Westward Expansion Essay

The most common item to raid for was captives. Due to a major epidemic in 1492 which lead to a devastating loss in the Comanche population they begun to raid for captives more and more. According to Rivaya-Martinez, the captives spiked in the Comanche population in 1840. This was a response to a major population loss due to battles being fought and Comanches being killed. As the horse was introduced and they began using them for larger, faster, and more efficient raids, they needed more captives. Rivaya-Martinez states that, at one point in time, 96% of their captives were used as horse herders. Due to horses greatly influencing the Comanche Indians so much there were many large herds that needed to be attended. The captives main job were to keep the horses in the area and to keep them from wandering far. Horse herds were so large that sometimes there were multiple herders per herd. A Spanish soldier, named Francisco Xavier Ortiz, who spent time with the Comanche Indians in 1786 reported that there was an estimate of thirty mounts per tent and eight and a half mounts per adult male. Imagine tending to eight to nine horses every day per person. Seventy years later in 1856 an Indian Agent for the U.S. Government, named Whitfield, also observed the Comanche Indians and reported that there were fifty horses per lodge and twenty-five per adult male. Horses in the community multiplied by three in just

In the years following the Revolutionary War the United States would begin to expand, although not popular among all citizens, it helped shape the country into what we know today. The first acquisition of territory would be as a result of the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain ending the Revolutionary War. This treaty marked the boundaries between the British colonies still located in North America and ceded the thirteen American colonies to a newly recognized country known as the United States of America. This would not be the only acquisition of territory that the United States would complete between the years of 1789 and 1815 but it would be the initial acquisition of territory that would develop this newly formed nation.

7) The horse had the greatest impact on the cultures of the Native Americans because they helped to increase the efficiency of hunters, as well as the military capacity of warriors on the plains.

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, takes place during the late 1940s. It is a story about a young man named John Grady Cole, a sixteen year old who is the last of a generation of the West Texas ranchers in his family. John Grady Cole takes a journey across the border to Mexico, after his grandfather's death, to retain his dream of living the cowboy life that he grew up with.As the story unfolds, John Gady Cole encounters a variety of obstacles that determines if his dreams are meant to be or if his fate will overpower his desires. McCarthy incorporates a variety of literary devices, internal conflict, and tone to achieve his theme of romanticism and reality.

People were drawn to the West because it was scene as the last resort to make a living when all else failed in the East. Communication with friends and family who had moved west led these pioneers to believe the journey would be easy and the reward for getting west would be best. And the greatly available land was the strongest pulling factor to people interested in adventuring west. Migration was a personal choice that depended on several key factors, “Age of the head of household; economic status; personal attitudes; and projected costs and benefits of the resettlement.” Most historians agree that the majority of the people who migrated west were middle class and mostly immigrants to the US.

After the Civil War ended many people were in hope of finding land since population was increasing. Since the West was underdeveloped and uncivilized, many decided to expand the land. First the Louisiana Purchase increased the opportunity of expansion.Then industrialization and the Homestead Act also caused many companies encouraged to move West due to the low cost of land and that the transportation was provided through the railroads. In order to complete such goals, something had to be done with the Natives since it conflicted with their home area. Before the 1860’s the native americans were living in peace until the Colonists attacked. The Western Expansion of 1860-90 greatly affected the lives of Native Americans, due to the powerful role

In the mid 18th century settlers moved to the west. Their move brought them more opportunities and a better lifestyle on the frontier. Such as the transcontinental Railroad. The railroad was spread out all over the U.S. in order to build this railroad they had to clear all of the buffalo out of the way of the path, so the white people started to kill the buffalo. Without the buffalo the indians would die.

In what ways did the American West of the late nineteenth century represent a contrast to the East? In what ways did the two regions resemble each other?

The westward expansion of of the U.S. began to happen around the 1800s. during that time the social opportunities increased since many people moved to the west because the government was paying them or giving them free land. The political opportunities did not increased as much since most of the people moving westwards were poor or immigrants and only white males had the right to participate in those events. The economic opportunities increased for the people who moved westward because of the gold rush and the opportu tires that were provided.

During the 1800s Sitting Bull was a great Influence on America. Sitting Bull fought the government and tried to protect his land. Sitting Bull also encouraged his people to live off of the reservations because of the mistreatment that was inflected upon them which changed the way we treat the tribes today. Sitting Bull helped preserve the old ways of life of his people. Sitting Bull was considered a great leader and helped shape the way we treat Indians today.

Overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities. These are three of many reasons why Americans in the 1800’s felt urged to move west. Some may claim that Westward expansion was not right for America to do because of the conflicts that were aroused afterward. America would not be the country

During the Western Expansion farmers, as cattle ranchers or cowboys, drove cattle across the plains. Their cattle ranches were founded throughout the Great Plains from Texas to the Prairie regions. Cowboys were not only whites, but blacks and hispanics. They were an important part of expansion because the need for food increased with the railroad industry growing. A prominent cattle rancher during the Western expansion was Joseph McCoy. He eventually created one of the most enterprising cattle ranching businesses in Texas and Kansas. When cattle ranchers petitioned for the creation of a wide trail running through Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, Congress denied the request.

The Black Hills War, also known as the Great Sioux War of 1876, was a series of battles fought from 1876 through 1877, between the forces of the United States and their allies (Shoshone, Pawnee, and Crow) and the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho). Taking

When I was looking through photo albums trying to find a picture that meant a lot to my family I saw this one and didn’t even have to look at what it was about, of course I knew what it was about. It’s the bullfights something I grew up with something that has always been an option for me to see with my grandparents on a summer weekend. But then I questioned how it started. How did bullfights come from Portugal to Canada? It’s two very different places, and it took a lot of effort and hard work to bring this culture to my family’s new home.

The vast landscape of Arizona allowed these films to create new conflicts that expanded more than a typical train chase or train conflict. Arizona allowed the films to use mountains and the ghost towns to give the audience an authentic feel to these films. Also, we see new heroes being generated as the American Cowboys are idolized. We also see the Native Americans as savages and are always the bad guys in the eyes of the public. The wilderness allowed these Westerns to effectively touch on all of these traits by using the Arizona