Civilization Of The Old West

Many American’s dreamt of opportunity, salvation, and riches by expanding out to the American West. The region we refer to as the “American West” enveloped into the idea of freedom and became a catalyst for the minds of many Americans and immigrants throughout history to venture west. However, Historian John Mack Faragher observes that we often imagine the West as a place where Americans could become fully independent or “self-reliant individuals.” But, by the late nineteenth century, Westerners discovered that they were not self-sufficient and highly dependent on the federal government. The West found itself highly dependent on assistance from the federal government in the regulation of race relations, the management of natural resources,

Westward expansion from 1860 to 1890 represented a time for significant change within America. During this time period the U.S would experience rapid growth within cities, agricultural land, and the railroad network. With everything beginning to fall into place and technology booming, America would soon become one of the world’s greatest superpowers. Without Westward expansion, America would not have developed as fast as it did.

I will be talking about the era of the American West in the middle and late 1800s and the differences and similarities of primary sources and the textbook HIST4. Chief Red Cloud’s Speech, the Sandy Creek Massacre from the Rocky Mountain News Editorial and Helen Hunt Jackson’s Account of Sandy Creek, Nannie Alderson, from the book called A Bride Goes West, Epitaph on a Tombstone, and Bill of sale for a Chinese Prostitute. For anyone wanting to know and read more about the American West you could attain more comprehension read a book about HIST4 or any other books by Kevin M. Shultz or by reading primary sources dating by the time.

During the westward expansion there were some big problems between the U.S. and the Native Americans. The American wanted their land to farm on, and there was alot of gold in the California area. The main conflicts were the environment, the U.S. government, and how they felt about each other.

The Westward expansion was mainly driven by America’s desire to control not only more land but to expand its territory up to the Pacific Coast. With the country once divided by certain beliefs and political views were now united with the Manifest Destiny to come together and expand westward to find new opportunities, resources, and profit. “To encourage the settlement of the West, Congress passed legislation that enabled settlers to buy land cheaply, and have easy access to land with mineral deposits and grazing lands” (Credo 1). This Westward expansion was very important to American’s economy because it was the largest expansion in US history, successfully connecting railways from East to West, and discovery of important resources. The Westward expansion is still considered by historians to not only be the most important expansion of the United States but also the most venturous.

The Old West was settled in many different ways. People from all different backgrounds came in hopes of striking gold, finding rich soil to farm on and for a fresh start. While many found what they were looking for, some weren’t so lucky. However, these factors shaped the West as we know it

1) Describe the conquest and development of the West between 1820 and 1850 by European Americans.

The American West was shaped by various aspects. Southerners we're devastated by the effects of the Civil War on the infrastructure and many moved West for a new change in life. The homestead act offered a chance of a new life for many people and families to pursue their dream. The goldRush of 1849 would promote the idea of a chance to become wealthy to the average American immigrant. As the Western expansion grew the transcontinental railroad would promote economic success in the West.  There were Dawes General Allotment Act that passed in 1887saying the land was held by tribes had to divide and sell the land because of the government. The government held the land for 25years and then they could have the title to the land and become U.S. citizens.

The westward expansion dates back from 1800’s to 1900’s. Westward began with the Lousianna purchase, at the time the president who was Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the nation with france to buy more than 1800 square miles for 15 million dollars. All this includes 14 states. A year later in 1804 jeffersson sent an expedition. The expedition was led by Lewis and Clark to explore the region. The expansion of the united states into the territory west of the Mississippi riven began with the Louisiana purchase in 1803. It took the American colonist a century and one half to expand far west Appalachian mountains. Manfist destiny was begening to take shape it promoted further territorial expansion. During the war, gold and silver discoveries drew propectors and brought in settlers into Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Vevada. The most rapid migration occur after the civil war. The Homested act passed in 1862 encourage settlers to move West. It allowed settlers to claim 160 acres for free.

Back in the 1800s we were expanding west constantly, and finding new areas. Though this was good for us, it negatively impacted another group of people. The Native Americans living in the area that we moved through to get to where we wanted were constantly pushed out of their homes and forced to move. This is only a small example of how Native Americans were impacted by the western expansion of the United States.

I am thinking of settling on the he frontier (either the Great Plains or the Intermountain West). The Great Plains region includes the states like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Whereas the Intermountain West composed the northern parts of New Mexico and Arizona, parts of eastern California and western regions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, as well as the non-coastal eastern regions of Oregon and Washington and all of Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. The key difficulties I would face living here would are the temperature are raising here where there would be high demand of water and energy which would leads to create problem in development, farmers in agriculture and supply of light

The West drastically evolved after the Civil War. The gold mining boom brought businessmen and crooks to the West. While mining for gold, the discovery of silver, copper, and ore caused more destruction of the land. The railroads were needed to transport mining materials and equipment. In the meantime, the demand for grains in the North caused corporations to buy up land and plant crops purely for profit.

What does one think of when given the phrase “Wild West?” Is it cowboys and Indians? Bar fights? John Wayne perhaps? Despite various answers, numerous people can agree that the wild west was an eventful and important time period. “The American west had all sorts of people including pioneers, business people, scouts, lawmen, outlaws, gangs, gunslingers, and cowboys. Most of these people had one thing in common… they were looking for an opportunity and they weren’t afraid of adventure.” These people settled in Wild West towns and changed the land, which played a big role in the development of modern-day society. Sacramento, a major historic town, stands as a notable example of

Western, a genre of short stories that are set in the American west, primarily in the late of the 19th century (“Western” 598), and still being told until today by films, televisions, radio, and other art works. The major of moving to the west was because of the Homestead Act, 1862 (“U.S. Statues at Large” 392) which would give lands to people who stayed there for five years. This lead to a huge wave of immigrants moved to the West, and they had to face to many hardships and conflicts such as Indian attacks, tornadoes, blizzards, and illnesses.

Western communities were experiencing a large influx of Black Americans for the first time, and they arrived as part of a vast shift of the general population. Eight million Americans moved west in 1940, half of them to the Pacific coast. There were 171,000 Black Americans in the West in 1940, but 620,000 by 1945. Between the spring of 1942 and 1945 alone, 340,000 Back Americans settled in California.