The West
The west was a very interesting place during the 1800's. This was because of something going on known as westward expansion. After the Louisiana purchase was made, people began wanting to know what was out west. Famous explorers. Lewis and Clark were sent to go explore the newly bought territory. After reporting back that it was safe and people began moving out there. Things were all well until the mid 1800's when gold was found in the west. People flocked from all over to go out west and hope to strike it rich. All the new settlers moving out west didn't make the natives happy. The natives had been living peacefully until the settlers came and tried to claim the land. The natives believed that land could not be owned. The new settlers relocated the natives to a new reservation that they were promised they would not be disturbed at and the natives reluctantly agreed. Soon as the area became more populated, people tried to once again go and kick natives out. The natives were prepared to fight this time. That's when the famous battle of Little Bighorn Occurred.
The battle of Little Bighorn is a highly debated battle in U.S history. The settlers say that natives were attacking them while they were riding by on horses and doing nothing wrong while natives say that the settlers came in and attacked out of nowhere. Both sides have very different stories causing a he said, she said type of problem. The battle of Little Bighorn ended with the Sioux Indians killing many U.S soldiers making many settlers angry.
Another big point during the westward expansion was the passing of The Homestead Act. The Homestead Act was passed on May 20, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. The act was made to promote westward expansion. During the act, land was given away to settlers at a very low cost on the condition that they used the land for farming. This would help populate the west and increase trade because of all the agriculture. More than 270 million acres of land was sold during the homestead act which is about 10% of the total area of the U.S. One last big part of the west was industrialization and urbanization. During westward expansion more inventions began to came out which allowed for a more quick, smoothly running economy. New ways of transport came out as well such as the railroad allowing people to travel much more efficiently. Overall the westward expansion was a very important part of U.S history and has greatly impacted our society today.