Western Expansion Essay -- United States History Historical Essays

The watt blowup Introduction The Westward Expansion has often been regarded as the central theme of American taradiddle, down to the complete of the19th century and as the main factor in the shaping of American history. As Frederick Jackson Turner says, the greatest force or lure in shaping American democracy and society had been that there was so much free domain of a function in America and this profoundly touched American society. Motives After the revolution, the winning of independence opened up the westerly country and was hence followed by a steady flow of settlers to the disseminated multiple sclerosis valley. By 1840, 10 new western states had been added to the Federal union. The frontier field of operation ran by dint of Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas on the western side of the river. on the whole parts of the valley except Wisconsin and Minnesota were well populated. Thus a whole new section had been colonized with lasting effects on the American institutions, idea ls and ways of living. The far west was the land of high mountains, deserts, unconnected rock formations, brilliant colors and immense distance. Fur trade with europium had at present become a lucrative business and the fur traders became the pathfinders for the settlers. Migration was now possible by the discovery of paths over which ox-driven carts could be driven through seeking mountains and across the western desert. People wanted to bowel movement outdoor(a) from the overcrowded cities and this led to the migration into the uninhabited lands. Increased transportation like roads, railroads and canals and their construction created a demand for cheap labor making it easier for people to get jobs now, in contrast with the cities where there was unemployment. The pioneer movement for 70 years after(prenominal) the revolution roughly represented the form of 3 parallel streams, slick westwards from New England, Virginia and South Carolina. The first pioneer groups tended to m ove straight off westward. Thus the new Englanders migrated into western New York and along the shores of the great lakes, Virginians into Kentucky and and then into Missouri and the South Carolinians and Georgians into the gulf territories. Throughout the settlement of the Mississippi valley, closely pioneers did not travel long distances and as a territory had been occupied, families would move into the adjacent one. There were boom periods of great activity, during which million acres of land were sold, alternated ... ...or wider opportunities. Even the safety valve theory has an element of truth when applied to enterprising green men of the professional class who had a better venture of making it big much quicker in the West than in the East. Without the open frontier, moreover, there would have been a much larger migration of young people from the farms to the cities thus the frontier helped indirectly to check the exploitation of the working(a) class by preventing it f rom expanding too rapidly. The Westward Expansion also hurt state and regional loyalties and promoted national unity due to its inherent mobility. close to westerners thought of themselves primarily as Americans, and wanted strong national judicature with broad powers for developing transportation and promoting the general welfare. The most significant let of the Westward Expansion was that the pioneers took with them the essential institutions of their nuance. Thus we must look upon the Westward Expansion as one of the factors in the shaping of the American civilization but not the only one. AKSHARA PRADHAN Roll No. 385 Tute. Grp.- Tuesday, 1st Pd. Bibliography the history of the united states of america -H.B.Parkes