Introduction to US History/Westward Expansion/Settling the West (1880s)

The actual settling of the West (moving to the Great Plains), many people saw the Great Plains as a "Treeless Wasteland", but soon, due to the improvement of technology, the West was a new land of opportunities.

Why did people want to move to the Great Plains?

Land Ownership (Homestead Act gave anyone who settled in the Great Plains, 160 acres of land for free)
Transportation advances, including the Transcontinental Railroad
Adventure, the desire for Adventure
For new beginnings (African Americans)
To obtain wealth by discovering gold, silver, or both.

Physical Features of the Great Plains

Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west
Land eroded by wind and water
Low rainfall
Frequent dust storms

What were the technology that made the West a good place to settle?

During the 19th century, people's perceptions of and use of the Great Plains changed. Technology advances allowed people to live in more challenging environments. Because of new technologies people saw the Great Plains not as a "treeless wasteland" but as a vast area to be settled.

Barbwire - Allowed westerners to fence off large areas of land at a low cost. First wire technology capable of restraining cattle.
Sod House - Since there wasn't a lot of wood or stone in the Great Plains. They made sod houses, out of the dirt.
Steel Plow - Ground too tough for regular plows. Able to break through the tough sod so that farmers could plant crops.
Trains/Railroads - Transport raw materials to eastern factories and finished goods to national markets.
Cows - Raised in the west. Needed very little water and could survive harsh weather. Transported to the east by the railroads.

Trails to the West

Challenges

Diseases
Deep water (rivers)
Supply shortages

The Mormons (missionaries and families) will use the Oregon Trail while the merchants/traders will use the Santa Fe Trail---to trade for items like copper, silver, gold, etc. It was a dangerous, violent trail as robberies would take place.

William Henry Harrison, a Whig politician, dies after only a month in the presidency. John Tyler took over his position---a Democrat who ran for the Whig party (he's hated by both parties). He promoted rights for the states and used the veto on the bill to re-charter the BUS. Tyler's legacy is that he sets the VP presidency by setting the standard that the VP, when taking over the presidency, is the president until the next election.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842) [border between Minnesota and Canada] - Tyler stays low until the Civil War. He takes stands with the Confederate army.

In the Election of 1844, unexpected (dark-horse) candidate James Polk runs for the Democrats. New Whig candidate, Henry Clay, runs up against him.

James Polk hopes to accomplish 4 things in his 1 term:

Takes over Oregon.
Take over the American Southwest (Texas).
Lower the tariffs.
Evaluate the US economic system (wreck ever since the Bank War).

Oregon

1818

Joint-access with Oregon which was shared between the British and the Americans (majority). Slogan is "55 40 (border) or Fight".

Compromise of Oregon

We get today's "Northern Border".
w:Oregon Treaty
Refuses to fight as he does not want to fight the British for the 3rd time and doesn't want to fight two countries (Mexico).

Texas

Annexing Texas. It's controversial as it would increase tensions about slavery as Texas was full of slaves. Texas is incorporated into the US in 1845, which ignites the Mexicans' anger.
Polk sends John Slidell to Mexico in 1845 as a result of Mexico's border dispute (Mexico claimed that the border was farther north than the Rio Grande River. Polk was sent to convince the Mexicans to sell California and New Mexico to the US and get Mexico to recognize Texas's boundary as the Rio Grande.
The Mexican leader, Jose Herrera, refused to talk to John Slidell.
Polk sends troops over the Nueces River, which is seen as an invasion of Mexico. Northerners are not big fans of the annexation of slave-territory (Texas).
Wilmot Proviso - David Wilmot proposes a bill that was denied but stood for the outlawing of slavery in all territory of Mexico.