American Exploration and Settlement of the West,
Questions for Today… How do we define “the West?” Why did American settlers push westward? How did this settlement process affect native peoples?
What is “The West?”
Main Reasons for Emigrating West Manifest Destiny
Definition of Manifest Destiny It is “the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions…[and] for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative self-government entrusted to us.” John O’Sullivan, 1845
Main Reasons for Emigrating West Manifest Destiny Hunger for Land
Oregon Territory
James K. Polk 11 th President of the United States
Oregon Territory
The Oregon Trail
Independence, Missouri
The Oregon Trail
Main Reasons for Emigrating West Manifest Destiny Hunger for Land Gold!
California and Oregon Trails
Gold Rush Miners
Gold Madness “The whole country from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and from the seashore to the base of the Sierra Nevada, resounds to the sordid cry gold ! Gold! GOLD ! While the field is left half planted, the house half built, and everything neglected but the manufacture of shovels and pickaxes.” San Francisco Californian
Main Reasons for Emigrating West Manifest Destiny Hunger for Land Gold! The Expansion of Slavery
Status of Slavery in 1800
Cotton Plantation
Ft. Laramie in the 1840s
Summary 1.There were different motivations for westward migration, and to some extent these varied depending on the region 2.Turner’s thesis can partially explain American expansion, but from the white American perspective only 3.This expansion would led to direct conflict between native peoples and white Americans