westward expansion
Population growth
the year 1790 and the total population was about 3.9 million people, which spurred the need for additional land and resources as families sought new opportunities in the expanding frontier.
the year 1800 and the total population was 5,308,483, reflecting a substantial increase as families moved westward in search of land and opportunity.
the year 1810 and the total population was 7,240,000, reflecting a significant increase as more settlers moved westward in search of land and opportunities.
the year 1820 and the total population was 9,638,453, indicating a significant increase as more settlers moved westward in search of land and opportunity.
the year 1830 and the total population was 12,866,020, reflecting a significant increase as migration westward gained momentum.
the year 1840 and the total population was 17,069,453, reflecting significant growth as families moved westward in search of new opportunities and land.
the year 1850 and the total population was 23,191,876, demonstrating continued growth as the allure of the West spurred further migration and settlement.
the year 1860 and the total population was 31,443,321, indicating a dramatic rise in population density as more settlers ventured into western territories seeking land and a better life
Transportation Revolution
in the 1700s, life moved at a slower pace than it does today. For example, it took weeks or sometimes months to send a letter. If colonists ordered items like clothing or furniture, it could take months for their package to arrive. This is because travel took much longer. People could not travel by planes, trains, or cars. Back then, people mostly traveled by foot or in wagons
in the 1800s, new technologies made traveling faster and cheaper. This is called the transportation revolution
Steamboats : Steamboats are boats that use steam engine to move through the water. Steamboats move much faster than sailboats or rowboats. Steamboats transported items and people
Canals : Canals are man-made rivers. Traveling by water is faster than traveling by land. So, people dug canals to connect cities by water.
Railroads : The most important advance in the transportation revolution was the railroad. Like steamboats, railroads were powered by steam engines and moved along the tracks. Railroads made it much quicker to carry items and people across long distance. They connected towns cities together. By 1860, the United States had more railroads than the rest of the world combined
The transportation revolution made traveling faster, cheaper, and easier. These new technologies increased trade between the East and the West
Manifest Destinny
The painting is an allegory, or symbolic story, for Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the 19th century idea that it was America’s God-given right to settle North America. In Gast’s painting, the flying woman represents America. In her hands she holds a book and telegraph wires. These items symbolize education and new technology. The woman appears to be moving settlers to the west. As she does so, the sky changes from dark to light. Gast painted Native Americans and animals running away from the settlers. The idea in this painting represent the way many settlers felt about their destiny to settle the American West, regardless of who was already living there.
Cheap land
The U.S. government wanted people to settle the western territories. So, they offered people free land! In 1862, Congress passed a law called Homestead Act which led people apply for 160 acres of free land. The plots of land were called “homesteads”.
In order to claim the land there were rules :
you must be at least 21 years old or the “head household”
You must be a U.S. citizen or want to become a citizen
You must agree to live on, improve, and farm the land for at least 5 years
Homesteads were opportunities for many people. After the Civil War, the homesteads were given to formerly enslaved people and immigrants. By 1924, the U.S. government had given away more than 1.6 million homesteads (more than 270 million acres of land) !
New Inventions
During the 19th century, many new technologies were invented. Some of these inventions helped settlers in the west
Telegraph - In the early 1800s, the only way people could communicate over a long distance was by writing letterers. The telegraph changed that. The telegraph was invented by American system morse in 1837. Morse created a machine that could send electric pulses over a wire. The telegraph used a language made up of short and long pulses called morse code. The telegraph allowed people to send instant messages across long distances. This allowed news to spread at a much faster speed. The telegraph helped businesses order supplies and ship items to customers. It also connected people living in the West to those living in the East
Barbed Wire - Another invention that helped settlers was barbed wire. Before the invention of barbed wires, people built fences using stones or wood. Building fences took a lot of time and strength. In the 1874, an American named Josphe F. Glidden invented barbed wire. Barbed wire is a steel fencing wire that has sharp points on it called barbs. The barbs prevent people and animals from passing through the fence. Settlers in the west used barbed wire because it was light to carry and easy to set up. You could set up a barbed wire fence much quicker than a traditional wooden fence
The Louisiana Purchase
in 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought a huge portion of land west of the Mississippi. He bought this land from France. The territory he bought was called the Louisianna Purchase. It more than doubled the size of the United States! The Louisiana cost 15 million dollars total. That amounts to about three cents an acre. The purchase included 828,000 square miles of land. The land Jefferson bought from the French was not empty. It had long been the homeland of many different Native Tribes. These Native people had been on the land for generations. But the French, and then the United States, did not pay attention to the tribe’s right to the land. Soon, white Americans would head west to explore the huge continent and the land that was new to them. The age of westward Expansion was about to start.
Manifest Destiny
by the 1840s, Americans envisioned a nation that spread “from sea to shining sea”. They felt that it was their duty to spread across the land. Their belief in young democracy was so strong that Americans wanted to spread it across the entire continent. They did not care about the Native peoples who had long since cultivated the area and called it home. To these Americans, exploring and cultivating the territory was the destiny of the young country and its citizens. Soon the phrase “Manifest Destiny” was echoing in newspapers and political speeches. At the time, the west was the embodiment of American optimism. Many American adventures would go west to seek their fortunes