Westward ExpansionMr. Bennett- 8th Grade Social Studies

How did westward expansion change the

geography of the nation and

demonstrate the determination of

its people?

What was the “West?”

Colonial Americans saw it as the land west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi.

Frontier- the land that forms the farthest extent of a nation’s settled regions.

Included in the West were different regions.

The Great Plains between the Mississippi River

and the Rocky Mountains. Farmers did not think it would be good for farming.

The Northwest fertile land from the Rocky

Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Oregon and Washington today.

The Southwest originally land owned by Spain

and Mexico. Today they include the states of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and part of Colorado.

Mexican Settlements 1821- Mexico wins its independence from Spain.

Manifest Destiny

“The American claim is by the right of our manifest [obvious] destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and …self-government entrusted us.”

The U.S. was destined to extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean or from “sea to shining sea.”

Manifest Destiny

Trails to the West

Settlers faced many challenges moving west.

Traders Lead the Way

Traders Lead the Way

First Americans to go into the Far West were traders looking for new markets to sell their goods.

The Santa Fe Trail

An international trading route from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Oregon John Jacob Astor establishes the American

Fur Company in Oregon. Mountain Men

-Fur trappers of the Northwest The Oregon Trail

First people to travel to Oregon are missionaries. They wanted to spread their religion to Native Americans.

-2,000 miles-from Missouri to Oregon. -Settlers traveled together in wagon trains

for protection.

Women and Native Americans

Women in the West

worked along side the men.

had more rights in the West.

Native Americans and Settlers

often times there was conflict.

Utah and California How did Mormon Settlement and the gold rush

lead to changes in the west?

Mormons Settle Utah

Utah located in the lands acquired via the Mexican Cession.

Mormons settled there.

Mormons- a religious group started by Joseph Smith in 1830.

Grew fast but often led to conflict with others because of their way of life:

Believed in communal living and polygamy- the practice of having more than one wife at a time.

Mormons on the move

Hostile communities forced Mormons from New York to Ohio and then to Missouri and eventually Illinois.

Leader Joseph Smith was murdered in Illinois.

New Mormon leader, Brigham Young no longer felt safe in Illinois and decided to move the Mormons to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.

Conflict with the Government Over Three Issues:

Election process in Utah- non-Mormons not allowed to vote

The Church only supported businesses owned by Mormons.

Polygamy- illegal in the rest of the country.

Issues were not resolved for over 40 years.

Finally in 1896, Utah became a state but had to give up polygamy.

The California Gold Rush

California in 1848 had 10,000 people.

Mostly Mexican, called Californios.

After Mexican Cession, easterners started moving there.

Gold is discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848

By 1849, the California gold rush had begun.

Prospect of finding gold attracted 80,000 people Called 49ers- people who came to California in search of

gold.

Water Rights

In the gold fields there were often disputes over water rights or the legal rights to use the water in a stream, river, or other body.

Disputes often erupted in violence.

Life in Mining Towns

Towns were not very permanent

People left when gold was discovered elsewhere.

Not many struck it rich

California’s Changing Population

Men from China, Europe, African-Americans all came in search of gold.

Chinese were often given the worst jobs in the mines.

Southerners tried to bring slaves but the miners would not allow it.

By 1879, San Francisco has 100,000 people.

California

Admitted as a state in 1850.

Questions

Why did the Mormons move to Utah?

Which groups migrated to California after 1848?