Why did people move west?
History Homework: Laura Jane Kerry.
Throughout the nineteenth century, thousands fled from the East to the West of
America, motivated for different reasons. The West became the place you could
find your fortune, escape persecution and gain freedom.
In
search of good, cheap farm land, the Oregon Pioneers traveled West in hope of a
new, happier life. Rumors of the West and how beautiful and great is was spread
throughout the towns of the East and so the huge trek West became something of a
necessity. The trek West was hard and hundreds died due to starvation, the
extreme weather conditions, attacks by the nomadic Indians or one of the many
diseases that were rife at the time.
1848
brought the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. Thousands fled West at the drop
of a hat in hope they would strike lucky in the huge 1849 Gold Rush. Many
followed, making money by selling food, water, equipment and sex to the young
men desperate to find their fortunes.
Persecution was a large issue in nineteenth century America. Many religious
groups were disliked for believing in things also believed by the Indians. The
Mormons, a Christian group of people who believed in polygamy, were pushed out
of the towns they once lived in as their banks failed. In 1846 Brigham Young, a
Mormon leader, lead a group of Mormons to the West to escape the persecution and
so found happiness on the Great North Plains.
The
gold rushes and business opportunities West lead to the construction of the
Transcontinental Railroad, built as a means of travelling across America without
the risk of death, disease or starvation. The US government ordered for the
railroad to be built. Not only was it a great benefit to the many railway
workers as they were given the land they constructed on, but the US Government
benefited as more people traveled West, the manifest Destiny was gradually being
fulfilled.
Probably the most famous group of people who moved to the West were the
Homesteaders. 'The Homestead Act', put in place by the US government, allowed
hundreds of people a large area of the Great North Plains if they agreed to live
there for five years or more. Despite the hardships they faced, such as the
extreme weather conditions and lack of resources, hundreds of Homesteaders
succeeded in reaching the West. The Homestead Act was designed to lure people to
the West, which at the time was the home of the nomadic Indians.
The
many groups of people that fled West were spurred to do so by the US Government.
Trying to fulfill their belief of the Manifest Destiny, (the idea that white
Americans should settle and govern all the land from the Atlantic to the
Pacific), they introduced many Acts and Laws so that the whole of America could
be claimed by them. The push and pull factors that motivated the White Americans
to flee West were prominently persecution, the gold rushes and to gain freedom
and land.