Settling West
The gold rush was an exciting new idea, an idea where a man could leave everything in hopes of hitting the big jackpot in the mines. The rush embodies the whole idea of moving west and starting a new life. I chose this picture because it shows the men who made the gold rush what it is known today. Without them, who knows when we would have moved west.
Political
1.)While the West was being settled, while Abraham Lincoln was president at this time, many acts and plans were created by the government, for a fair and equal living system, and to create less hassle in anyway possible. One of the acts that took action was the Homestead Act. This act granted 160 acres of land to any person who wanted to live on the Great Plains. Also, if you lived there, you had to cultivate the land for five years. Another act was the Pacific Railway Act, which gave land to railroad companies to build transcontinental railroads. This act is important because it links us and other countries together for an improvement on trade and more. Another important act was the Morrill Act. This act granted land to states to set up agricultural colleges, such as Texas A&M. This act helped build colleges to further extend education for young adults who were interested in the agricultural field.
2.)During this time, the Pacific Railway Act was established. This act was made to: Give money to build railroads across the country. This would make for easy transport, more imports/exports of goods.
3.)The Dawes Act was established, which forced all the Native Americans to give up their land to the government.
Economic
1.)Cowboys, who owned free pasture land, made cattle ranching profitable. More importantly, miners found gold in California caves and caverns in 1849 (better known as the California Gold Rush). Then, in 1859, gold and silver was found in Carson River Valley, which is present day Nevada. Railroads were built to transport goods, cattle, and more to and from other countries to experience different cultures, and receive foreign and new products.
2.)in the North, East, and South, wanted a new life, a fresh start. They wanted to travel out West, to new lands, with untouched resources. There were rumors of Gold being found in the West, in areas like California. This was called the "California Gold Rush". They traveled by foot, using horses and Wagons, traveling all across the United States, determined for a new life. Many travelers became ill and many of them died. The travelers were in search of new jobs such as Farming, Ranching, and Mining
Families were able to buy land for farming as cheap as $10 for 160 acres. Some new inventions came along with farming, such as the plow. The Plow made it easy to churn up soil before planting.
Ranching was very profitable for families, and was very rewarding as long as you knew how to herd properly. A new breed of cattle, called Texas Longhorns which was a mix between English and Spanish cattle, could handle long treks along the railroads, and created better profits. The new invention of barbed wire was more effective at keeping the animals fenced and prevented them from eating crops.
Mining was a great job to have whenever there was an abundance of gold in the mines. This job was not a family job, so it attracted men from all around, including many immigrants from South America, Ireland, and China. Hydraulic mining, which was a method of mining involving the use of water pressure to wash away dirt in order to expose minerals, was a new form of mining that was invented.
Social
1.)Commercial farms, better known as bonanza farms, were large scale farms, usually run like a factory an downed by companies. A good result of these farms are the mass production of items, money and more. By the 1890's, these farms were broken down into smaller farms. There were about 35, 000 cowboys around, one-third of them being African American, Mexican or Mexican American. Free pasture lands made cattle ranching a lot more profitable at this time.
2.)When Americans moved out west, they encountered thousands of Native Americans who had already been occupying the land. Both groups despised each other and fought against each other in many battles, such as the Battle at Little Bighorn and the Sand Creek Massacre. Many deaths were involved in these battles. The government eventually set up a bunch of Indian Schools, which made Native Americans dress "properly" and speak English.
Progress?
Settling the west was progress. Moving west gave opportunities to struggling families living in the east a new start at a different, more rugged lifestyle. In the west, new major professions developed, such as quartz mining, commercial farming, gold mining and many more. Through the west, America was able to build the first ever railroad that stretched from one sea to the other. Unfortunately, along the way Americans trampled all over Native American rights, property, and culture. Settling the west expanded America in many ways, not only territorial, through these expansions, settling the west was progress in American history.
How Settling The West Leads To Industrialization, Immigration and Urban America.
Settling The West leads to Industrialization, Immigration and Urban America by the spark of moving to new lands and creation of new transportation. With the new railroad system, more products and transportation are now available to the people. The railroad now delivers products faster across america allowing new trade. Many new factors promoted industry, cheap labor, new inventions and technology such as the creation of the railroad which was able to transport the goods from the west back to the east, laissez faire economics, which is when there is little government intervention in business. Also, with new land, it gave Americans the opportunity to industrialize and expand even more.