Moving West

Westward Expansion

Migrating from the east to west

Moving

• With a growing United States and empty land in the western part of the nation, many people living in crowded cities decided to move west for numerous reasons.

Poll

What would be a reason why you would move?

• A new job opportunity.

• Hope to make it rich in a new area.

• A new life or new beginning

• Travel to a new place

Reasons to move west

• Lots of Land

• East coast was crowded

• Finding gold

• opportunities to get rich

• advances in transportation

• Manifest Destiny

Lots of Land

There was lots of land, good soil for farming, and it could be bought at a cheap price

East coast was crowded

The population of the United States was growing at a very fast rate

Finding Gold

At the time, the California Gold Rush of 1849 was in full swing, and men of all ages were flocking west to get rich.

Opportunities to get rich

There were many different opportunities to get rich, such as logging, mining, and farming that could not be done in the east

Advances in transportation

• There were now canals, railroads, steamboats, and overland trails that made this great migration possible.

Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the idea that moving west was someone’s patriotic responsibility. People understood that moving west would make the United States bigger and stronger.

Poll

If you moved west what reason would make you move?

• Gold

• Land

• Technology

• Over crowding

• Your duty as an American