Manifest Destiny
BY: JoEllen , Alexis, Christiane, Olivia, Karina, & Ivy.
Klodike Gold Rush 1896
- Why is the Klondike Gold Rush significant if it isn't in America?
- It was founded in 1896 by George Carmack in 1896 in the Klondike River, Yukon Territory, Canada.
- Just like the San Francisco Gold Rush of 1949, this attracted thousands of Americans that wanted to gain riches.
- Thumb sized nuggets were found in the Rabbit Creek tributary and another called El Dorado.
- Most people who actually found anything brought their findings back to America
- A lot of people actually searched in Juneau, Alaska in the search for gold before the world of Carmack's findings got out
- This also brought many more people out west
Homestead Act of 1862
- The Homestead act was passed on May 20, of 1962
- Granted settlers ownership of 160 that you could keep as long as you utilize it in some way
- Land was given for free
- This drew a lot of Americans to the western coast
Transcontinental Railroad - 1863-1869
- Why would you want to move here?
- Good Transportation, you wont have to walk everywhere
- getting goods to and from is quicker
- "Greatest Technological feat. of the 19th century"
- Links the U.S from east to west
- No more wagon trains that took months at a time to get where you're going
- Why does the railroad benefit you? The railroad benefits you because now you dont have to walk everywhere with things on your back, everything moves faster. Also the railroad benefits you because weather no longer has to be an issue when you're traveling,
Indian Removal Act-1830
What was the Indian Removal Act?
- A law authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands
- Andrew Jackson signed the law on May 28,1830
- Some who were forced to leave were: Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Chocktaw
- Osceloa, war chief of the semonoles, during the removal act. He opposed the signing of the Treaty of Payne's.
- Trail of Tears: 1835 self appointed representatives of the Cherokee nation negotiated the Treaty of New Echota.
- In 1838, only 2,000 Cherokees left their homes. President Martin Van Buren expedited the removal process. More than 5,000 died.
Why should you support the law and move west?
If the Indians moved west and all were in a confined space the White Americans would feeel more safe. Native Americans have a dangerous reputation. If they were to move west the federal government can keep an eye on them. It also can limit how much land the indians would have. It's all for you so the citizens of America can be protected.
Mining the plains
- In 1860 most Americans considered the Great Plains, "the Great American Desert".
- Workers striving for a better life faced discrimination and difficult working conditions such as heat, lung diseases, and etc.
- Settlements were west of Minnesota,Iowa,Missouri,Arkansas,and Louisiana.
- Discovery of gold,silver and other precious minerals in..
1850's- Nevada and California
1860's- Idaho and Montana
1870's- South Dakota
sparked an in flux of prospectors and miners.
- Mining became big business with discoveries of large deposits of precious metals such as the comstock lode in Nevada.
- more settlers moved west mining,ranching and railroads transformed the western landscape.
- mining boom brought growth to the west.
Farming the Plains
- By 1870, only portions of the Great Plains could truly be called unsettled
- Indians were encouraged to sell their vast tribal lands and become "civilized", which meant they should abandon hunting and become farmers
- The plains became the fable open range, home to the cowboys and their grazing cattle
- When barbed wire began to be sold in the 1870s, large areas of land could then be enclosed cheaply and quickly
- New machines and equipment had developed, which made it easier to farm areas more efficiently
- The spread of new inventions made farming possible on the Great Plains
- Ex: Steele plow could turn several furrows at once
- Cattlemen were forced out during the summer drought of 1886 when grasslands withered and cattle starved