WESTWARD EXPANSIONSocial Studies Methods

GPS STANDARDS

SS4H6 The student will explain westward expansion of America between 1801 and 1861.

 a. Describe territorial expansion with emphasis on the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the acquisitions of Texas (the Alamo and independence), Oregon (Oregon Trail), and California (Gold Rush and the development of mining towns).

 b. Describe the impact of the steamboat, the steam locomotive, and the telegraph on life in America.

 c. Describe the impact of westward expansion on Native Americans.

 SS5H3 The student will describe how life changed in America at the turn of the century.

 a. Describe the role of the cattle trails in the late 19th century; include the Black Cowboys of Texas, the Great Western Cattle Trail, and the Chisholm Trail.

 b. Describe the impact on American life of the Wright brothers (flight), George Washington Carver (science), Alexander Graham Bell (communication), and Thomas Edison (electricity).

 c. Explain how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt expanded America’s role in the world; include the Spanish-American War and the building of the Panama Canal.

 d. Describe the reasons people emigrated to the United States, from where they emigrated, and where they settled.

 e. Describe the impact of westward expansion on Native Americans; include the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the relocation of Native Americans to reservations.

WESTWARD EXPANSION1801-1861

America establishes its boundaries

BIG IDEAS… Between 1801 and 1861, exploration was

encouraged as America underwent vast territorial expansion and settlement.

Westward migration was influenced by geography and economic opportunity.

African American, Chinese immigrants, and Native Americans were important to westward expansion.

Prior to the Civil War, most industrialization in America was in the North; however, the equipment produced in the North had an impact on the farming society in the South.

POST-REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA

THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE

New territories added to the United States after 1801

Louisiana Purchase Jefferson bought land from France (the

Louisiana Purchase), which doubled the size of the United States.

In the Lewis and Clark expedition, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the Louisiana Purchase from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

LOUSIANA PURCHASE

OTHER TERRITORIES

Florida Spain gave Florida to the United States through a treaty.

Texas Texas was added after it became an independent republic.

Oregon The Oregon Territory was divided by the United States and

Great Britain. California

War with Mexico resulted in California and the southwest territory becoming part of the United States.

FLORIDA, TEXAS, OREGON, CALIFORNIA

FACTORS AFFECTING WESTWARD EXPANSION

Geographic and economic factors that influenced westward movement Population growth in the eastern states Availability of cheap, fertile land Economic opportunity, e.g., gold (California Gold Rush),

logging, farming, freedom (for runaway slaves) Cheaper and faster transportation, e.g., rivers and canals

(Erie Canal), steamboats Knowledge of overland trails (Oregon and Santa Fe) Belief in the right of “Manifest Destiny”—The idea that

expansion was for the good of the country and was the right of the country

IMPORTANT INVENTIONS

The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. It increased the production of cotton and thus increased the need for slave labor to cultivate and pick the cotton.

IMPORTANT INVENTIONS

Jo Anderson (a slave) and Cyrus McCormick worked to invent the reaper. The reaper increased the productivity of the American farmer.

FAMOUS INVENTIONS

The steamboat was improved by Robert Fulton. It eventually provided faster river transportation that connected Southern plantations and farms to Northern industries and Western territories.

The steam locomotive provided faster land transportation.

GOLD RUSH-1849 - 1870

Gold was discovered in California in 1849.

The Comstock Lode, a Bonanza, was later discovered.

People who moved west to mine are called miners.

Immigrants, such as Mexicans, Chinese and the Irish, went to work in the mines.

Immigrants were treated poorly with long hours, low pay and very dangerous work.

AFRICAN AMERICANS MOVED WEST.

AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE CALLED EXODUSTERS. Many African

Americans moved to the West from the 1840s to late 1890s.

They were escaping the difficult life in the South where Whites practiced Jim Crow Laws and denied African Americans their new Constitutional Rights.

EXODUSTERS WAITING FOR A STEAMSHIP.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT OF 1862.

AN APPLICATION FOR LAND.

People staked their claim by finding a section of land that was marked.

Then they registered the piece of land with the government.

After cultivating the land for five years, it was theirs for free.

HOMESTEAD ACT STAMP.

HOMESTEADERS.

People moved West to stake their claim.

THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD FINISHED IN 1869.

MANY IMMIGRANTS, SUCH AS IRISH, MEXICANS AND CHINESE WERE BUILDING THE RAILROAD.

THE UNION PACIFIC MEETS THE CENTRAL PACIFIC IN UTAH IN 1869.

IMPACT OF THE RAILROADS.

Railroads brought growth and new settlement all across the West.

The railroads enabled people, supplies, and mail to move quickly and cheaply and safer across the plains and the mountains.

The largest cities and towns developed where major railroad lines met.

Because of their rapid growth, western territories began to apply for statehood. Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington all became states from 1864 – 1890.

THE RAILROAD SPURS THE GROWTH OF OTHER INDUSTRIES.

The lumber industry grows, because wood is needed to build the train tracks.

The steel industry grows because steel is needed to build the tracks.

The coal industry grows because coal is needed to fuel the train.

The growth of these industries opens thousands of new jobs for workers.

NATIVE AMERICAN LAND Native Americans

lived here first. Native Americans

and Whites came into bloody conflicts over the land.

They tried to protect their lands, but finally, the United States government forced them onto reservations.

BROKEN PROMISES!

The United States government made many treaties with the Native Americans not to fight and not to touch certain areas of their land.

For example, The Fort Laramie Treaty was a treaty made with the Cheyenne tribe, where Americans said an area of land belonged to the Cheyenne forever!

However, when gold was discovered there, the Americans forced them to sign a new treaty giving up the land.

The United States government broke many treaties with the Native Americans.

MANY WARS. MANY HEROES.

Many Wars

Sioux War of 1876

The Apache Wars Battle of Little Bighorn

Nez Perces

Many Heroes

Sitting Bull andCrazy HorseGeronimoLakotas & Cheyenne

Chief Joseph

INDIANS DEFEND THEIR LANDS, BUT ARE DEFEATED IN THE END.

NATIVE AMERICANS ARE FORCED ONTO RESERVATIONS.

THE DAWES ACT DIVIDED INDIAN LAND AND GAVE SOME TO THE INDIANS IN HOPES THEY WOULD BECOME FARMERS. BUT THEY SOLD IT TO WHITES FOR LOW PRICES.

DEERSKIN, BIRD FEATHERS AND CLOTH WERE ALSO USED IN NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE.

LAWS TODAY PROTECT NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATIONS.

Today, many Native Americans are a part of our society.

However, many still live on reservations and try to maintain their cultures.

New laws returned some Native American lands back to the rightful owners.

How would you feel about your history if you were a Native American?

NATIVE AMERICANS TODAY

NATIVE AMERICANS TODAY.

JOHN GAST - "AMERICAN PROGRESS" (1872)