How did westward expansion shape the US culturally, politically, and economically from c.1790 to c.1880?

Between this period there was a lot of changes that shaped the US to what it is to date. When the expansion occurred. This land would help in shaping the economy since there was great purchases from the people for agriculture. Agriculture became one of the greatest income earners for the westerners. Between the years 1830-1850 production of cotton grew by 300%, with almost 5 million bales being produced during this period. This was a major economic development since the employment opportunities grew and most people begun to travel to the west so that they could purchase land and start farming.

As the economy soared, the need for infrastructure was felt. This led to the shift from steam dependent machinery to steel manufactured machinery. This change led to a big break in the manufacturing industry as more consumer goods and industrial goods were being produced. The development of train tracks, large bridges made transportation much easier since there was now a reliable travelling mechanism. With the new transportation networks connecting cities there was establishment of towns that grew drastically. This was almost one of the factors that led to the development of towns that were great economic icons (Boehm 1964).

The western expansion had great effects when it came to the political stands to date. The Monroe doctrine for instance set forth the expansion from the Atlantic coast to the pacific coast. This expansion had particularly negative effects such as slavery that increased drastically, dispossession of the native Americans, and the federal holdings in the west. President Monroe in 1823 outlined the Monroe doctrine that would later be used by the Americans’ to claim independence over the land in the new world (Klar 2015).

Slavery also played an important role in shaping the US. Different states were labelled differently. For instance, in 1845 Texas was added as a slave state will most states in the north were free states. This resulted to the Mexican-American war that later led to California being added as a free state. The congress was divided between free states and slave states, which led to the Kansas Nebraska act in 1854 which allowed an election to be conducted to know the fate as either a free state or slave state. Violence begun in Kansas due to this and this led to the start of the civil war later on in 1861 (Klar 2015).

Andrew Jackson presidency in 1830 led to the establishment of the Removal Act. This act allowed the removal of native Americans from the west of the Mississippi to the east by the federal government. The native Americans were restricted to the lands that the federal government had allocated them. President Lincoln later on signed the homestead act that allowed public lands in the west for settlement. But this law also made sure that some reserves were set aside as federal lands that later became parks or preserves (Klar 2015).

There were some cultural effects that were as a result of the westward expansion. The natives came with their own diverse different culture that later would be adopted by other settlers. For instance, from their cotton farming they started cotton gin which was drunk across the nation. The mountain men came and introduce fur made clothing’s such as coats that was later adopted by the Indians who shared it with the rest of the Americans even became a fashion trend for the rich. Natives had very strong cultural identity and they stood by all their beliefs though at times it did get them in trouble. They were the conservatists and made sure to protect their reserves and land from things like pollution (Billington & Ridge 2001)

References

Billington, R. A., & Ridge, M. (2001). Westward expansion: A history of the American frontier. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Klar, J. (2015). Louisiana Purchase and Westward Expansion. Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Boehm, E. H., & American Bibliographical Center. (1964). America, history and life. Santa Barbara, Calif: Clio Press.