

Westward Expansion


Westward Expansion - Page Text Content

S: By Lexi Koerbitz

FC: Westward Expansion

1: After the war of 1812, much of America was focused on expanding and exploring the West. Many pioneer families went westward and found new communities. This area is what is now known as the Midwest. Between 1816 and 1821 six new states were admitted to the union.

2: Ideas | Expanding Agriculture | While many New Englanders went to work in factories, a large number of Americans still worked on farms. More than 65% of Americans were farmers in the 1820s. Northeastern farms were usually small and their produce was sold locally. South farms produced cotton and were tended to by slaves. When the cotton gin was invented, it expanded cotton growth. South farmers moved West in search of land.

3: New Voters | Andrew Jackson enforced "equal protection and equal benefits" to all Americans. Which only, in his opinion, consisted of white men. In earlier years, some states only allowed certain white men to vote. Such as men that owned their own property and paid taxes. Jackson had a new idea to bring equality to our country. White men were pleased with this new idea. However, women and African Americans still didn't have rights to vote and Native Americans were still left with hardly any rights at all.

4: Supporters of Jackson worked for the political system to be more democratic. The caucus system did not seem to be working so they got rid of it. Most Americans did not appreciate the fact that their leader was being chosen by committees made up by Congress. The people in this system were replaced by nominating conventions. Delegates from the state selected the parties candidate. | Electoral Changes

5: The first national party convention was in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832. Delegates from every state in the Union came to it. The delegates all agreed that to nominate the candidate that earned two thirds of the vote. Jackson won this nomination. Many people were pleased with this system because a large chunk of them got to participate and state their opinion when selecting their political candidate.

6: Natural/Geographic | River travel was more efficient than wagon and horse travel. It was also more comfortable. There were also disadvantages. Most rivers flowed from north to south when most people were going west. Also, traveling upstream was difficult and slow. | River Travel

7: Canals/Locks | Canals Steamboats depended on canals. New York City was linked with the Great Lakes region by a canal. Connecting Albany on the Hudson River with Buffalo on Lake Erie. | Locks Thousand of workers worked on the canal. Along the canal they built locks-compartments where water level could be lowered or raised. Locks made a way to raise and lower boats at places where canal levels changed. | Canals/ Locks

8: Roads/ Turnpikes | The nation was in need of reliable roads for travel and to ship goods. Turnpikes were built by private companies. Travelers paid fees to travel these roads. The fees covered construction costs. Most roads had a base of crushed stone. Where land was muddy, companies built what they called "corduroy roads." Consisting of logs laid side by side symbolizing the ridges of corduroy cloth. | Turnpikes- toll roads

9: Settlement in the West came in groups. The first group began around the 1790s and was the reason for four new states to be admitted between 1791 and 1803- Vermont, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The second group came between 1816-1821. Five more states were admitted- Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Indiana, and Alabama. The new states caused an enormous growth in the area west of the Appalachian Mountains. Pioneer families usually settled along two rivers-Ohio and the Mississippi. | People usually stayed with their old communities, settling in packs. Many western families got together to share common hobbies.

10: Social | Trail of Tears- The federal government convinced a couple Cherokee to sign a treaty giving up their land. A large amount, about 17000, Cherokee refused to let this treaty take away their land. They protested to the United States Government. They wanted the United States Government to understand that it was their land and they had no right to take it away from them. President Jackson had no sorrow for them. General Winfield Scott and his army of 7000 troops came and removed the Cherokee from their homes and forced them west in 1838. Scott threatened the Cherokee if they refused to move west. He told them that they were hopeless because he had troops all

11: across the country. They couldn't even fight back because the American Army was much more powerful than they were. Holding their sadness and anger inside, they had no choice but to begin their westward journey. They Cherokee refer to this event as "the Trail Where They Cried." The Trail of Tears is what present day historians call this event.

12: Political | Henry Clay | Leading War Hawk, Henry Clay, became Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1811. He was also a leader that represented interests in the Western States. He was also a member that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war of 1812. Today Henry Clay is known for his efforts to resolve problems through a compromise.

13: Daniel Webster | Webster was first elected to Congress in 1812 representing New Hampshire. He also eventually represented Massachusetts in the House and the Senate. He was a supporter of free trade and New England's shipping interests. "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" A famous quote of Daniel Websters.

14: Economic | In the system of free enterprise people are able to buy, sell, or produce whatever they want. Americans also got to work wherever they wish. Competition, profit, private property, and economic freedom are major elements in free enterprise. This benefits both business owners and buyers. | Free Enterprise

15: Capitalism | Capitalism is the economic system of the United States. In the capitalism system, people put their capital into a business. They hope to make profit off of this. Economic systems need competition to produce strong industrial growth. | Capital: Money

16: Corporations and Stocks | Corporations- Large Businesses | In the 1830s, corporations began to form rapidly when many legal obstacles were removed. This resulted in stock to be easily sold and to improve finances and development. | Stock- shares of ownership in a company

17: Economy Growth | When town had factories and much trade, they rapidly grew. Towns along the water also were main attractions. New York, Boston, and Baltimore grew because of their commerce and trade. Towns like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville all grew because of their location on the water. Buildings in these towns were made out of wood or brink. Differing quite a bit for what we call a 'big city' today.

18: Cultural | Indian Removal Act- This act allowed the government to pay Native Americans to move west. Officials were sent to the Southeast by Jackson to negotiate treaties with the Native Americans. Many Natives felt compelled to be given payments for their land. Congress created the Indian Territory in 1834. This area would be about where Oklahoma is located in present-day.

19: The Cherokee refused to give up their land. Their resistance of this act lead to the Trail of Tears.

20: Technological-/ Scientific | Cotton Gin | Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. This simple machine removed seeds from cotton fiber. One worker could do the work of 50 with the cotton gin.

21: Patent | Congress passed a law in 1790 for those who invented useful and important inventions. A patent gives the inventor the legal right to the invention and its profits for a certain amount of time. This is so nobody else can make money off your invention for the time being.

22: A factory system is a system that brings manufacturing steps together in one place to increase efficiency. The factory system improved the way goods are made so that it is less time consuming and more efficient. The factory system was introduced in 1814 when Francis Cabot Lowell opened a textile mill and needed a more efficient way of producing his products. | Factory System

23: Interchangeable Parts | Interchangeable parts were started by the inventor Eli Whitney. these parts were identical and could be put together to make a complete project. All the parts were alike, making them easy to manufacture. They didn't require high quality labor and made machine repair much easier. Interchangeable parts made it easy to produce many different types of goods in large amounts. It also helped to reduce the price of the goods.

24: Conclusion | How did past decisions or actions affect future choices? During Westward Expansion, there was a lot of discrimination. Americans didn't like what the natives were doing, so they took action. They created acts and laws against them so they could control them. This shaped the future, as bad as it was. They laws and acts were eventually demolished. Now Native Americans have just as many rights as anyone else, as they should.

25: Works Cited | Appleby, Brinkley, Broussard, McPherson, Ritchie. The American Republic To 1877. McGraw Hill Companies. Columbus, Ohio. 2005.

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  • By: Lexi K.
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  • Title: Westward Expansion
  • A mixbook about the westward expansion in America
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  • Published: almost 7 years ago

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