Comparison Of Western Expansion Between 1860 And 1890

Western Expansion Between 1860 and 1890
America has got an impressive expansion history; in particular, the western expansion is considered a central theme in its history. The greatest influence or force that has shaped the American society and democracy was its free land which intensely affected the American society as put forth by Fredrick Turner. Economists pushed for the full utilization of the American soil which consequently resulted in more worth (Quay, 2002). New cities popped up, businesses developed, railway networks built, agricultural land improved and territories and states also expanded. The expansion occurred progressively, much of the expansion took place the periods 1860 to 1890. This essay seeks to provide an interpretation,

Similarly, the extension of the railway to the westward side was primarily intrigued by the need of taking cattle from Texas to railheads at Dodge City and Abilene in Kansas through Oklahoma in the Indian territory. The drive was about 1300 miles. During this period, there was a lot of railway construction on the western side. The railways were mainly constructed in trying to provide a means of transport of the agricultural products being produced in the regions. Railways were tying together the East and the West. On the map, it is evitable that the railway line from Sacramento in California was joined to the rail line in Omaha Nebraska in 1869 (Torr, 2003). The construction of these two railway lines took a period of six years, and they were joined at Promontory Point in Utah. The rail line was named the transcontinental railroad. Similarly, there were many other rail lines constructed in the region at this time including the California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains railway line. Most of the railways at this time were done by the Chinese people, this is because they seemed more willing and able to tolerate the tough conditions as compared to

However, as the American population increased, most people moved and settled in these areas. To the west side, there were hundreds of thousands of miles of open fertile land having mountains, forests, rivers, and plains. The earliest inhabitants of the area were mainly the Spanish-Mexicans and the indigenous people. The land was bought explored and taken over by the Unites States Government. The immigrants from Europe were settled in the area. The first batch of people was settled along the western sides of the Mississippi river after the US government purchased Louisiana area. Other immigrants were settled on the west to California. After the immigrants relocated to these regions, mines, railroads, farms and several industries sprung up. After settling, these areas grew to the current cities and towns as populations increased, more land was occupied and more developments initiated and done in the areas. Centers such as Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota all grew into towns due to the increased development activities and increased population. The growth can mainly be attributed to economic activities. Different towns developed because of the different economic activities. For instance, Northern Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin cities grew due to mining activities. The Midwest cities such as Ohio and Illinois attracted farmers seeking rich natural resources (Billington