Westward Expansion and the American Dream

There are countless reasons why many settlers moved westward. For example, one of the reasons why settlers moved to the west is because of the recently discovered gold in California. According to Document 2: Crossing over the Great Plains by ox-wagons, “..there was much talk and excitement over the news of the great gold discoveries in California..” In addition to that, gold was a way for people to become wealthy, and start a new life. Moreover, a second reason why is that the Government was offering a large amount of land for a fair price. Document 3: Homestead, specifically states that the settlers will receive 160 acres of land for $10.00, if they are able to maintain and farm on it for 5 years. In addition to that, giving away all this land made people much more eager to populate the west. Furthermore, a third reason why is that the land being sold was described as very resourceful. Document 6: Grand Rush for the Indian Territory!, specifically states that the western lands were

The Westward expansion began for the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. For $15 million dollars, President Thomas Jefferson purchased from France 828,000 square miles, including most of 14 current states, thus doubling the size of America. Jefferson now had the land, but how to populate it was another story. On a three year expedition, Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to explore the lands to get a better understanding of the geography and resources of the West. During the 1830s to 1840s, to promote further territory expansion, the “manifest destiny” came into play – which was the idea that America was destined to expand across the entire country westward. Quickly, the nation expanded.

In the mid-1800s, many Americans began to move westward, with a variety of motivations. Farmers were drawn west by all of the fertile, open land in the west, offered to them cheap by the Homestead Act. The California Gold Rush was another reason many moved west. Gold was discovered in California, and miners flocked there, hoping to strike it rich. Additionally, cattle ranchers were attracted to the west because their beef cattle thrived on the abundant grasses and open range of the Great Plains. Later on, newly built railroads, including the first transcontinental railroad, made transportation of people and goods west much more feasible, and opened the West to rapid settlement (History Alive). Although Westward Expansion was a time of full

America still to this day holds on to the idea of the “American Dream”. This is rather surprising in today’s society and the ups and downs that the nation is facing. The dream in the past was more about freedom and equality. Moving through the decades, this dream has morphed into something quite different. Instead of what America means for all of its inhabitants, the nation has become more individualized. Society has moved to interpret the dream of what America can do for the one. Instead of the unified nation, America has been known for in the past, a shift has started creating an inconsistency in who can realize the dream. The myth of the “American Dream” has been hugely affected by increased materialism, the gap in economic status, and the fantasy of “rags to riches” idea.

In the late 1800’s, a lot of change was being brought upon the United States, especially on the west of America. New things were established and found in west states, such as Nevada and California. Many of these new establishments helped freed slaves find living as the gold mines were a huge ideal to foreigners traveling from the south and midwest. The Gold Rush was found in Sierra Nevada during 1848, when gold was found in a mine. This completely changed the popularity and population of California. Although, for many people who wanted to travel to mine for gold during the Gold Rush, it was a tough journey as there was no true railroad nor steamboats yet to be taken to the west. With the rise of exposure for the Chinese population in San Francisco,

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Prior to the Gold Rush of 1849, California was a meagerly populated, an irrelevant area of the United States for the most part possessed by the general population of Mexico. In any case, that all changed when on January 24, 1848; woodworker and little time sawmill administrator James W. Marshall found a gold piece in the American River that would always show signs of change the historical backdrop of California and America1. Not exclusively did the Gold Rush prompt California 's permission into the Union in 1850, it additionally revived the possibility of the American Dream. Hundred 's of thousands of individuals filled the state by the draw of brisk and unending wealth. Because of the Gold Rush, California in the end turned into a

This is a pivot point in history because the following year tens of thousands of men migrated to California in the hopes of quick fortune. Tens of thousands of “forty-niners” took part in the California gold rush by mining and panning for gold. Although some “forty-niners” did make quick fortunes, many did not find much gold. For those who did not find enough gold to pay for their expenses, “many forty-niners took wage-paying jobs with large mining companies that used dangerous machinery to cut deep into the earth’s surface.” (Norton, et. al., Mindtap, 11-5f) Although the mines were extremely dangerous, the men all cared for one another and would help collect money for men who were hurt in explosions, “and in less than half an hour there was collected five thousand dollars for the blind man.” (J. E. Pleasants, "Life in the Mines in 1849" in Connecting California, 204) The California Gold Rush was such a pivot in history because it began a huge influx of people into the west prompting large-scale agriculture, city developments and consequently decreased the remaining Native American population significantly from 200,000 to 30,000 by

