Westward Expansion

VA SOL - USI.8

Study Guide and Resources

What new territories became part of the United States between 1801 and 1861?

Between 1801 and 1861, exploration was encouraged as America underwent vast territorial expansion and settlement.

New territories added to the United States after 1801

Louisiana Purchase

·  Jefferson bought land from France (the Louisiana Purchase), which doubled the size of the United States.

·  In the Lewis and Clark expedition, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the Louisiana Purchase from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.  
    (take a look at the Lewis and Clark Expedition Gallery)

Florida

·  Spain gave Florida to the United States through a treaty.

Texas

·  Texas was added after it became an independent republic.  

Oregon

·  The Oregon Territory was divided by the United States and Great Britain.

California

·  War with Mexico resulted in California and the southwest territory becoming part of the United States.

What factors influenced westward migration?

Westward migration was influenced by geography and economic opportunity.

Geographic and economic factors that influenced westward movement

·  Population growth in the eastern states

·  Availability of cheap, fertile land

·  Economic opportunity, e.g., gold (California Gold Rush), logging, farming, freedom (for runaway slaves)

·  Cheaper and faster transportation, e.g., rivers and canals (Erie Canal), steamboats

·  Knowledge of overland trails (Oregon and Santa Fe)

·  Belief in the right of “Manifest Destiny”—
   The idea that expansion was for the good of the country and was the right of the country

How did the inventions affect the lives of Americans?

Prior to the Civil War, most industrialization in America was in the North; however, the equipment produced in the North had an impact on the farming society in the South.

New technologies

·  Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. It increased the production of cotton and thus increased the need for slave labor to cultivate and pick the cotton.

·  Jo Anderson (a slave) and Cyrus McCormick worked to invent the reaper. The reaper increased the productivity of the American farmer.

·  Robert Fulton improved the steamboat. It provided faster river transportation that connected Southern plantations and farms to Northern industries.

·  The steam locomotive provided faster land transportation.

What were the main ideas expressed by the abolitionists?

The abolitionists worked to end slavery.

Abolitionist movement

·  Most abolitionists demanded immediate freeing of the slaves.

·  Abolitionists believed that slavery was wrong.

–  Morally wrong

–  Cruel and inhumane

–  A violation of the principles of democracy

·  Abolitionist leaders included both men and women.

–  Harriet Tubman

–  William Lloyd Garrison

–  Frederick Douglass

What were the main ideas expressed during the suffrage movement?

The suffrage movement helped women gain equal rights.

Suffrage movement

·  Supporters declared that “All men and women are created equal.”

·  Supporters believed that women were deprived of basic rights.

–  Denied the right to vote

–  Denied educational opportunities,
    especially higher education

–  Denied equal opportunities in business

 –  Limited in rights to own property

·  The movement was led by strong women who began their campaign before the Civil War and continued after the war had ended.

–  Isabel Sojourner Truth

–  Susan B. Anthony

–  Elizabeth Cady Stanton