In the mid-19th century, the dream of westward expansion was approaching the reality of cities overcrowded with migrants, and the doctrines of Manifest Destiny they were extremely promoted for the idea of westward expansion and exploration of the western frontier. Starting with the Louisiana Purchases in 1803, made at the time by President Thomas Jefferson, which almost doubled the size of the nation. Most Americans then saw the West as a barren wasteland that could be nothing more than a great American desert (Dillon 1967). Second, in 1848, a journalist named John O'Sullivan coined the term manifest destiny (Pratt 1927) encouraging the young man to head for the largely unexplored western frontier, he argued that the destiny of the American people is to rule the continent from east to west. Furthermore, the belief in Manifest Destiny led Euro-Americans to believe that it is their duty to bring any native inhabitants they encounter as they expanded westward into the civilized world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The Louisiana Purchases, Manifest Destiny, and overcrowded East Coast urban cities were the most significant reasons behind westward expansion. Young migrants and even American-born families were looking for cheap land, evidently after the federal government passed two primary laws that gave the most notable push to settlers to head west, namely the Homestead Act converted into law in 1862. Pacific Railway Acts. Homeowners were required to pay small application fees and complete restoration of the land within five years. On the other hand, the Pacific Railroad Act was also signed into law in 1862 to build the first transcontinental railroad, to connect the East Coast with the West Coast, and to encourage settlers to the idea of westward expansion. The law consisted of a series of acts that authorized the government to grant federal subsidies and lands to railroad companies, in a continuing effort to encourage railroad companies to begin construction of the transcontinental railroad. When the settlers began traveling west, they faced many significant difficulties on their dream journey west, the difficulties of the journey west were enormous, the rugged terrain, and the lack of building materials they needed to build a shelter for themselves and their children. families, were often difficult to find in the West. The materials they needed from the East were usually too expensive to ship to them. Additionally, Western settlers were gifted lands free of charge by the federal government. However, they had separate expenses to start the farm and start producing crops; then, they start taking loans from banks with high interest rates, with the idea of paying them back when their farms produce crops. Meanwhile, most of the settlers heading west worked in the livestock industry, which causes the market to be flooded with products that cause a sharp drop in crop prices. After a time, Western farmers came to the conclusion that their agricultural operations did not generate enough income to maintain and operate them successfully; most of these farmers were forced to give up their lands to the banks from which they had taken their loans. Furthermore, most of these farmers were forced to work on what were called Bonanza farms (farms..
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