Westward Expansion Essay -- essays research papers

Book Review – Westward Expansion 1807 - 1880 THESIS: After the War of 1812 much of America's attention turned to exploration and settlement of its territory to the West, which had been greatly enlarged by the Louisiana Purchase. SUMMARY: Families of pioneers swept westward and founded new communities throughout what is now the Midwest, and between 1816 and 1821, six new states were admitted to the Union. The land boom was fed by encouragement from the federal government and the actions of land speculators, who bought up large tracts of land in order to sell it in parcels to farmers at exorbitant prices. These farmers did not mind high prices and high interest on loans due to the growing success of American agricultural products. Most western farmers became cash croppers who sometimes neglected subsistence farming in order to focus on marketable commodities. Soon the farmers' dependence on distant markets caught up with them, however, as the state bank system that had sprung up to support speculation collapsed, dragging agricultural prices and land values down with it. Many western settlers suffered greatly during the Panic of 1819, but most survived and continued the conquest of the West. A major aspect of the conquest of the West was the removal of the Indians who dwelled there. Under the leadership of President Andrew Jackson, the Indians who remained East of the Mississippi were cruelly and violently driven from their homes and concentrated in reservations in what is ...