1. Westward Expansion
L. M. Freer
EN272
FIT/SUNY

2. Frederick Jackson Turner
 “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”
(1893)
 Famously argues that the frontier is “closed”
 Claims that westward expansion helped further
nationalism, individualism, and democracy
 And that it made the United States unique among
nations
 Theory has a lasting impact: Black Elk’s story (written in
the 1930s) is the very beginning of a corrective narrative

3. By 1900: only AZ, NM, and
OK are still territories
1860s- 1880s- Statehood in 1889:
70s Nevada, Dakota, Arizona, Idaho,
90s •North Dakota
•South Dakota
•Montana
•Washington
Montana, and Wyoming
Territories organized
Statehood: Statehood in the 1890s:
•Nevada 1864 •Wyoming 1890
•Nebraska 1867 •Idaho 1890
•Colorado 1876 •Utah 1896

4. Post-Civil War Migration
 Unprecedented in scale.  “Romance of the West”
Why?  Exists from the very
 Metal ores beginning
 Homestead Act (1862)  Mythos overlays
 Pasture/range land reality, fuels decisions
to migrate
 Transcontinental Railroad
(1866-69)  Landscape, rugged lifestyle
 Dime novels, Wild West
 Western Economies: Shows
 Mining: gold, silver, then  Last chance for “new”
other ores
 Cattle Ranching  How is this romantic vision
connected to ideas of the
 The “Long Drive”
“American Dream”?
(1866-1880s)

5. “Manifest Destiny”
 A widely used philosophical statement and idea during times of European settlement
 A belief that territorial expansion (“from sea to shining sea”) was a divine right
 Most advocates believed that Anglo-Saxon Christian society was more advanced or enlightened
than other cultures
 Also relies upon the idea that America is exceptional, a unique country whose ideals were
destined to spread around the world
 Term first appears in an 1845 periodical, and quickly gains steam; first used in Congress in 1846
 There is some opposition to this idea, but Western expansion quickly becomes a solution to a
growing population (and a tool to win elections)
 War with Mexico (1845-1848) results in the acquisition of a significant part of the Southwest,
including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico. (“Mexican Cession”)
 Seen as proof that this philosophy is correct and divinely-inspired
 Despite this, Manifest Destiny wasn’t originally seen as a doctrine of force; it was considered a
means through which immigrants could establish new U.S. states

8. Late 19thC Conflicts
 Post-Civil War  Most conflict between the
 Army moves West U.S. and Native peoples
 Violence between white ends in the 1870s
settlement and Native
cultures intensifies  Geronimo & the Apaches
hold out until 1886
 Late 1860s
 Final big conflict is over the
 Plains tribes moved
towards 2 big reservations Ghost Dance religious
revival of 1890
 Buffalo decimated
 Wounded Knee Massacre,
 Makes traditional
December 1890
nomadic culture
impossible to continue