After the civil war many Americans were eager to move west to claim cheap land and to start a new life. However westward expansion destroyed many Native Americans and their way of life. There are many reasons why the settlers moved west. Once gold was discovered many people rushed westward in hopes of becoming rich.
Another reason people moved west was because it had very fertile land. An act of Congress, the Homestead Act gave settlers 640 acres of land. (Document 2) In 1866 15, 000, 000 acres of land was opened for settlement. Another reason people moved west was the land was said to have the finest timber. They used the timber for houses, wagons, furniture and fuel. (Document 6) Many immigrants were crowded into the cities of the North and saw the West as an opportunity to own their own land in America.
The westward move made an impact on the lives of Native Americans. One way it impacted then was the white men were killing the buffalo for pleasure. The Native Americans didn’t like that because the buffalo were their way of getting food, clothing and shelter. They used every part of the animal. The Native Americans needed the buffalo to live and survive. (Document 5) Another affect the move west had on the Native Americans was that they were moved to Reservations.
The United States government broke treaties and took away most of the Native Americans land. The Native Americans resisted by fighting and trying to run away to Canada. Chief Joseph didn’t want to right anymore because his people were dying of starvation, and were freezing to death in the hills. (Document 7) In the second half of the 19 th century many Americans moved west. The Americans moved west for many reasons such as it had fertile land and fine timber. But the move west also interfered with the lives of the Native Americans….
The Essay on What Motivated Americans to Move West
Different Americans were motivated by different reasons to move west. Ranchers would move to more land in the west to raise cattle, particularly Texas and Kansas. These cattle ... trains. Also, railroad moved more settlers out to the east, creating more conflict with the Natives. Farmers took all the land in the ...