The migration of many foreigners resulted from various reasons that were explained in Susan Lee Johnson's chapter On the Eve of Emigration. Johnson discussed how many foreigners from different regions of the world and Americans from the Eastern part of the United States left their homes or countries for economic, social, political, or cultural reasons to start a new life in California with the hopes of striking wealth from the mines (Johnson, 59-95). One of the most interesting first-hand accounts of the Gold Rush came from a woman named Louis Amelia Knapp Smith Clapp or Dame Shirley. Shirley's account provided a detailed view of how life was during the gold mining years in California through her own descriptive personal account (Shirley Document, 171-184). This engaging source offered a good understanding of how life was in California during the late 1840s and early 1850s. The California Gold Rush caused “gold fever” among diverse ranges of people, both locally and globally, and sparked an instant exodus to

Before the Gold Rush of 1849, California was a sparsely populated, unimportant territory of the United States mostly inhabited by the people of Mexico. However, that all changed when on January 24, 1848; carpenter and small time sawmill operator James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American River that would forever change the history of California and America1. Not only did the Gold Rush lead to California’s admittance into the Union in 1850, it also rekindled the idea of the American Dream. Hundred’s of thousands of people poured into the state by the lure of quick and infinite riches. As a result of the Gold Rush, California

The California Gold Rush was an event that lasted from January 24th, 1848 to 1855. The event was driven mainly by the large quantities of gold reserves that were discovered in the soon to be US state of California. This event caused many Americans to move from the eastern states and middle states to California with the hopes of finding gold. In this paper, I will analyze the economy at the time the gold rush started and attempt to answer the question of why individuals found it necessary or advantageous to move out to California in pursuit of gold. I will also consider personal accounts and editorials written to gain a more personal narrative of the conditions people were experiencing as well as their mindsets in deciding whether to move to California for the gold or not.

It is hard to find better jobs and that having gold was their only way to have their second chance. But it wasn’t a good luck day for the miners, they all wanted to dig because the gold was free to everyone and that no one could stop someone taking most of the gold. It felt like it was spiking up the rich type and that it was taking and finding a way to get the rich. The more people discovered about the gold the more people wanted to get the gold. So everybody including immigrants would come to California have made the population by 80,000 people. At first we could pick up gold but later we would have to use pans to get the gold out of the ground. It felt like the people after the gold had forgotten what was important to them and they were all filled with greed to fulfil what they want to be rich. As if the people had forgotten on what was the best thing for them was the gold and power to have a bigger or better business to them and get even more rich and that it could lead them down to a path of power and greed that they can forget all of the compassion and kindness that they had and that they lose what that person was. As someone can see that it did help California become a state in the U.S. But California didn’t become an actual state until the time of 1850. But when the gold was there it doesn’t mean that there was a lot of it there is

For centuries in this country people have believed that through hard work, talent and ambition anyone can acquire great wealth and success regardless of their social class and background, a concept later named “The American Dream” in 1931. However, people have been questioning whether this idea of rags to riches really is attainable to all who work for it, or if it is merely a fantasy and a myth. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to illustrate the death of the American Dream.

The term “American Dream” is one of the triggers that lead to the shores of the USA many thousands of immigrants, it had a deep meaning for them, and it was first introduced to us by an American writer and historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book called “The Epic of America”, where he gives the definition of the term how he said “The American Dream”, by saying

The American Dream is a concept that is essentially older than the United States, dating back to the seventeenth century. It was then when people began to come up with hopes and aspirations for the newly discovered, unexplored continent. The “American Dream” is in essence the idea in that puts forward the notion that all people can succeed through hard work, that all people have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and be successful. The definition of the American Dream has been expanded upon and redefined over time. The concept of the American Dream has always been debated and put under criticism. There are many that believe the structure of American Society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream. It points out examples of