The Westward Movement

The Frontier• The frontier is an imaginary line dividing

civilization from the wilderness

• The United States Census Bureau defined the frontier as that area having less than 6, but more than 2 people pr square mile

• The Census of 1890 determined that the frontier was sufficiently enough populated, and was officially declared closed.

Gateways to the West

The United States in 1783 and 1803The Louisiana Purchase, 1803

• The Louisiana Purchase formed all or parts of the fifteen states (South to North):

• Louisiana• Arkansas• Oklahoma• Texas• New Mexico• Missouri• Kansas• Colorado• Iowa• Nebraska• Wyoming• Minnesota• South Dakota• North Dakota• Montana

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803 – 1805)

Meriwether Lewis (1774 – 1809) William Clark (1770 – 1838)

Sacagewea (1787/88 – 1812) of the Shoshone Nation

Route of the Corps of Discovery (1803 -1805)

Zebulon M. Pike (1779 – 1813)

The Pike Expedition (1806 – 1807)

Significance of theLouisiana Purchase

• The size of the United States was doubled

• The territory was a source of wealth and natural resources

• The United States now controlled the entire Mississippi River

• The French threat in North America was removed

• The precedent was established for future purchases of territory

• It moved the Democratic-Republicans toward a loose interpretation of the Constitution

Population Shifts

The National PikeAmerica’s First Interstate

“Highway”

The Erie Canal (1825)

• The canal provided an all-water route from New York to the Great Lakes

• Freight rates between New York and Buffalo dropped from $100 / ton to $25 / ton

• Travel time from New York to Michigan was reduced from approximately two months to approximately two weeks

• The canal aided in the migration of people to Michigan

Michigan’ Population Growth1820 - 1860

Manifest Destiny

The Era of Manifest Destiny

• The Mormons in Utah

• The Mexican War, 1846 – 1848

• California Gold Rush

Joseph Smith (1805 – 1844) Brigham Young (1801 – 1877)

Mexican War, 1846 - 1848

The Gold Rush

Cattle Drives 1865 - 1885

Reasons for Success

• Supression of the Indians

• Elimination of the Buffalo

• Lax land laws

• The coming of the Railroads

Threats

• Rustlers

• Indians

• Farmers

Cowboys: The Kings of the Trail

Nat Love (1854 – 1921)

“Stampede by Lightning” Frederic Remington

The Decline of the Cattle Industry

• The industry was becoming too violent

• Too many people were getting into the industry causing a decrease in profits

• In the mid-1880s the Great plains were hit by two severe winters followed by two severe droughts

The Railroads• The first transcontinental railroad was completed in

1869; it ran from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California; by 1890 there were five transcontinental railroads

• Entire nation now linked by rail

• It was easier to transport people and products across the country

• However, it signaled the end of the Indian way of life and helped to bring about an end to the cattle drives

• Economic significance: By integrating the total production effort, the U. S. was now a single trade area

The Transcontinental RailroadCompleted in 1869

The Age of Imperialism

Major Territorial Acquisitions, 1850 - 1900

• 1867: Alaska (Statehood in 1959)

• 1867: Midway Island

• 1893: Hawaii –Annexed in 1898 (Statehood in 1960)

Johnson, Seward and Alaska

Andrew Johnson (1801 – 1875)

17th President of the United States (1865 – 1869)

William H. Seward (1801 – 1872)

Secretary of State (1861 – 1869)

Hawaii

Pearl Harbor

Queen Lydia Liliuokalani (1838 – 1917)

The last monarch of Hawaii (1891 – 1894)

Cleveland and McKinley

• President Cleveland (Democrat) opposed annexation of Hawaii; he believed that most Hawaiians preferred independence

• President McKinley (Republican) favored annexation and in 1898 annexation was achieved by a joint resolution of Congress

• Hawaii served merchant ships as a supply and refueling station

• Attracted American missionaries who converted the natives to Christianity

• Attracted American investment in the sugar plantations. Almost all of the sugar grown in Hawaii was sold in the United States

• Pearl Harbor was acquired as a naval base

The Buffalo Soldiers

Theodore Roosevelt, ambiguously enlightened

1. “There is not any more puzzling problem in this county than the problem of color.”

2.“The only wise and honorable Christian thing to do is to treat each black man and each white man strictly on his merits as a man.”

Fort Brown, Brownsville Texas

1st Battalion, 25th Infantry Regiment

On November 5th, 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt dismissed, without honor, 167 members of the 1st Battalion.

[they] “were bloody butchers that should be hanged.”

6 of the 167 had won the Medal of Honor.

The Brownsville Incident, 1906