United States History · Chapter 17
17. Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900
The mid-nineteenth century saw a significant westward migration driven by the belief in Manifest Destiny, which encouraged Americans to settle the West. The federal government facilitated this movement through legislation like the Homestead Act and the Pacific Railway Act, which provided land and improved transportation. Settlers included diverse groups, such as white farming families, immigrants from Europe, and African Americans seeking new opportunities. The westward expansion led to conflicts with Native American tribes, resulting in violence and the loss of their lands and culture. Additionally, Chinese immigrants and Hispanic citizens faced discrimination and challenges as they navigated their new realities in the rapidly changing West.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Explain the evolution of American views about westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century
- Analyze the ways in which the federal government facilitated Americans’ westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century
- Identify the challenges that farmers faced as they settled west of the Mississippi River
- Describe the unique experiences of women who participated in westward migration
- Identify the major discoveries and developments in western gold, silver, and copper mining in the mid-nineteenth century
- Explain why the cattle industry was paramount to the development of the West and how it became the catalyst for violent range wars
- Describe the methods that the U.S. government used to address the “Indian threat” during the settlement of the West
- Explain the process of “Americanization” as it applied to Indians in the nineteenth century
- Describe the treatment of Chinese immigrants and Hispanic citizens during the westward expansion of the nineteenth century
Introduction#
Figure 17.1 A widely held belief in the nineteenth century contended that Americans had a divine right and responsibility to settle the West with Protestant democratic values. Newspaper editor Horace Greely, who coined the phrase “Go west, young man,” encouraged Americans to fulfill this dream. Artists of the day depicted this western expansion in idealized landscapes that bore little resemblance to the difficulties of life on the trail.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, farmers in the “Old West”—the land across the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania—began to hear about the opportunities to be found in the “New West.” They had long believed that the land west of the Mississippi was a great desert, unfit for human habitation. But now, the federal government was encouraging them to join the migratory stream westward to this unknown land. For a variety of reasons, Americans increasingly felt compelled to fulfill their “Manifest DestinyThe 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was both justified and inevitable. Rooted in the 1840s, Manifest Destiny became a rallying cry for expansionists and was used to justify the annexation of Texas, the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican-America,” a phrase that came to mean that they were expected to spread across the land given to them by God and, most importantly, spread predominantly American values to the frontier (Figure 17.1).
With great trepidation, hundreds, and then hundreds of thousands, of settlers packed their lives into wagons and set out, following the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails, to seek a new life in the West. Some sought open lands and greater freedom to fulfill the democratic vision originally promoted by Thomas Jefferson and experienced by their ancestors. Others saw economic opportunityEconomic incentives were central to westward migration, attracting settlers, immigrants, and entrepreneurs.. Still others believed it was their job to spread the word of God to the “heathens” on the frontier. Whatever their motivation, the great migration was underway. The American pioneer spirit was born.