Westward
Expansion:
Moving West
Reasons why people moved west
after the Civil War
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In the East, farmland was expensive
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Poor people could not buy their own land
Sharecropping was how many poor whites and exslaves had to farm
In the west was “wide open” areas –especially
the Great Plains where “only” some Indians
lived
Gold and silver was discovered – drawing
people who wanted to get rich quick
More Reasons for Moving West
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Mountain Men and Trappers had been moving
west since Colonial times
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Still chance to make money – animals were still
abundant
Millions of buffalo lived on the Great Plains – easy
to kill and hides worth money back east
Sense of adventure and freedom
Chance to start a new life – outlaws or in debt
Manifest Destiny
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Americans, stirred by their hunger for land and the
ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” flocked to the new
frontiers.
Manifest Destiny means an obvious fate of the Untied
States to grow and become powerful regardless of
who or what was in their way – Indians, buffalo,
Mexicans
Conflicts between American settlers and Indian
nations in the Southeast and the old Northwest
resulted in the relocation of many Indians to
reservations.
Westward Expansion

American migration into Texas led to an
armed revolt against Mexican rule and a
famous battle at the Alamo, in which a band of
Texans fought to the last man against a vastly
superior force. The Texans’ eventual victory
over Mexican forces subsequently brought
Texas into the Union.
Manifest Destiny: Mexican
American War
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The United States fought Mexico in the
Mexican-American War in the 1840s
This was due in large part the the desire of
Mexican held lands
The American victory in the war led to the
addition of an enormous territory that included
the present-day states of California, Nevada,
Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado, and New
Mexico.
Impact on the American Indians
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During this period of westward expansion, the
settlers repeated wanted Indian land – leading
to fights and wars
The American Indians were repeatedly
defeated in violent conflicts with settlers and
soldiers and removed from their lands.
Many atrocities
Trail of Tears
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One of most famous is the Trail of Tears
Cherokees and other tribes were removed
from their homes in winter and rorced to
march far away from their homes to
Oklahoma
Many died – old people, women, children
Came through Missouri
Many of us have Cherokee blood from
those abandoned here
Reservations
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Many other tribes forced to reservations – land
supposed to be set aside for Indians
Generally poor land, no hunting, not good for
crops
Indians often starved and died of disease
The Homestead Act
of 1862
•The Homestead Act gave
public lands (lands
owned by the national
government) to American
citizens
Homestead Act
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Law signed by Lincoln in 1862
For a small fee a person could obtain 160 acres for
free
But not really free – were some rules
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At least 21 years old or head of a family
American citizen or immigrant filing for citizenship
Build house a minimum size (12 feet by 14 feet)
Live in house 6 months out of year
Farm land 5 yrs in a row before ownership set
372,000 new farms - 600,000land claims – 80 million acres
In the photos above, the blue square represents one acre.
Effects:
• The Homestead Act helped
poor families who could not
afford land in the eastern states.
• It gave unemployed workers
a chance to find work on land of
their own.
Daniel Freeman Standing, Holding
Gun, with Hatchet Tucked in Belt,
The "first homesteader" to settle in
Beatrice, Nebraska, 1863.
• Thousands of
African-Americans
moved west in 1879
in an effort to find a
better life.
• This was known as the
“Exodus of 1879”, and
the participants were
called “Exodusters”.
Indians fought back…
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As Indians lost more and more land, they
fought back – losing almost all their battles –
and they did lose the war
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Sandy Creek Massacre (1864) - Colorado
Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) – Dakotas,
Wyoming and Montana
Battle of Wounded Knee (1890) – South Dakota
The Black Hills
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A treaty was
signed between
the U.S.
government and
Lakota leaders.
The treaty gave
the Black Hills
reservation to
the Lakota
people forever.
Gold miners illegally rushed
onto the reservation when
gold was discovered.
The Battle of Little
Bighorn
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George Custer
was to defeat
the Lakota
and force
them onto a
new
reservation.
Crazy Horse helped lead the
Lakota to victory at the Battle of
Little Bighorn.
George Custer and his men were all killed.
This battle was known as “Custer’s Last
Stand.”
Why was the battle
important?
 It was the biggest victory Native

Americans ever won over United
States forces.
It led to the end of freedom for
Native Americans of the Great
Plains.
What then…
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The United States sent more soldiers
to the Black Hills and forced the
Lakota to a new reservation.
The Black Hills were open to gold
miners and settlers from the United
States.
Battlefield at Wounded Knee
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When the Lakota surrendered, someone
fired a shot.
About 300 Lakota were killed.
The Battle at Wounded Knee
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The last major conflict between the
United States and Native Americans
occurred at Wounded Knee, South
Dakota.
Lakota families decided to leave their
reservation.
After being surrounded by U.S.
soldiers, the Lakota decided to
surrender.
Gold and Silver Strikes
The CA Gold Rush began
in 1849, attracting
thousands of gold hunters
known as forty-niners.
Major "Strikes" in the California Gold Rush
In 1852 the take for the year was $80 million ($1.9 billion in 2005 dollars).
Sutter's Mill/Coloma - Jan. 24,
1848
James Marshall kicked off the
California gold rush when he
spotted some pea-sized bits of
gold in a mill raceway. The news
brought thousands of prospectors
to the area, but neither Marshall
nor his employer John Sutter
prospered from the find.
Gold and silver mines were discovered throughout the West.
Thousands of miners from the U.S., Europe, Mexico, and China flocked
to the West.
White and Chinese miners hoping to
strike it rich during the California Gold
Rush at Auburn Ravine in 1852.
Cowboys
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Buffalo were in the way
of railroads and settlers
so had to be removed
Also, hides worth
money back east
25 million buffalo killed
(1840-1889)
Replaced with cattle –
and rise of the cowboy
Reasons for rise of cattle industry
·After the Civil War, growing cities in the East increased
their demand for beef.
Some cattle had gotten lose in Texas and during the war had
been forgotten – so large herds developed and were
available for the taking
Railroads had reached Kansas, where cattle could be
shipped east
Texas ranchers began to drive herds of longhorns hundreds
of miles north to the railroads, where they were shipped
east.
· Cow towns developed near the railroads, offering
cowhands hotels, saloons, and restaurants.
Abilene, Kansas (late 1800’s)
The spread of farming, as well as harsh weather, destroyed
the cattle boom by 1887.
Hundreds of miles
of barbed wire
were strung across
the state in the
1880s, forever
changing the
character of the
frontier and
bringing a measure
of management to
the cattle industry.
The Transcontinental Railroad
· Railroad companies raced to lay tracks to the mines in order
to supply the miners.
Promontory Point, Utah
Omaha, Nebraska
.
Central
Pacific
Railroad
x
Union Pacific
Railroad
.
J
j
Sacramento,
California
· In 1863, two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central
Pacific, began building the first transcontinental railroad.
Immigrant
Workers
Central Pacific approximately
90% of their
workforce were
Chinese
immigrants
· Labor was
scarce due to the
Union Pacific - hard, dangerous
hired many
work and low
Irish
pay.
immigrants
· Therefore,
immigrant labor
was used.
· The workers endured scorching deserts, blinding
snowstorms, and blasted through mountains.
Chinese railroad workers perform their duties in the snow.
Transcontinental Railroad
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The Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in May 10, 1869 at Promontory
Point Utah. The railroads cut travel time west
from six months to six days!
On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was hammered into a track
joining the two tracks in Promontory Point, UT.