What are 3 facts about westward expansion?

The Louisiana Purchase cost the U.S. $15 million. It included the land west of the Mississippi. The Native Americans were removed from their lands during westward expansion, and were forced onto reserves. The Homestead Act provided free land to many people who wanted to move westward.

What were the events of the westward expansion?

Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in “manifest destiny.”

What happened in 1846 during the westward expansion?

1846-1848: The Mexican-American War – A war fought over the rights to Texas. After the war, the United States paid Mexico $15 million for land that would later become California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other states.

When did the westward expansion end?

1890
In 1893 historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the frontier closed, citing the 1890 census as evidence, and with that, the period of westward expansion ended.

When did settlers move west?

By 1830 the Old Northwest and Old Southwest—areas scarcely populated before the war—were settled with enough people to warrant the admission of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi as states into the Union. During the 1830s and ’40s the flood of pioneers poured unceasingly westward.

When was the west settled?

July 4, 1776Western United States / Date settled

What were four reasons settlers moved west?

Suggested Teaching Instructions

• Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada)
• The opportunity to work in the cattle industry to be a “cowboy”
• Faster travel to the West by railroad availability of supplies due to the railroad.
• The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.

How many people died during the Western expansion?

Up to 50,000 people, or one-tenth of the emigrants who attempted the crossing continent, died during the trip, most from infectious disease such as cholera, spread by poor sanitation: with thousands traveling along or near the same watercourses each summer, downstream travelers were susceptible to ingesting upstream …

How long did it take settlers to travel west?

The covered wagon made 8 to 20 miles per day depending upon weather, roadway conditions and the health of the travelers. It could take up to six months or longer to reach their destination.

Who first settled the West?

Why – and how – did the first settlers move westwards? The first white Americans to move west were the mountain men, who went to the Rockies to hunt beaver, bear and elk in the 1820s and 1830s. Then, in 1841, a wagon train pioneered the 3,200km-long Oregon Trail to the woodland areas of the north-west coast of America.

What were the 3 main trails?

Siskiyou Trail – Ran from Oregon to California. Used during the California Gold Rush. The Southern Emigrant Trail – From Cooke’s Spring to Los Angeles, California. Used heavily by immigrants from the eastern United States to California and during the California Gold Rush.

What challenges did settlers face in the west?

Once they embarked, settlers faced numerous challenges: oxen dying of thirst, overloaded wagons, and dysentery, among others. Trails were poorly marked and hard to follow, and travelers often lost their way. Guidebooks attempted to advise travelers, but they were often unreliable.

How long did it take for settlers to move west?

To some, Oregon was even more attractive a destination than California and New Mexico, and the 1840s saw rapid settlement there as well. Settlers of the Far West faced a four-month journey across little-known territory in harsh conditions. They prepared for the rigors of travel in jump- off towns like St.