The Westward Expansion of the United States

The Westward Expansion of the United States Why do you think people in the United States felt a need to expand further to the west?

Manifest destiny idea that the United States was ordained to expand to the Pacific Ocean. Some proponents of the idea even suggested that the country should absorb Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America and the Caribbean. The concept justified rapidly expanding white settlement throughout the mid to late 19th century. How does this painting represent the concept of Manifest Destiny?

U.S. Government Encourages Westward Expansion During and after the Civil War, Americans and immigrants, with the help of the government, continued a push westward, occupying the Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.

Pacific Railway Act (1862): U.S. government provided for the construction of a transcontinental railroad through land grants. Transcontinental Railroad: a railroad line linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S., 1st line completed in 1869. Land Grants: land was given to railroad companies to encourage construction. • Competing railroad companies competed to get as much land from the government as possible. • Railroads sold excess land to settlers, real estate agencies and other businesses to pay for the cost of constructing the lines.

Impact of Railroad Expansion 1. Product markets increased due to access to new areas. 2. Railroad industry stimulated other areas of economy by increasing need for steel, coal and timber. Transcontinental Railroad Nobody Move!! I lost a contact. Where do you see the majority of towns appearing?

Railroad Consolidation Cornelius Vanderbilt: Among first to consolidate lines; merged three short New York railroads to form New York Central in 1869; became first to offer direct service from New York to Chicago. In early 1800s, most railroads served local needs but a desire to connect local lines arose.

Railroad Consolidation As railroad lines grew in length, time zones were implemented to improve safety and reliability. How would time zones improve safety and reliability?

Impact of Railroad Consolidation 1. Increased efficiency for businesses using railroads. How? 2. Decreased time spent in long distance travel. How would this impact westward expansion? 3. United Americans from different regions. In what ways would Americans become more united?

Morrill Land Grant Acts (1862 & 1890): enacted to help create agricultural colleges by giving federal lands to states. Can you see any evidence of these acts today?

Homestead Act (1862): provided 160 acres in the West to any citizen or intended citizen who was head of a household and would cultivate the land for five years; much of the land given to settlers had been reserved for Native Americans through treaties.

Quick Review! In what ways did the U.S. government encourage westward expansion? How did the growth and consolidation of railroads impact the country? Do you think westward expansion would have occurred if the belief in Manifest Destiny did not exist? What groups were hurt by the westward expansion of the United States?

Government Policy On Native Americans How does this drawing represent the artist’s perception of the relationship between Native Americans and settlers?

Formative or Treaty Era: the first period of U.S. government policy toward Native Americans; lasted from about 1789 to 1871 and overlapped the “Removal Era.” Meeting of tribal leaders and U.S. Army representatives to form treaty. It was a period during which Congress dealt with Indian nations through: Treaties Statutes; laws The Formative Era ended with Congress banning the further signing of treaties with Native Americans in 1871.

Removal Era: spanned over four decades and was characterized not only by the forced relocation of whole Indian nations, but also by a shift in federal policy toward the "management" of Native American populations on reservations. Beginning in 1830 with the Indian Removal Act, Native American tribes in the East were subjected to a systematic effort by the federal government to move them westward.

Indian Removal Act: Enacted on May 28, 1830, it proceeded to shift most of the nations of Indian tribes in the eastern United States to reservations in what was deemed Indian territory in present-day Oklahoma. Indian Territory: an area of land set aside for members of the Five Civilized Tribes Reservation:a tract of public land set aside by the government for use by Native Americans. Take notice of the types of structures that exist on this reservation. Why are there some differences?

Once the Natives were removed, what happened to their former lands?

Trail of Tears: name given to forced march of Cherokee Indians from their lands in the southeastern U.S. to Indian Territory during 1838-1839. Thousands of people died during the journey and the Trail of Tears has become synonymous with the U.S. government’s harsh treatment of Native Americans. The term is sometimes used to refer to the eviction of other tribes as well. Where’s Oprah?? How does the artist portray the hardships of the march?

Bureau of Indian Affairs: government agency established in 1824 to help manage American Indian issues; still in existence today.

Indian agents: men who served as representatives of the U.S. government in its dealings with Native Americans, particularly with Indians living on reservations; worked under the supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and were responsible for providing tribes with food, clothing, and other supplies and were expected to promote "civilization" among the Indians. Indian agents remained a powerful factor in Native American lives until the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Assimilation and Allotment Era: 1871 to 1928; involved ending tribal influence, was designed to integrate Native Americans into white American life; it ended with the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934. Indian Training School Chemawa, Oregon

Allotment: the apportioning out of reservation lands to individual Native American tribes, became official government policy with passage of the General Allotment Act (Dawes Severalty Act) of 1887. The federal government believed that allotment would aid in process of assimilating Native Americans to U.S. society, as they would learn benefits of owning and cultivating property. Federal Department Regional Office “Homestead” Between 1887 and 1934, Native Americans lost approximately 90 million acres of land through allotment. Use this deed as a primary source. What can it tell you about this allotment of land?

Assimilation: process whereby individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant of a society. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the official U.S. government policy of assimilation in regard to Native Americans was a failure. Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s trusted sidekick, portrays an image of a Native American that adopted many aspects of the white culture while maintaining some of the Native American culture.

Acculturation refers to the conscious effort made by the United States to conform Native Americans to the ways of U.S. society. By the end of the 19th century, the process of acculturation was actively funded and supported by such federal policies as: Before After - the allotment of land to individual Native Americans. • Indian Citizenship Act, June 2, 1924 • An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue certificates of citizenship to Indians. • Be it enacted…, That all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States Provided, That the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Indian to tribal or other property. - the education of Native American children in government schools. - the granting of U.S. citizenship. What’s the difference between assimilation or acculturation?

Acculturation as government policy ended when the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 allowed Native Americans once again to practice the tenets of their tribal beliefs. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americans management of their assets (mostly land); to prevent further depletion of reservation resources; to build a sound economic foundation for the people of the reservations; and to return to the Native Americans local self-government on a tribal basis. Indian Reorganization Act: landmark federal legislation of June 18, 1934 that officially ended the government's policy of allotment and advocated tribal organization on reservations as a formula for the improvement of Indian life.

www.historyonthenet.com/.../ manifest_destiny.htm • www.cyberbee.com/manifest_ destiny/destiny.html • whitemountainart.com/.../ chocorua_ab_002.htm • www.historyteacher.net/ AHAP/AHAPTopicSheets.htm • www.pbs.org/wgbh/ aia/part4/4narr4.html • www.sd4history.com/ Unit7/crowcreek.htm

The Westward Expansion of the United States