Westward Expansion
Westward Migration
The years following Reconstruction led to a migration of settlers entering the area of the United States between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. It would take Americans 30 years to settle 400 million acres of territory. To increase westward expansion, the government created the Homestead Act of 1862 and funded the transcontinental railroad. In this interactivity, learn about the two ways the government supported the settlement of the West. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
The Transcontinental Railroad
The Transcontinental Railroad, 1893
At the start of the Civil War an estimated 30,000 miles of railroad lines had been laid. On May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. This was one continuous railroad line from west of the Mississippi River to the San Francisco Bay. This line connected with the railroad lines already existing on the East Coast. People could now travel coast to coast on the railroad. The transcontinental railroad revolutionized the settlement and economy of the West by bringing the western states and territories into the Union. The transportation of goods and people to the West was quicker, cheaper, and more flexible.
The transcontinental railroad was not easy to build. When the railroad began construction in 1863, the United States was involved in the Civil War. This limited the amount of workers that could possibly help construct the 1,900 mile railroad. In order to fill the missing labor force, laborers from China were imported. Chinese laborers worked for small wages and long hours. When the railroad was finished, the Chinese were not given the same rights as other American Citizens. Watch Transcontinental Railroad Recruits Chinese Laborers from eMediaVASM to learn how the Central Pacific Railroad utilized Chinese men to construct difficult parts of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Cowboys and Cattle
As soon as the railroad reached the western plains, cattle ranchers were able to easily transport livestock to the East. The ranchers utilized the railroad and became a big business. Cattle ranches still exist today, but they have changed a lot since their beginnings in America. In this interactivity, learn how cattle and cowboys helped shape the frontier lands as Americans migrated westward. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity
New Technology
The advancement of new technologies forever changed the newly settled lands. What were once open plains and forests soon became regions of farms, ranches, and towns. One of the biggest advances in technology was the railroad. The railroad moved people, products, and resources across the country quickly and efficiently. What other inventions spurred expansion and growth in America? In this interactivity, learn about some important inventions that changed American life during the turn of the Nineteenth Century. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
What if you did not have a telephone?
Today, telephone usage runs rampant throughout society. However, what do you imagine telephones were like when they were first invented? Unlike how you can carry a cell phone in your pocket to talk to anyone around the world at any time, the first telephones had to be purchased in pairs, and could only be used to talk between two devices. While the history of who created the first electric telephone is murky, what is know is that Alexander Graham Bell got the first U.S. patent for the technology in 1876. Phones were not widespread until the early 1900s, but they did help increase the efficiency of the market by accelerating communication.
American Indian Wars
As American settlers continued to move westward, American Indians were greatly affected by the new presence of people, which in many cases led to clashes between the two groups. These clashes were a part of the American Indian Wars. Since the colony at Jamestown, settlers clashed with the American Indians. Now, the conflicts occurred west of the Mississippi River. Eventually, the government forcibly removed the Indians from their traditional hunting lands into reservations. In this interactivity, learn about the forceful removal of American Indians. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
New States
Map of the United States after the Civil War and around 1900
New states were admitted to the country as the population moved westward, both in the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. By the early twentieth century, all the states that make up the continental United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific had been admitted. Between 1867 and 1912, twelve new states entered the United States and the borders of the current contiguous states were set. As new states were added to the Union and Americans continuously moved westward, the settlement of the West changed the ways of life of the American Indians. Settlers began taking over American Indians’ hunting lands, threatened their way of life, and forced them to relocate to new territory. Above is a map of the United States at the close of the Civil War. Hover your cursor over the map above to view how the United States changed by the turn of the twentieth century. The final territories Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona were admitted in 1907 and 1912 respectively.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Urbanization
The industrial growth of the United States created a period of rapid immigration. Immigrants moved into urban areas where factory jobs were easy to attain. The urban areas, located in the Midwest and Northeast, became some of the major cities you know today. The cities of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York all experienced an influx of immigrants. In this interactivity, learn about the urbanization that occurred as America expanded. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Problems with Urbanization
The rapid growth of cities came with a list of problems. Workers and their families often had to live in unpleasant conditions in crowded city slums. Immigrant families often had issues with housing, clean water, sanitation, crime, and fire. In this interactivity, learn about the conditions that immigrant families experienced in city life due to industrial growth. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Westward Expansion Review
Now that you have explored the westward expansion, complete this activity to check your knowledge. Click the player button to get started.