Westward Expansion EQ: How did the move west change the opportunities for women and “new” minorities?

The West “The West” was anywhere between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean-That was the Western Frontier Because it was hard to farm in the Great Plains, the land was used for Transportation The Northwest had fertile lands

The West The Southwest was owned by Mexico, and was part of the Spanish Borderlands. People in these areas were only allowed to trade with Spain This area has a distinct culture

The West In 1821, Mexico won their independence from Spain Mexico made land grants to rancheros and removed missionaries Because the land given often belonged to the Natives, the Indians raided ranches

The West America had been interested in Westward Expansion They began to believe in Manifest Destiny, which was the idea that the country should go from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Manifest Destiny cont….. Definition: the belief that the United States was destined to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Why move???? Push Factors: A force which acts to drive (push) people away from a place. *Pull Factors: Draws (pulls) a person to a new location.

Trails to the West There were many trails to the west. Santa Fe Trail: From St. Louis to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Oregon Trail: From St. Louis to Portland, Oregon

Trails to the West The first people to build permanent homes in Oregon were missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman tried to help the natives, but in reality land was simply stolen from the natives. When people heard there was good land, more settlers came This started “Oregon Fever”

Trails to the West Working with only hand tools, people had to clear land, plant crops and build shelters Diseases, accidents and natural disasters were common. Some settlers even gave up and returned east

Trails to the West Women worked with men to make their family farms successful Women also fought for the right to vote In 1869, the Wyoming territory was the first that let women vote Due to women’s “equal” work to a man’s work out west, their rights were protected before those back East.

Trails to the West Natives had an uneasy peace with the whites After gold was discovered in Oregon in 1850, white and Chinese miners came into the area War broke out with the Natives

A Rush to the West In 1848, James Marshall found a gold nugget in a ditch in California (Sutter’s Mill) 80,000 “forty-niners’ ran to California to search for gold There was both gold above ground and below ground and in the water Men from China came to America in hopes that they could send home money They faced prejudice They could not get jobs in mines, they had to cook or do laundry, work on railroads or farms Thousands of free African Americans moved to California They had their own churches, and news papers They ran their own businesses But they did not have equal rights