 First coined by newspaper editor, John O’Sullivan in  ".... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federal development of self-government entrusted to us. It is right such as that of the tree to the space of air and the earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and destiny of growth."  A myth of the West as a land of romance and adventure emerged.

 Set in the frontier (line between areas of settlement and those areas dominated by nature and native Americans)  US Frontier consisted of Great Plains, mountains, deserts and basins of the far west

 Miners are attracted to the far west by discovery of precious metals  California Gold Rush of 1849  Klondike Gold Rush—Gold found in Yukon, near Alaska in 1896

 Made travel to the West Coast easier  Helped to close the final frontier and open the region to settlement

 Made federal land available to settlers  Used mostly by Farmers  Farmers had to overcome lack of rain by: -digging water wells -making sod houses -barbed wire -steel plows

 drove cattle on long “drives” across the open range to rail lines

 US wanted to defeat the Indians to close the final frontier and open the region to settlement  Factors that eroded Native American control of the West -Forced removal (Trail of Tears) -Flood of settlers -Warfare -Destruction of Natural Environment

 Federal troops defeated Sioux and other tribes on the Great Plains and Southwest, forcing them onto reservations  Policy of US govt was to move native Americans to western reservations

 Sought to help “Americanize” Native Americans, had the opposite effect -threatened tribal ways -hunters, not farmers -infertile lands -reservation life  Abolished Native American tribes, and allotted tribal lands to individual Indians who often sold them

 Granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US

 American industrialization proceeded at a rapid pace in the decades after the Civil War

 Contribution of Government  Protection of property and contracts  Passing of protective tariffs  System of patents fostered new inventions

 Encourages entrepreneurs to develop new industries and expand them  Individuals are free to produce and sell whatever they wish  People go into business to make a profit

 Prices are set by supply and demand  Inefficient companies that are unable to compete go out of business

 Growth of Population, rise of corporate form of business and skills of entrepreneurs allowed US economy to grow  Development of the corporation as a business organization  No longer just individuals but shareholders with “stocks”

 Development of the Transcontinental Railroad and other new railroad lines: - improved travel to the west - Created a demand for steel - Tied the country together - Created a national market from coast to coast

 Bessemer Process in steel production  Electricity gave birth to new industries and inventions: -Sewing machine -Typewriter -Telegraph -Telephone  Oil industry replaced whale industry  All contributed to America’s economic growth