Westward Expansion

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The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 started the Westward Expansion. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Louis and Clark west to investigate the purchase. They were secretly told to lay claim on any and all land they come across. It was evident, after days of being lost and unable to communicate with natives, that they need an interpreter. Sacagawea, who spoke 5 tribal languages as well as French, was the answer to a safe and successful journey. Her presence signified that they were not a war party because they had a woman with them. During this time women didn’t travel in war parties. Her bearing a child further signified a peaceful trade party. Historians believe that without Sacagawea, Louis and Clark never would have been able to explore the West in the manor they did. Before the migration, it’s estimated that ½ million people inhabited the west. There were 200 different tribes that had to deal with tribal wars and the need to survive on a daily basis. Horses and cattle gave the natives increased mobility and hunting abilities. In the South Western US, there were two types of natives, horse riders and non horse riders. The buffalo were used for meat, skins, and the dried manure was used as fire wood. The natives became nomads because they were being pushed away from the migrants. The document Excerpt from an Overland journey from New York to San Francisco by Horace Greeley is a detailed journal of a writer who traveled west. Greeley founded The New Yorker and was one of the biggest boosters for westward travel. On his journey in 1859, he talks about the many people he meets and where they are from. He describes the native mountain men as “Indians of all grades from the tamest to the wildest, half breeds, French trappers and voyageurs and an occasional negro, compose a medley such as hardly another region can parallel.

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