Westward expansion

In US history, the period of settlement 1800-50 when Americans pushed the frontier westwards in search of land and resources, economic opportunities, a better life, and, for some, religious freedom. In 1803 the USA comprised 17 eastern and central states, however the Louisiana Purchase (land bought from France in 1803) expanded its territory by 2,144,000 sq km/828,000 sq mi (the present-day states of Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma). People of US-birth and immigrants from Europe began moving westwards, especially after hearing wonderful reports from the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-06), a US government survey of the new region. In addition, Americans believed in their ‘manifest destiny’, a God-given right and duty to spread out across the land; this philosophy preceded the phrase (first used 1845), and became one of the main justifications for settlement activity in the American West. The Mexican War (1846-48) and subsequent conquest of the southwest, along with the California gold rush (1848), further opened up the country.

Mountain men The first group of Americans to push west were hunters and fur trappers, later known as the mountain men. They were usually single men, who were independent and enjoyed the adventure of the wilderness. As they went about their work, trapping animals such as raccoons and beavers for their fur, they often blazed new trails that would eventually turn into horse trails and roads for future travellers. The men lived simply, much like the American Indians who had inhabited the region for centuries, and the two cultures got along quite well; the Americans were taught survival techniques, and learned valuable information about the region's resources and routes, and many married American Indian women. Some later became guides for incoming settlers; Daniel Boone, an expert hunter, led the first group of migrants from East Virginia, through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains, to Kentucky in 1775; the route became known as the Wilderness Road.

Pioneer farmers The second group of Americans to move west was that of the pioneer farmers, who often had very little money and were seeking a better life. Unlike the trappers, this group contained families and their livestock, and they focused on clearing the land and building log homes. Their presence upset the indigenous American Indians, who did not like the way the farmers used the land, destroyed the natural environment, and scared away the local wildlife. Consequently, the pioneers were often attacked.

Permanent settlement The pioneer farmers were soon followed by the permanent settlers, the third group of Americans to arrive in the region. They came to give support services to the farmers community, taking work in the community as storekeepers, preachers, lawyers, and doctors, among others. The permanent settlers built more substantial homes with barns and fences, and they also built sawmills, flourmills, schools, churches, and better roads. As the settlements grew and were chartered as towns, local law enforcement and government services were established, offering employment as police officers, mayors, and so on. Many towns were later incorporated as cities.

The population grew continually and when a particular area reached 60,000, it officially became a state. In 1792, Kentucky became a state, followed by Tennessee in 1796, Ohio in 1803, Indiana in 1816, and Illinois in 1817.

The South A similar process occurred as Southerners began to move into Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A different group was involved this time, however, with wealthy plantation owners from Virginia and the Carolinas moving west. They brought slaves with them, who were to form a large part of the population. Cotton production became a major part of the regional economy and, by 1820, New Orleans was the largest cotton-exporting city in the country. Louisiana became a state in 1812, Mississippi in 1817, Alabama in 1819, and Missouri in 1821.

Florida had been owned by Spain since the 1500s but, in 1819, President James Monroe convinced Spain to hand over the territory in return for cancelling Spain's $5-million debt to the USA. Florida became a state in 1845.

The West In 1846, Horace Greeley, a New York journalist, wrote an article encouraging young men to go west to find their fortunes, coining the popular phrase, ‘Go west, young man, go west’. Americans of all ages responded, drawn by the promise of free or cheap land, abundant resources, and religious freedom. They headed to Oregon country (the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming) via the Oregon Trail, and California along the California Trail. At this point, no-one settled in the Great Plains because the ground there was covered in sod (soil filled with tough roots), and they did not yet have the tools or the knowledge to cultivate it. The region also suffered from extremes of hot and cold temperature and a lack of water - in fact, in 1823 a US government surveyor labelled the Great Plains region as the Great American Desert, a name that appeared on maps of the era, and further deterred prospective settlers. This area was not taken up until the second half of the 19th century, when all the more desirable lands had been taken.

