Social Studies Methods
WESTWARD EXPANSION
GPS STANDARDS
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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.
America establishes its boundaries
WESTWARD EXPANSION
1801-1861
BIG IDEAS…
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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
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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
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Florida
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Texas
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Texas was added after it became an independent republic.
Oregon
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Spain gave Florida to the United States through a treaty.
The Oregon Territory was divided by the United States and Great Britain.
California
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War with Mexico resulted in California and the southwest territory
becoming part of the United States.
FLORIDA, TEXAS, OREGON, CALIFORNIA
FACTORS AFFECTING WESTWARD EXPANSION
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Geographic and economic factors that influenced westward
movement
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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
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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
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Jo Anderson (a slave) and Cyrus McCormick
worked to invent the reaper. The reaper
increased the productivity of the American
farmer.
FAMOUS INVENTIONS
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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NATIVE AMERICAN LAND
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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!
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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
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Sioux War of 1876
Many Heroes
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Sitting Bull and
Crazy Horse
Geronimo
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The Apache Wars
Battle of Little Bighorn
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Nez Perces
Chief Joseph
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Lakotas & Cheyenne
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.
NATIVE AMERICANS TODAY
Today, many Native Americans are a part of our
society.
 However, many still live on reservations and try
to maintain their cultures.
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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.
JOHN GAST - "AMERICAN PROGRESS" (1872)