American west

• Push factors


  Factors that pushed migrants away from the East
• Pull factors


  Factors that pulled migrants towards the West
• Push factors


  • Poor economy in the east
  • Overpopulation in towns and cities
• Pull factors


  • Rich farmland in Oregon
  • Gold discovered in California
  • Freedom, space and adventure
  • Manifest Destiny belief
• By the early 1830s, mountain men had taken the journey from the east coast into the American West to hunt for beaver, bear and elk
• The mountain men were not wishing to settle, but their journeys were key for discovering new and accessible routes into the American West
• The US government encouraged people to move west, gave $30,000 to help fund the development of the Oregon Trail, and advertised the trail to make it sound exciting and achievable
• John Fremont's expedition report became the guidebook for those wanting to travel west
• Manifest Destiny


  The belief that white, Christian Americans had the right to conquer all of the land in America in order to make it Christian and 'civilised'
• The Manifest Destiny belief inspired settlers for years and the US government often used it when encouraging migration west
• The Oregon Trail ran from east to west and took settlers safely through the Rocky Mountains, with wagons able to carry people's belongings
• By 1846, 5,000 people had used the Oregon Trail
• The Indian Removal Act (1830) and the creation of the Permanent Indian Frontier (1834) moved Plains Indians further west, removing the fear many white settlers had of being attacked
• The painting 'American Progress' celebrated the migration of thousands of white Americans into the American West
• The Mormons were a minority Christian group who were becoming increasingly attacked and discriminated against in the east because of differences with more popular Christian faiths
• Some Mormon leaders began to hope for a better life if they moved away from the discrimination into a place of their own in the west
• In 1849, 100,000 people left the east using the Oregon Trail, and California's population reached 300,000 by 1855 due to the Gold Rush
• The US government was keen for the gold prospectors to go as the gold could eventually help the American government
• Push factors


  Bad events happening in their life which caused them to be pushed away from the place where they lived
• Pull factors


  Things in the west of America that they were attracted to and 'pulled' them over
• The journey into the American West was for most people dangerous, long and like going into the unknown
• Poor economy in the East

  • Banks had collapsed, businesses struggled, people lost jobs and savings, unemployment high, wages cut
• Poor economy in the East


  People wanted a better life and were led to believe they could get it by moving west
• Fertile farmland in Oregon

  • Rich farmland west of the Rocky Mountains, known to be ideal for growing fruits and farming
• Development of the Oregon Trail


  • Mountain men discovered a pass through the Rocky Mountains, trail first publicised in 1825, used by wagon in 1836, 5,000 people travelled it by 1846
• US government encouragement


  • Funded expedition to map the Oregon Trail, published report and map, spent money advertising the trail to encourage more people to travel west
• Discovery of gold in California 1849


  • 100,000 people left the east to reach California, California's population reached 300,000 by 1855, gold was the ultimate pull factor
• Freedom and adventure


  • Some individuals, mainly men, set out in the 1830s to become pioneers of the American West, encouraged by stories of mountain men and government maps
• Overpopulation in the East


  • Towns had become more crowded, some wanted to move west to gain more land
• New government policies


  • Indian Removal Act (1830), Permanent Indian Frontier (1834), Indian Appropriations Act (1851) moved Plains Indians further west away from land new settlers might want to travel
• Mormon persecution


  • Minority Christian group the Mormons were being attacked and discriminated against in the East, some hoped for a better life in the West
• Belief in the Manifest Destiny

  • White Christian Americans believed they had a God-given right to occupy and settle the rest of the continent, wanted to 'civilise' the Plains Indians
• The US government often used the belief in Manifest Destiny when they encouraged migration west
• The Oregon Trail ran from east to west and took settlers safely through the Rocky Mountains, wagons could pass through and carry people's belongings
• Economic reasons, political reasons, and religious reasons encouraged migration into the American West
• Between 1861-1865, America experienced a Civil War.
• Unionists


  Northern states who wanted all states in America to be 'united' under the same laws
• Confederates


  Southern states who believed in different laws and refused to abolish slavery
• Much of the fighting took place in the south with over 600,000 soldiers from both sides dying and 400,000 wounded.
• The Unionists won.