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Westward Expansion

Westward Expansion. Chapter 13. The West. “The West” was anywhere between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean-That was the Western Frontier Because it was hard to farm in the Great Plains, the land was used for Transportation The Northwest had fertile lands. The West.

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Westward Expansion

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  1. Westward Expansion Chapter 13

  2. The West • “The West” was anywhere between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean-That was the Western Frontier • Because it was hard to farm in the Great Plains, the land was used for Transportation • The Northwest had fertile lands

  3. The West • The Southwest was owned by Mexico, and was part of the Spanish Borderlands. • People in these areas were only allowed to trade with Spain • This area has a distinct culture

  4. The West • Spanish missionaries like JuniperoSerro tried to turn Native Americans into Catholics • Natives were forced to live and work at missions, may died from overwork or disease • Buildings were and are still made with a similar look

  5. The West • In 1821, Mexico won their independence from Spain • Mexico made land grants to rancheros and removed missionaries • Because the land given often belonged to the Natives, the Indians raided ranches

  6. The West • America had been interested in Westward Expansion • They began to believe in Manifest Destiny, which was the idea that the country should go from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

  7. Manifest Destiny cont….. • Definition: the belief that the United States was destined to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

  8. Why move???? • Push Factors: A force which acts to drive (push) people away from a place. *Pull Factors: Draws (pulls) a person to a new location.

  9. Push/Pull Factors • With someone sitting close to you, make a T-Chart and categorize the events into push factors and pull factors. • Shortage of Jobs • Better Living • Shortage of farm land • Over Crowding • Opportunity to buy cheap land • Gold Rush Push Factors Pull Factors 1.Shortage of jobs 2. Shortage of farmland 3.Overcrowding • Better Living • Cheap Land • Gold Rush

  10. Trails to the West • There were many trails to the west. • Santa Fe Trail: From St. Louis to Santa Fe, New Mexico. • Oregon Trail: From St. Louis to Portland, Oregon

  11. Trails to the West • John Jacob Astor established the American Fur Company in 1808 in Oregon after he traveled there • He used information the Lewis and Clark created

  12. Trails to the West • The first people to built permanent homes in Oregon were missionaries • Marcus and Narcissa Whitman tried to help the natives, but in reality land was simply stolen from the natives. • When people heard there was good land, more settlers came • This started “Oregon Fever”

  13. Trails to the West • Mountain men became famous. • They led isolated lives in the bitter cold, intense heat animal attacks • Trappers would bring their furs to a rendezvous where the mountain men would come together and bargain for the prices of furs

  14. Trails to the West • Working with only hand tools, people had to clear land, plant crops and build shelters • Diseases, accidents and natural disasters were common. • Some settlers even gave up and returned east

  15. Trails to the West • Women worked with men to make their family farms successful • Women also fought for the right to vote • In 1869, the Wyoming territory was the first that let women vote

  16. Trails to the West • Natives had an uneasy peace with the whites • After gold was discovered in Oregon in 1850, white and Chinese miners came into the area • War broke out with the Natives

  17. Conflict with Mexico • Conflict between Mexico and the Americans in Texas • Americans were moving to Texas, and they were Protestant, not Catholic • The Americans were bringing slaves, which was outlawed in Mexico • The Mexican democracy was overturned by Santa Anna, and he turned it to a dictatorship • In 1836, the Texans declared independence from Mexico and created the Republic of Texas

  18. Conflict with Mexico • Santa Anna attacked the Alamo • The Americans defended it for 12 days until the Mexicans took over • A few months later, Sam Houston, led a small army to attack Santa Anna’s army • They captured the leader and signed a treaty that gave Texas independence.

  19. Conflict with Mexico • Sam Houston became the President of the Republic of Texas • He hoped that the United States would Annex Texas • Initially they were not annexed because there was no free state to balance them

  20. Conflict with Mexico • President John Tyler asked congress to annex Texas 3 days before he left his presidency • Although Santa Anna had signed a treaty, Mexico claimed that it was not truly a treaty

  21. Conflict with Mexico • President James K. Polk offered to pay Mexico for the border of Texas and to pay for California • This angered Mexico • This began a war with Mexico • This was called the Mexican American War • Most Americans supported the war • But Northerners said it was about extending slavery

  22. Conflict with Mexico • Polk sent troops to New Mexico and to California • Settlers in California declared themselves an independent republic • They rose a grizzly bear flag • Although Mexico tried to defend California and New Mexico, they did not have the troops

  23. Conflict with Mexico • General Zachary Taylor invaded Mexico, the Americans invaded and took over the capital • The Americans had won the war

  24. Conflict with Mexico • The treaty that ended the war was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • They won the Mexican Cession which included California, Nevada and Utah as well as part of Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico • They had also had the Gadsden Purchase which made Manifest Destiny complete

  25. The Mormons Come West Why did they go west?

  26. Where did they go? • They followed what is today known as the Mormon Trail • The trail passes through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah • The trail later extended to California

  27. Where did they come from? • Many Mormons actually started in New York • They moved to Ohio and Missouri • Because of persecution, they went to Illinois and built the city of Nauvoo on the Mississippi River

  28. Why leave Nauvoo then? • Nauvoo was a great city • The Mormons worked together to build homes,businesses, and a temple • Many people didn’t like the Mormons’ success and were afraid • They persecuted the Mormons • They killed the Mormon leader, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith in June of 1844 • The Mormons were forced to leave their homes again

  29. What did they do then? • Brigham Young and other leaders decided to go west • They felt that the Rocky Mountains might provide a safe place • They gathered all the provisions they could and began leaving Nauvoo in 1846 • They only got to around Council Bluffs, Iowa before they stopped for the winter • They named their camp Winter Quarters

  30. Hardships • There was a hard winter and many deaths • Also, 500 men said good bye to their families and were enlisted to fight in the War with Mexico • This group became known as the Mormon Battalion

  31. Moving out again • In the Spring of 1847, Brigham Young and a group of mostly men left Winter Quarters heading west • After a long journey, they arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake • Brigham Young said, “This is the right place.”

  32. Mormons • Mormons and the government of the United States had conflict for 3 reasons • Mormon church controlled the election process in Utah • The Church only supported businesses for people that were Mormon • Polygamy • It took 40 years to work out these issues, Utah became a state in 1896

  33. A Rush to the West • In 1848, James Marshall found a gold nugget in a ditch in California (Sutter’s Mill) • 80,000 “forty-niners’ ran to California to search for gold • There was both gold above ground and below ground and it the water

  34. A Rush to the West • People were fighting over water rights because the gold would move with the water • Because of the people moving west, towns sprang up • There were vigilantes in these towns • The women who went to California mined, ran and worked in boarding houses, hotels, restaurants, laundries and stores • There was gold found in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada • All different types of people went to California • People from Europe, Asia, Australia and South America

  35. A Rush to the West • Men from China came to America in hopes that they could send home money • They faced prejudice • They could not get jobs in mines, they had to cook or do laundry, work on railroads or farms • Thousands of free African Americans moved to California • They had their own churches, and news papers • They ran their own businesses • But they did not have equal rights • Natives had their lands stolen • Nearly 2/3 of the Natives that lived in California died during the Gold rush

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