Why did people travel west?

Mark Twain — 'During the gold rush its a good time to be in the pick and shovel business' What do you think Twain meant by this? Explain in your own words.

Gold is discovered! John Sutter was a Swiss emigrant who had come to California in 1839 with the idea of building a vast empire. At the end of 1847, Sutter began to build a new sawmill near the river. The sawmill was nearly complete when, on January 24th 1848, someone spotted something shining in the river. All in all, over 300,000 people would travel to California.

Positives Negatives Some miners found gold and became very rich – e.g. William Russell Davis who found a 16kg piece of gold in 1865. Some business took advantage of the rush – e.g. Sam Brannan who bought up supplies and sold them on for a profit. The price of supplies like sugar, water and alcohol, were very expensive. The journey was extremely long due to traffic. Diseases like cholera were common because of poor sanitation. Hygiene was bad because men did not wash regularly. Many wasted their money on alcohol and gambling. Some men were very lonely and missed their families. Many made little to no profit from gold.

California grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. Roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. Economic boom in California helped finance the Transcontintental Railroad. In 1849 a state constitution was written, a governor and legislature chosen and California became a state in 1850. What was the impact? Agriculture and ranching expanded throughout the state to meet the needs of the settlers. Native Americans were attacked and pushed off their lands and the mining has caused environmental harm. An estimated 100,000 California Indians died between 1848 and 1868 as a result of American immigration.

Learning Task All Targets Create a spider-diagram to show the various reasons why travelled west. For each, colour code – push factors and pull factors Targets 9,8 Read the primary sources your teacher will give you. For each identify what consequence “manifest destiny” would have on the Native Americans. Targets 7,6,5 Which factor do you think was most important in causing people to travel west – economic crisis of 1837 or the discovery of gold? Targets 4, 3, 2 What are they key differences between a push and pull factor? Give examples to illustrate your point.

What caused “Westward Expansion”? Poor Economic Conditions 1837, economic crisis in East and South. Banks collapsed, people lost their savings. Businesses failed and thousands became unemployed. Unemployment was at 25% in many areas, wages were cut by 40%. People headed west for better wages and employment. Some feared religious persecution The Mormons were a religious group that were shunned by other Christians because of their beliefs (e.g. polygamy). They were met with violence and forced to leave the East. E.g. in 1845, their leader Joseph Smith was murdered. They headed to Salt Lake Valley, Utah for safety. Trails made it easier to travel The Oregon Trail started at Missouri and travelled West, through the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to Oregon. It allowed wagons to travel across the difficult terrain. Between 1836 and 1869, over 400,000 people had used it. It could cope with large groups of people at one time e.g. 1843 a part of 900 people used it. Prospect of free land Traders and fur-trappers had brought back stories of rich, fertile land west of the Rocky Mountains. Many saw this as a perfect opportunity for a fresh start. The U.S. government encourage people US government wanted Americans to settle in Oregon, rather than Brits. In 1841, the US government provided $30,000 to allow the Oregon Trail to be mapped for travellers. This encouraged people to use it, as it seemed less dangerous. What caused “Westward Expansion”? The thought of getting rich from the “gold rush” In 1849 – 100,000 men travelled to California in the hope of becoming rich. They came from all over the world across the Oregon Trail. By 1855, California’s population was over 300,000. Others went to profit off the gold rush by selling equipment to prospectors, or provide services such as alcohol and prostitution. Many believed it to be their “manifest destiny” Whites believed God had put them on Earth to expand from sea to shining sea. They had to bring civilisation and modernity to the west – including the Native Americans.