Chapter 9 Section 1 – pg 318 The West

Pg 318 What Was “The West”? As the nation grew, American’s idea of “the west” changed Early Americans thought the area between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River as the western frontier Frontier: the land that forms the farthest extent of a nation’s settled regions By the 1820s, Americans began to look beyond this

Pg 318 The Great Plains The Great Plains lie between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mtns No one settled here because the land was covered in a grass with a deep root system Clearing it would require hard manual labor By the early 1800s, the Great Plains were see as just a route to the Far West

Pg 319 The Northwest Settlers were attracted to the fertile land of the Northwest, beyond the Rocky Mtns to the Pacific Ocean Today’s Washington, Oregon and most of British Columbia (Canada) In the early 1800s, the US, Great Britain, Russia, and Spain had claimed this as theirs

Pg 319 The Southwest Mexican settlements in the Southwest were another major destination for settlers heading west Known as the Spanish Borderlands Part of New Spain Had been claimed for Spain in the 1500s Includes present day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and part of Colorado

Mexican Settlements Pg 320 Like England and France, Spain followed a policy of mercantilism towards its colonies Illegal for settlers to trade with other countries Raw materials were sent to Spain Manufactured goods were shipped to the Spanish colonies for sale The children of the Spanish settlers (peninsulares) were called creoles Spanish settlers, Native Americans, and Africans intermarried Children were called mestizos

Native Americans Spanish missionaries in California were determined Pg 320 Spanish missionaries in California were determined to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism Many Indians in the borderlands were forced to live and work at missions Herded sheep and cattle and raised crops Learned about the Catholic religion Thousands died of overwork and disease

Spanish settlers and Native Americans exchanged language, food, and customs Spanish brought their language, religion, and laws into the region The NAs introduced the settlers to foods: beans, squash, and potatoes Spanish settlers adopted NA clothing, such as ponchos and moccasins SW architecture reflected the blending of the cultures General style of buildings were European NA builders brought in their skills and cultural traditions Churches and other buildings were made from adobe (sun-dried brick) Pg 320

Mexico Wins Independence Pg 320 Mexico Wins Independence In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain Mexico allowed its people to trade with other countries including the US

Pg 320 Under Spanish rule, land grants (gov’t gifts of land) had been given to a few Mexico made many grants to individual rancheros (owners of ranches) Also removed missions from church control and distributed the land to rancheros and American settlers The land had belonged to the NAs, so this made them angry Responded by raiding ranches, but were soon crushed By the 1850, the NA population had dramatically reduced

Pg 321 Manifest Destiny From the beginning Americans had been interested in westward expansion (extending the nation beyond its existing borders Thomas Jefferson believed that the nation had to expand to make room for higher population Manifest Destiny became a popular phrase to describe the belief that the US was destined (meant) to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific “from sea to shining sea”