The Westward Expansion remains one of the most critical events in American history. This era broadly covers significant historical events that took place between 1860 and 1890. The period had major social and economic impacts, both on the new wave of settlers and the indigenous Americans. Thus, this paper takes an analytical and synthetic approach at the events that transpired over that period to shape the history of the then young nation.
The pioneering cause of the Westward Expansion was the Transcontinental Railroad. After its completion, it served as the main transportation means for the waves of new settlers that followed deeper into the interior.[1] Additionally, the end of the civil war and passing of the Homestead Act by Congress made land ownership easy. After that, agriculture soon flourished as farmers capitalized on present inventions for large scale farming. They used existing infrastructure, such as the Erie Canal and the railroad, to transport the produced food across the nation efficiently. Consequently, the American population had doubled by the 1890 census. Thus, a transport system and development of agriculture laid the foundation for the expansion west.
Economic growth began to spread west after the south lost most of its influence and wealth. The development followed the interconnectivity of the railroad. A good number of the businesses that sprung up were from either innovations or natural resources.[2] The patent’s office recorded a significant amount of registrations at the time as a result of the inventions. On the other hand, the discovery of abundant natural resources attracted prospectors from all over America. The natural resources included coal, iron, copper, gold, timber, petroleum, and fertile farming land. The west had all the ingredients required to fuel the United States to the Industrial age.
As the economy expanded, so did the demand for more workers. Immigrants flocked to the country eyeing the vacancies in factories and other employable sectors of the economy.[3] Most of what is regarded today as modern industrial economy in the country finds its roots in the era between 1860 and 1890. The relative political stability at the time made the country stand out as a global economic powerhouse. The country has always worked to safeguard this position ever since. Therefore, the economic expansion that accompanied industrial growth rooted America as a key player in the global economy.
Gold was as valuable back then as it is nowadays, if not more. The discovery of gold in the South Dakota hills in 1974 alone was a crucial time in the expansion timeline.[4] The government dispatched George Armstrong Custer to the mountains with orders to hunt down all Sioux not in reservations. In 1876, many of the Indians refused to comply. The former war hero underestimated the Indians and divided his troupes. The Sioux brutally wiped out his entire battalion[5]. This situation was almost always the case when establishing mining towns. When successful, they were the most dangerous places to be in the country. They were mostly makeshift towns that often disappeared after depletion of the resource; some such as Idaho survived as processing towns. Thus, mining towns were violence hotspots all over the country.
The acquisition of the said fertile land came with the institution of unfavorable property policies for the native folk.[6] They faced irreversible conversion of their land and depletion of natural resources. The aggravated Native Americans resorted to sharecropper revolts, violent protests, and land invasion to counter the territorial exacerbation. As a result, the indigenous folks were branded with degrading stereotypes and forced to conform to the dominant culture per the manifest destiny ideology. In the end, their land was designated national land and sold to the highest bidder while they were assimilated into western culture.[7] Assimilation was made possible by such as the Dawes Act of 1877.[8] The evacuation of the Indians from their ancestral land was facilitated by the Indian Removal Act of 1930. Additionally, the military was involved in the process. It fought over 200 battles with the Sioux between 1868 and 1877 in the campaign. Accordingly, while growing the country westwards, land policies came at a steep price for the Indians.
Indeed, the western expansion was a crucial time in American history. Activities during this period affected not only the Americans but the Natives as well. The development journey mainly followed the railroad. The move by the government to make land almost free worked in establishing a strong agricultural base to feed the growing population. Invention and natural resources were the principal enterprise drivers of development. These businesses carved out a place for the country economically on the world map. As industries grew so did the demand for resources and workers which ultimately translated to need for more land. Most of the land at the time belonged to the indigenous Americas. The government used the military to force them, and later assimilated them to western culture, thus, effectively neutralizing their resistance and acquiring more land at the same time.
Bibliography
Anderson, Terry L., and Peter J. Hill. “The evolution of property rights: a study of the American West.” The Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 18, no. 1 (1975): 163-179.
Balliet, Greg. “Railroads and their Effect on American Society, 1840-1890.” Saber and Scroll, vol.2, no. 4, (2013): 1-13.
Kim, Sukkoo. “Economic integration and convergence: US regions, 1840–1987.” The Journal of Economic History 58, no. 3 (1998): 659-683.
Roscigno, Vincent, Julia Cantzler, Salvatore Restifo, and Joshua Guetzkow. “Legitimation, state repression, and the Sioux Massacre at wounded knee.” Mobilization: An International Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1 (2015): 17-40.
White, Richard. “The winning of the West: The expansion of the western Sioux in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” The Journal of American History, vol. 65, no. 2 (1978): 319-343.
[1]Greg, Balliet. “Railroads and their Effect on American Society, 1840-1890.” Saber and Scroll, vol. 2, no. 4 (2013): 4.
[2] Balliet, 4.
[3] Sukkoo, Kim. “Economic integration and convergence: US regions, 1840–1987.” The Journal of Economic History, vol. 58, no. 3 (1998): 660.
[4] Richard, White. “The winning of the West: The expansion of the western Sioux in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” The Journal of American History, vol. 65, no. 2, (1978): 320.
[5] White, 320.
[6] Terry L. Anderson, and Peter J. Hill. “The evolution of property rights: a study of the American West.” The Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 18, no. 1 (1975): 163.
[7] Roscigno, Vincent, Julia Cantzler, Salvatore Restifo, and Joshua Guetzkow. “Legitimation, state repression, and the Sioux Massacre at wounded knee.” Mobilization: An International Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 1 (2015): 20.
[8] Anderson and Hill, 169.
