Why did Mormons move to the West? Why did many people move to California after 1848? If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. The settlement of present-day West Virginia began in the mid-1700s when Scotch-Irish and German settlers from Pennsylvania came to the area that is now Berkeley and Greenbriar counties. Although the term didn't appear in print until 1845, the concept of Manifest Destiny had been alive and well in the United States since Jefferson's presidency. How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change In-Person Retail Shopping in Lasting Ways, Tips and Tricks for Making Driveway Snow Removal Easier, Here’s How Online Games Like Prodigy Are Revolutionizing Education. and also, because of free land open. Why did more settlers move west after the War of 1812? The Question of Slavery The issue of slavery also played a role in the United States' expansion. Summarize the role of gold in luring people to the American West. they had views that offended some people in the 1800s, and they were driven from their homes in the East ... helped many settlers on their journey west, and established a large Mormon community in the West. With more and more people from Europe moving into the eastern states, crowding was sometimes a problem. Summary -The Mining Frontier -The Farming Frontier -The Manifest Destiny - Technolgical advancements - Migration of the Mormons -Conditions in the East Social Reasons Territorial Reasons - The Indian Removal Act (1830)- In order to escape that, settlers moved west and set up the type of cottage industries to … Native American Lifestyle. Trace the development of the cattle industry. History Early Settlers : Early Settlers: The 1800s. People also headed westward because the East was changing too rapidly for some – industrialization was replacing the traditional handicrafts with which generations had found economic security. Michigan settlers came primarily from New York and New England, concentrating in the southern third of the state. to mine for gold. Cloudflare Ray ID: 6169c96899fa0d3e The first Homestead Act gave up to 160 acres of free land to any adult citizen who had a family, paid a registration fee and agreed to live on the property for five years. Thirty-four years later, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the settlers in new territories the right to decide whether to allow slavery or outlaw it. Why did so many Americans move west during the 19th century? It also prohibited slavery in any land in the new territory that lies north of Missouri's southern border. In the late 1830s and early 1840s, many more Americans started to move to Oregon. The years following the War of 1812 saw a massive migration of white settlers into the Old Northwest, the Old Southwest and the Far West. For some of them, it gave them an opportunity to own their land, especially after Congress started passing the Homestead Acts in 1862. Expansion also gave them new economic possibilities, such as farming and gold mining. Expanded Opportunities People agreed to move west for many different and highly personal reasons. Why Did Americans Move West in the 1800s. Pioneer settlers were sometimes pushed west because they couldn't find good jobs that paid enough. haha i did this unit a little while ago (: settlers moved west because they wanted to see if they could find any gold with the yukon gold rush. This was the era of the famous Oregon Trail. Americans moved to the West in the 1800s because people wanted to own their own land and get a fresh start. The completion of the railroads to the West following the Civil War opened up vast areas of the region to settlement and economic development. To gain access to the western part of the country the white settlers had to pass through the Native Americans. Another group, especially artisans turned west as industrialization in the cities left them without jobs that were still needed in the new territories. Even others, such as the Mormons, moved west to avoid persecution. From 1867 to 1914, the Canadian West opened for mass settlement, and became home to millions of immigrant settlers seeking a new life. Many early settlers to Indiana traveled by floating down the Ohio River. Travelers passing through this country in 1815 encountered people who still had not heard of the War of 1812. The Homestead Act and the Morrill Act were the two important land-grant acts that were passed in the Great Plains during the mid-1800s to help open the West to settlers. In eighteen sixty-two, Congress had passed the Homestead Act. They were paid little for their hard work farming and they fell into debt. While settlers traveled west along the Oregon Trail for a variety of reasons, most were motivated either by land or gold. These people realized that the advancement of their civilization was dependent upon a continuous supply of mobile humans who were willing to pack their belongings and their families, to relocate to another part of the continent, to transplant their culture, and to resume life in a new environment. People moved west for a number of reasons in the nineteenth century, but by far the most prevalent motive was the availability of land. Wild West the only two states west of the Appalachians at the time. The Homestead Act was passed by Congress in 1862 to encourage settlement in the West by giving government-owned land to … Thomas Jefferson, the president in office at the time of Louisiana Purchase believed that expanding the territory of the nation would provide land for citizens to live and work on their small farms. Not only did this provide more room for the growing population to settle, but also it encouraged the idea of acquiring Spanish Florida and later Texas. When you picture the "westward expansion" of settlers in the United States, a covered wagon may be the first thing to come to mind. What Are the Steps of Presidential Impeachment? Reasons for westward expansion A range of push and pull factors led to the settlement of the American West. Supporters used this belief in defense of the decision to claim the Oregon Territory, annex Texas as well as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which Mexico gave up its rights to what is now Arizona, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Heavy settlement began in the 1760s after Indian claims had been settled. This led to an influx of people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, as people moved there just so they could vote on the slavery issue. For example, the American government began investing in infrastructure out west including government-funded national roads and waterways, such as the Cumberland Pike (1818) and the Erie Canal (1825). Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914. by Erica Gagnon, Collections Researcher. Settling the West Pioneers and settlers moved out west for different reasons. What was John C. Calhoun's plan for a long-range program of internal improvements at public expenses? 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