Essay Sample about Westward Expansion

Westward expansion was a nineteenth century movement of settlers into the West. They had migrated after the United States federal government acquired over 1.6 million square kilometers of land west of the Mississippi River. People wanted to migrate west because they saw many economic opportunities. European settlers also believed in Manifest Destiny, which was their justification for expanding west into Indian territories. They believed it was the right of white men to claim this land as theirs, even if it was already inhabited. Their goal was to spread Chrsitinay and develop the land. However, the great migration into the American west affected various groups of people. Westward expansion effected Native Americans, as their resources and culture was taken from them, women were given a source of income and had more domestic responsibilities, and finally Immigrants faced racial discrimination and benefitted from the Ameircan economy. 

Native Americans were greatly affected by Westward expansion because a large amount of their resources and culture was taken from them. To start with, white men had come to the Native Americans land and stole their cattle and horses. According to Document 1, it states , “They stole a great many horses from us...They drove off a great many of our cattle…” This document comes from a biography of a great Indian and it discusses the experiences they had as Westward expansion started. Native Americans thrived off cattle and horses. They used cattle in multiple aspects of their lives, such as food, clothing, tents, and many more. Furthermore, they used horses as their main source of transportation. Without these crucial resources, the Native Americans were at a disadvantage and it made it difficult for them to survive. They could not even revolt because the white men were strong and it would have led to bloodshed. Moreover, Westward expansion caused the Native Americans culture to be stripped away from them. In document 3, it states, “ Lakota boys are pictured when they arrived at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, left, and three years latter, right.” The document includes two pictures, one before the boys received an American education and one three years after they had been enrolled in an industrial school. The before picture gives a clear message that they are from Lakota Indian tribes as they have their cultural clothing and longer hair. However, the after picture shows a complete transformation. The people in the image now have short hair, meaning they were forced to cut their long hair off. They also are dressed in very formal suit-like school clothes. The change in their appearance alone shows the extent to how Westward expansion affects Native Americans. They assimilated into American culture and the way of life. All in all, westward expansion affected Native Americans as their resources and culture were forcefully taken from them. 

In addition, westward expansion also affected women as they were given the opportunity to have a stable source of income and more domestic responsibilities. According to document 5, it states, “We can point you to young women in Dakota who carry on quite a stroke of farming now, who came here penniless a few years ago. One woman has now three hundred and twenty acres of land, paid for from her wages as a servant girl…” Through The homestead act in 1862, women had the right to claim their own land.This westward expansion motivated women to migrate west and start a new life. Having land could allow them to farm and raise cattle, crops, and other livestock. This, in turn, gave them a stable source of income. They could now provide for themselves and be more independent. 

Likewise, women took on a more active role in the household. In document 4, it states, “She fed her men and raised her children, cooked their food and laid it by for winter. She was at once a butcher, packer, and baker.” Women had an extreme amount of domestic responses and led a busy life because of this. They were constantly working in the house, or taking care of their children. With everyone migrating west, there was an increase in the population, more houses, and more people to care for. 

Thus, westward expansion effected immigrants as they faced racial discrimination and benefitted from the Ameircan economy. According to document 9, it states, “...unemployment and threats to the  Traditionally high level of western wages made white workers angrily sensitive to the dangers of the Chinese competition.” This Can be interpreted to mean that people were opposed to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco Simply because they were not white, and as a result, they were discriminated against. They were also hard workers and whites that we’re working in the same field as them saw them as competition. This also drove wages down and white workers made more money than Chinese immigrants. This negatively affected them because they were doing the same work however, they do not make the same amount of money only because they were not white and they were immigrants. Furthermore, After westward expansion, immigrants benefited from the American economy. In document seven, it states, “ according to one 1871 account, Chinese miners took out $500,000 in gold from the Tuscarora region in Nevada.” In the California gold rush many immigrants came from China to Find gold and gain wealth through the gold rush. The document states an example of just how profitable the gold rush was for Chinese miners. According to document 8B, it states, “... The Chinese were participating in the development of California’s agriculture, which was turning from wheat to fruit acreage… Lue Gim Gong in Florida developed the frost-resistant orange that bore his name and that gave the state it’s citrus industry.” This shows how Chinese immigrants monompsooxed American agriculture and made profit off of it. They were very influential to the agricultural industry as they had Beneficial knowledge on how to plant and harvest crops. Hence, Westward expansion gave immigrants many opportunities while also creating social barriers as Chinese immigrants were discriminated against. 

Westward expansion effected Native Americans, as their resources and culture was taken from them, women were given a source of income and had more domestic responsibilities, and finally Immigrants faced racial discrimination and benefitted from the Ameircan economy. To sum it up, the great migration to the west presented a myriad of opportunities which came with positive and negative effects for different groups of people. These social, political, and economic effects changed history and revolutionized the American west.