MANIFEST DESTINY Chapter 6, Section 1. Americans Head West Hundreds of thousands of Americans migrated west in the 1840s and 1850s People went to.

MANIFEST DESTINY

Chapter 6, Section 1

Americans Head West

Hundreds of thousands of Americans migrated west in the 1840s and 1850s

People went to different places, for different reasons

All dreamed of new opportunities and a better life

“Multiplying Millions”

1840 – the population had grown to six times the size of what it had been during the American Revolution

Many Americans believed in Manifest Destiny – the idea that the nation had a God-given right to all of North America Term was first used by John L. O’Sullivan

Manifest Destiny

“Our Manifest Destiny [is to] overspread the continent allotted by Province [God’s power] for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”

Reasons for Westward Migration

Mountain men were among the first to migrate – went west to trap and trade

Missionaries – hoped to convert Native Americans to Christianity

Lumberjacks and Miners – wanted to capitalize on the region’s natural resources

Farmers – moved west to farm the vast, rich land

Entrepreneurs – moved west to invest their money in hopes of making a profit

Major Western Trails

No train tracks or smooth highways led from the east to the far west in the 1840s and 1850s

Migrants rode in wagons pulled by oxen or horses, or by walking

Some walked hundreds of miles to reach their new homes

Major Western Trails

Santa Fe Trail First major western trail led from

Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico

News of the wealth of Santa Fe motivated Americans to open trade with the people there

1820s and 1830s the trail was used for trading

By the 1840s the trail was used for migration

Santa Fe Trail

Major Western Trails

Oregon Trail The longest and most famous trail used by

migrants 2,000 mile trail stretched from

Independence, Missouri to the farming lands of the Willamette Valley in Oregon

Treacherous geography, harsh weather, and conflict with Native Americans took the lives of 20,000 migrants

Oregon Trail

Major Western Trails

The Mormon Trail Mormons were part of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latterday Saints founded by Joseph Smith

Hostility to Mormons because of some of their beliefs forced Mormons out of New York

Brigham Young became the leader after Smith was killed – led the Mormons to an area around the Great Salt Lake in Utah

The route they followed became known as the Mormon Trail (1847-1853)

Mormon Trail

The Gold Rush

The largest single migration west was the Gold Rush

1848 – a carpenter discovered gold in the American River at John Sutter’s sawmill in northern California

Many people from all over (Asia, South America, and Europe) traveled in search of gold and the hopes of becoming rich

The Gold Rush

James K. Polk was president Made a speech

announcing the presence of gold in California

His speech was reported in newspapers around the country

Many Americans caught “gold fever”

Rush to California

Gold Rush – the mass migration to California of miners and business people who made money off the miners

Migrants who left for California in 1849 were called forty-niners

80% of those who went to California were from the US

Most followed the California Trail

Booming Cities

San Francisco 1848 had a population of 800 By 1860, 60,000 people lived there

Stockton Another booming city during the gold rush

Sacramento Became the capital of California when it

became the 31st state in 1850

Major Effects of Westward Migration

The Oregon Treaty Oregon territory had

been shared with Great Britain and the United States

James K. Polk when campaigning for presidency said 54’40 or fight! – US wanted all of the Oregon Territory

Polk wins presidency but goes back on 54’40

US gets Oregon territory up to the 49th parallel

Major Effects of Westward Migration

Communication Links – need for communication from east to west Butterfield trail – mail route from St. Louis

to San Francisco Pony Express – Mail service between

Missouri and California Telegraph linked east and west