After the Civil War, the United States began to expand Westward. Much of this expansion was due to the transportation revolution. Railroads were spreading; roads, canals, and steamboats were improving. Allowing for more ways to travel West. As the country entered the Industrial Revolution, not only were people migrating within the country but immigrants began to emigrate to America. Immigrants soon became the workforce of many factory owners as their labor save money for companies.
The railroads allowed for settlement in the West to occur rapidly after the Civil War. Before the railroads, Americans who wished to travel to Oregon and California had to endure a 6 to 8-month trip in ox-drawn wagons. These very long and difficult trips made areas in the West unreachable. In 1870, the invention of the railroad made these trip attainable and the West accessible. Since the West was now more easily accessible, Americans were able to use the newly attained land to farm and transport goods back to the East. As a result, innovation and advances in farm equipment occurred, which boosted production. Therefore, the railroads changed how goods were transferred and made them more accessible to everyone. Without the railroads, development and settling of the West would not have been possible.
Although the railroads achieved in
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They used pull factors, such as good wages and the broad range of jobs to lure them in. Apart from the pull factors, immigrants were driven to the United States due to problems in their homelands. Many of these immigrants came from places that faced problems, such as, overpopulation, violence, religious persecution, crop failure, famine, or industrial depression. The influx of immigrants consisted mainly of young, single men who were trying to earn enough money with the hopes of someday returning home. Others decided to stay in the United States and save money to have their family shipped
During the mid-1800’s western expansion was influenced by economic growth. The attitudes that they needed more land in order to grow as a nation economically lead to more western expansion. So promises of land to homesteaders influenced Americans to travel west for economic gains.
Specifically, between 1869 and 1890, it enabled the westward expansion that allowed the creation of more settlements in the Midwestern plains all through to the West Coast. The rail route also served a significant role in designating administrative posts and even urban settlements that later evolved into the major cities. It is a fair statement to conclude, the majority of the factors that make America what it is today including technology, democracy, and culture to include immigration, can all be traced to the westward expansion of the railroad
It allowed for the transportation of larger quantities of goods over longer distance. Without the railroad the economy of the West would have had a very hard time expanding. Because of those things you can say that the railroad allowed the West
The opportunity that many of them held was working for others that started the land to include the Railroad. First thing the government’s plan for settlement was building the Transcontinental Railroad employment there was plentiful the railroad provided a way to bring settlers and manufactured goods from the east to the west and by ship their goods to include agricultural, mining . So for many immigrants that where living there the Railroad was an essential
In 1800, more than two-thirds of the American people lived on the east coast and had no contact with anyone in the West. However, the development of transportation routes over land led to a huge population boom in the West. By 1845, more than half of the United States population were living in the West (washingtonpost.com). The introduction of railroads essentially solved all the transportation problems that the United States had by connecting the east coast to the west
Most of the pioneers who settled the west became cash croppers. The South wanted to expand slavery into the North during the westward expansion but the North did not want slavery to be legal. The Gold Rush brought even more people to the west.
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
With the implementation of railroads, traveling westward also became easier, which attracted a lot of people. Without the Civil War, the progression of westward expansion would have been abundantly
In conclusion, the westward expansion was one of the most important times in American history but one of the hardest for those who made the journey. The settlers had to go through a lot of hardships to get a new life in the west. The Gold Rush helped bring people to the west and populate California so it became a state. People such as Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark helped explore the new terrain and make maps so people could live there. Even though the pioneers got diseases, had conflicts with the Native Americans, and had to travel for long periods of time in a ship or covered wagon, they never gave up hope.
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.
The rapid industrialization of the United States brought many changes to its people. New technologies, inventions, and the railroad brought better fuels, stronger steels, changed the way people lit their homes, and even changed the way people did their shopping. The integrated railroad was especially exciting, because it would allow people to move from the west coast to the east coast as they pleased. Economic development was also on the rise, especially in the west. Americans were excited to discover and tame the “wild west”, eager to claim a piece of land that they could call their own.
Along with this, the growth of the West positively impacted all parts of the United States. Through the Transcontinental Railroad, the West was able to spread the numbers of the East to even the US out and allowed the resources to spread easily. The expansion and growth of the Transcontinental Railroad were great for the entirety of the United States because it allowed resources to travel quickly, economic expansion, and discovery of a new land of resources. One benefit of the railroads was the speed of transportation. Whether that be
That is just one of many reasons there was Westward Expansion. 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.
The lack of convenience transportation creating the opportunity for people to build a railroad. The railroad arrived at 1880s and it is marked as one of the key turning points in the Pacific Northwest. With the introduction of railroads in the area, it increased the economics of the Pacific Northwest by using the railroads as a transportation that’s makes them able to travel faster. The railroads exported the Northwest and also imported the East to the Northwest. Conquering distance, railroads is able to disseminate the modernizing ways of the 19th century.
Along with sending goods farther, the new ways of transportation also helped in the transportation of the large amount of immigrants newly arriving in America. Due to an increase in immigrants, the coast was overflowing with people. Thanks to the railroads, canals, and bridges these immigrants can