Was the settlement of the Western Frontier Inevitable?

Government Policies

Manifest Destiny

click to edit

Settlers believed it was their god given right to settle in the west.

Homestead Act encouraged settlers to move out west with the promise of a lot of land (exodusters took advantage of this(

Freedmans Bureau helped African Americans with their new freedom. Many African Americans moved west in search of opportunities and somewhere to start a new life

Inventions/Accomplishments

Transcontinental railroad helped settlers move quickly and easily across the country

1200px-American_Progress_(John_Gast_painting)

Barbed Wire, Mechanical Reaper, Grain drill helped to replace slavery and the need for labor when farming

Complete opposite from communal view of land by the Native Americans

Native Americans

Great Plains had lots of land for farming, many Native American communities sat on top of valuable resources

The Battle of Long Horn deprived hunting grounds and sacred land

Lead to conflicts over land

Settlers wanted to own the land but Native Americans didnt believe in owning land. This caused conflicts because the settlers wanted to make good use of the land

Americans force Native Americans to assimilate

Gold Rush: Many settlers rushed west when gold was found. They wanted to take their chances of finding gold and returning home rich. Eventually many small cities began to form in places where gold mining was popular

Settlers believed Natives lost rights to land because they didn't improve it.

The settlement of the Western Frontier was inevitable. There were many factors that caused people to move west. Each factor contributed to creating more reasons for people to want to move. All of the problems (conflicts with Native Americans, difficult travel (before railroads), government disagreements, etc.) where overcome eventually. This shows that even though they faced many problems moving west, they still did it anyways and came out successful. We think the settlement of the Western Frontier was inevitable due to the many encouraging reasons to move and the fact that the settlers did not give up

Agricultural Colleges encouraged more people to learn the business of agriculture and farming. And there was lots of room for these things if you moved west