Era
• the popularity of the Populist Party
• the Great Migration
• tensions between preservationists and conservationists

Primary Sources

Muir, John. Our National Parks .

Muir, John. The Mountains of California .

Muir, John. Wilderness Essays .

Pinchot, Gifford. Breaking New Ground .

Pinchot, Gifford. The Fight for Conservation .

Roosevelt, Theodore. African Game Trails .

Roosevelt, Theodore. Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail .

Roosevelt, Theodore. The Winning of the West .

Suggested Resources

Brinkley, Douglas. The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America . New York: Harper Collins, 2009.

Hays, Samuel P. Conservation and The Gospel Of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890-1920 . Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999.

Worster, Donald. A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Related Content

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

In our resource history is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment.

• Modern History

Westward Expansion Lesson

Learning objectives

In this lesson, students will gain a chronological understanding of Westward Expansion during American history. They will develop an awareness of the key people groups, events, and concepts associated with this event. Students will have the opportunity to achieve this through choosing their own method of learning, from reading and research options, as well as the chance to engage in extension activities. This lesson includes a self-marking quiz for students to demonstrate their learning.

How would you like to learn?

Option 1: reading.

Step 1: Download a copy of the reading questions worksheet:

Step 2: Answer the set questions by reading the webpage below:

Option 2: Internet research

Download a copy of the research worksheet and use the internet to complete the tables.

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Extension activities, resources for subscribers.

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An Introduction to the History of the Westward Expansion

A group of wagon comes up, then far away with dust raising This is the scenery we can see constantly in most western movies. Wagon carried out an important character in the Westward Expansion and became a symbol of American west.

Some words about the Westward Expansion (from Pioneers: the American West) With the need to become the middleman in world trade, the United States sought to secure the west coast and in doing so, gain dominance over the western frontier.

Westward Expansion into the American frontier in the 19th century, can be viewed as a development process beginning with the Mountains men who blazed the trails; the traders who developed commerce; and the miners and prospectors who enticed the would-be emigrants and pioneers to make the long trek into the Western frontier, seeking a new life. Obviously an efficient transportation method was needed as the foundation of west development. Wagon was exactly that method or tool.

Two kinds of wagon were used to go west at the time.

The bigger one was Conestoga wagon. The ends were raked — they slanted outward from the bottom. The covering then provided more protection from rain and the cargo space was slightly larger. The floor of the wagon was curved so that the load wouldn’t shift. The Conestoga wagon could carry about 5000 pounds. The farm wagon was smaller. It was used most often to carry travelers’ belongings to Oregon or California. Usually the ends were straight up and down. The floor was not curved but the load was so tight it could not shift.

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The farm wagon could carry 2000 4000 pounds.

Mostly horses powered wagons. But sometimes the wagons would get stuck in mud or quicksand. People would have to help pull or push. Sometimes they would have to double team the wagon to get it out. Hills were sometimes problems too. For going up a steep hill they would use ropes or chains, double team the wagon, or remove things from the wagon. Going down hills they might lock the wheels.

Wagon had even become part of the western people s life. Texas rancher Charles Goodnight invented chuck wagon in 1866. He designed and added a chuck box and boot to the rear of his wagon and this became the prototype for all the chuck wagons that followed. Cooking utensils were installed on chuck wagons that the cook would need to provide hot meals for ten or more cowboys on long trail drives. The wagon box was used to carry the cowboys’ bedrolls and personal effects as well as bulk food supplies, feed for the horses and what ever else the crew felt was needed. It was not uncommon to hear a cowboy say that he worked for a “wagon” as opposed to a particular ranch.

Undoubtedly wagons contributed to the civilization and development of the American West. Wagons with those long hard trips recorded the history of people s expedition to the Wild West. When we think about the representative wagons today while in the speedy and comfortable cars, we could respect and remember the bravery, sturdy and power appeared in mythic West.

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PaperAp.com. (2021). An Introduction to the History of the Westward Expansion . [Online]. Available at: https://paperap.com/an-introduction-to-the-history-of-the-westward-expansion/ [Accessed: 15-May-2024]

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