Reasons Behind Westward Expansion

Tashena Rochester

Americans move to settle in the West was purely motivated by the need for more money. The government once thought of the West as uncivilized and that humans should not live there. They thought that only uncivilized people such as the Indians and the wild animals should live there. But after the Civil War, the government encouraged people to move westward for more than one reason. One of the main reasons for Americans to move there was to rob the Indians of their land. There was a lot of land untouched and great for farming and mining. The once uncivilized, desolate land was now discovered to have precious metals, good area for farming and bountiful in land for creating transcontinental railroads. Reconstruction of the south definitely was a contributing factor for the Westward expansion. After the Civil War, the south was destroyed, filled with ruins and desolation. The South and the West had opportunities for businesses, agriculture, and a new start for many

The Indians were outnumbered by the every growing population of Americans trying to take their land. Unfortunate to the Native Americans, the settlers began forcing them into Reservations and stealing their land. Many Indians were slaughtered unnecessarily, even peaceful Indians that were not waging war. It was a difficult time for the Indians even after the Great Sioux War that they had won. They celebrated by continuing their hunting but not long after they were compelled to stop hunting, relinquish their goldfields and go onto a reservation. Many of them starved and died of diseases because they were not use to being to such harsh conditions. The American settlers slaughtered the Buffalos that Native Americans used to eat and make shelter, instead using them for making money from using them for robes and leather. The Native Americans suffered greatly from the Americans Westward