WESTWARD EXPANSION
Manifest Destiny
This is the belief that
expansion was right and
good for the country.
Take / buy land from
Atlantic Ocean to Pacific
Ocean.
In other words, take as
much land as possible
for the good ol’ US of A
no matter who gets in
the way!
The West is “ROMANTICIZED” or…
It is made to sound much BETTER and EASIER than reality!
What symbolism do you
see in this famous
image of Westward
Expansion?
Why did they romanticize, or make the west sound like Heaven on earth?
Ultimately, WHY did the US Government want settlers (White Americans) to
move, or expand west?
A. They wanted to get rid of the poor whites from the East Coast
B. They thought that the Native American’s would welcome the new settlers.
C.They wanted them to go to the west so they could claim the land, and take it
from Russia, England, Spain, etc.
D. They wanted the settlers to convert the Native American’s to Christianity.
Why move west?
 Rumors of gold!
 Thousands moved west to California to mine for gold.
 Gold Fever! California Gold Rush! 49ers!
 Free land!
 Homestead Act: To those who were eligible, the U.S. gave 160 acres of land.
 21 year old heads of households who agreed to build on and care for the land
 Adventure and escape!
 Many moved simply to experience adventure and/or to escape from situations that they
didn’t care for
How did they travel?
 Wagons!
Most families packed up
their valuables and their
necessities in a covered
wagon
Groups of wagons
called “wagon trains”
often traveled together
Family members took
turns riding in wagons
and walking beside the
wagons
Captains often led these
“trains”
Where did they go?
 Most pioneers left their homes in the east and headed westward to the Great
Plains in the west
 The Great Plains is a huge area of grassland between the Mississippi River
and the Rocky Mountains
What dangers did they face?
 Lack of food, water, and shelter
 Lack of protection from the weather (floods,
storms)
 Lack of medical care
 Exposure to Native Americans who felt
threatened by the presence of settlers
 Conflict with other settlers- they sometimes were
competing for the same land and resources
(water, animals, trees). Sometimes small “range
wars” broke out. These were feuds between
neighboring settlers.
What was life like on the prairie?
 Many arrived to find huge empty areas of land
 Built homes (log or sod houses)
 Found sources of water and food…some lived near creeks or
rivers while others had to make windmills to pump water out of the
ground
 Many were miles from their nearest neighbors or trading
posts…lonely
 Harsh weather that they weren’t used to
 Different soil for raising crops and animals
From a prairie woman…
 “It might seem a cheerless life, but there were many
compensations: the thrill of conquering a new country;
the wonderful atmosphere; the attraction of the prairie,
which simply gets into your blood and makes you
dissatisfied away from it…The pioneer spirit was
continuous in our family”
Knowledge of Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail - People wanted to start a new life in the West
and could travel, overland, on several trails, usually
starting in St. Louis, Missouri and going to west coast.
Lewis and Clark - Explorers who help navigate out west for
the first time (1804 – 1806 commissioned by President
What
“deal”
allowed trying
Lewis to
and
Clark,
AND
the settlers
Thomas
Jefferson)
find
a water
route
to Pacific.
using the Oregon Trail to expand out west?
A. The St. Louis Purchase
B. The Louisiana Purchase
C. The Gasden Purchase
D. The Black Friday Purchases
A sad part of history…
 Many Native Americans were unfairly driven from the
lands that they’d lived on for many, many years
because the U.S. government claimed it. They were
forced to move to reservations.
 Herds of wild bison became nearly extinct as settlers
began to use them as sources of food and shelter
Eventually…
So many pioneers traveled west that…
Small cities and towns popped up in the west
Many families grew as they lived in the west
Immigrants moved into the west
These westward areas were eventually
added as states which are much more
populated today
Cheap, Fertile Land
The Eastern cities were getting crowded and people could find cheap and
sometimes FREE land in the west. The land was great for farming and
still is today!
Adventure
Young men and women, usually poor, wanted to find adventure and a new
life in the west. Many were running from debt, the law, or other things they
did
not want
to deal
with. Remember,
this is the WILD
WEST where
there
Which
of the
following
was a REASON
why settlers
would
was very little law enforcement other than a gun.
want to move out west?
A. The fact that they could escape English taxes
B. The job opportunities
C. They could own land, which for many would be the first
time ever
D. The opportunity to strike it rich in the Yukon Territories
silver mines
Freedom#5for
Runaway
Slaves
Which
of the following
do you feel is the BEST
Oregon
definition for Manifest Destiny?
Territory
Slaves
from
could
A.bythe
TheSouth
idea that
sending Lewis and Clark on their
Treaty/given
have
a Britain
somewhat
vague
Great
expedition
was
rightStates
by God.
Which territory
was
added
to
the
United
FIRST after the United States
1846
freedom in the new
#6
became an independent country?
#2
A. Spanish
Florida
Mexican
Territory
western
B.territories
The idea that
removing
Territory
of the Native Americans to
B. Oregon
Territory
Ceded
(Given
up) were not
because
they
Louisiana
Purchase
reservations
was a good
thing to do.
C. Texas
after
MexicanExpanded
From
officially
states.
Louisiana War
Territory
. D. American
territory of the
FRANCE
1848
C.
The
that going 1803
to war with Mexico
was a
original
Slavery does
not idea
officially
13 Colonies
bad
thing,
done./
end until
1865
by and should never have been
States
Territory
President AbrahamTAKEN (Annexed)
1783
To cede (Cession,
D. The idea
out west, to the
Lincoln
. that
fromexpanding
Mexico
Ceded,
etc.) is to
NEW ORLEANS,
1845
Pacific Ocean, was a good and right thing to
do!
formally surrender
LOUISIANA
#1
#4
or GIVE UP land.
Usually through a
treaty or written
agreement.
#3 Spanish
To annex – To TAKE by
force or threat of force
Cession
1819