The eastern states were becoming rapidly overpopulated, and land and work was no longer available for all their inhabitants, so many left for the west in search of free or cheap land. They had heard how the western areas had a moderate climate, good water supplies, and fertile soil. Oregon country had been claimed by both the USA and Britain in 1792, and was explored by the US government surveyors Lewis and Clark in 1803; a treaty of 1818 allowed both US and British activity in the region. In 1841 the US government's Pre-Emption Act allowed American settlers to buy 65 ha/160 acres of land for a minimum fee after 14 months' residence. As US settlement accelerated, the Oregon Trail becoming particularly heavily used after 1842, the necessity to make a proper division of Oregon country between US and British interests became more urgent. In 1846 a northern boundary between the USA and Canada was finally agreed at the 49th parallel. Oregon Territory was formalized in 1848, although Washington Territory separated in 1853. Oregon became a state in 1858, Washington and Montana in 1889, and Idaho and Wyoming in 1890.

The Southwest One of the last areas left to be populated by America's westward movement in the first half of the 19th century was that of the present-day state of Texas. Much of the north of the current state of Texas had been bought under the Louisiana Purchase, but the southern region was officially owned by Mexico after their independence from Spain in 1821, although some American settlement was authorized, led by the US pioneer Stephen Austin. However, Americans refused to obey Mexican laws and conflict soon broke out between Mexico and the USA.

Mexico's political instability and economic backwardness, along with the large US presence in Texas, with ability to self-govern and strong leaders such as Austin and Sam Houston, left Texas open to further US intervention. In 1834, General Antonia López de Santa Anna declared himself dictator (self-appointed leader) of Mexico, and in 1836 Texan leaders decided that it was time to declare independence for the state. The battle of the Alamo took place soon after, in which an army of 4,000 Mexicans besieged 180 Texans in a mission fort for 13 days. Although the Mexicans took the fort, Houston led the Texan army to capture Santa Anna, and forced him to sign an agreement granting Texas self-government as an independent republic.

In the 1844 US presidential election, the Democratic candidate James Polk made the Texan issue, along with the problem of the unsettled ownership of Oregon country between the USA and Britain, a major focus of his campaign, declaring a willingness to go to war to achieve formal US control over the areas. Polk won the election and immediately offered Mexico $30 million for the area from Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Mexico refused and the US annexed the territory in 1845; in May 1846 war was declared between the two countries. The USA had the benefit of strong leaders and financial backing, the latest weaponry, and a highly motivated, more organized, and larger fighting force. By 1848, the war was over and Texas was part of the USA. In addition, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and most of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming were handed to the USA for only $15 million. Polk also signed the agreement with Britain to divide the Oregon country at the 49th parallel.

Americans had begun to move west to California from the 1820s. The region belonged to Mexico, but in 1846 northern California was occupied by the USA at the start of the Mexican War. In 1848 California was ceded to the USA, and in the same year the gold rush hit California. A small nugget of gold could be worth a fortune, and news of the discoveries drew prospectors from all over the world. Within one year, over 90,000 people arrived in California and, while most of them never found any gold at all, many stayed in the state to live. California became a state in 1850.

US traders and settlers had filtered into the New Mexico region since the opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, a trade route between Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The region was also crossed by routes to California used by westward-travelling Americans, including the Spanish Trail and the Butterfield Overland Route. New Mexico eventually became a US state in 1909.

When Mexico relinquished control over Utah, it had already become home to a group of Americans searching for religious freedom - the Mormons. A Christian sect, founded in Lafayette, New York by Joseph Smith in 1830, the Mormons were persecuted in the eastern states, and moved west in the hopes of greater toleration. The first group of Mormons, led by Brigham Young, arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah in 1847, where they founded Salt Lake City. Most of the Mormons settled in Utah, which became a state in 1896.

Nevada was explored by Kit Carson and John C Frémont in 1843-45, and the first permanent settlement established at Genoa by the Mormons in 1848 after Mexico ceded the region. It became a state in 1864.

Arizona gained territory status in 1863, and was admitted to the Union in 1912. The present-day state of Colorado was partly procured under the Louisiana Purchase, and the remainder ceded by Mexico in 1848; it became a state in 1876.