Westward Expansion Early 1800 s Early 1900 s

Transcription

1 Patrick (5 th Grade) Westward Expansion Early 1800 s Early 1900 s The Lewis and Clark Expedition In 1804 Lewis and Clark started to explore the Louisiana Territory. They were asked by President Thomas Jefferson. The Louisiana territory is west of the Mississippi river and east of the Spanish and Mexican territory. On their journey they used maps and diaries to record their findings. They found many Native American tribes. They went through the Great Plains. They found many new and different plants and animals including 122 different kinds of animals. On their Journey they had the help of a Native named Sacajawea in the Dakotas. She traveled with her baby, son of a French Native. They traveled 4,000 miles in 500 days. Lewis and Clark

2 The Oregon Trail Wagons and horses took 30,000 people to the west over The Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail is 20,000 miles long. It went from western Missouri to the coast of Oregon. It went through rivers, deserts and High Mountain passes. It also went through valleys and mountains and the Great Plains. It took usually 6 months. It was used to bring people over to the west with only one way. One of the travelers William Swain said, We have uncommon good health and luck on our route, not having a case of sickness in the company for the last four weeks. He explains on how he was getting better than he was. There were a lot of ups and downs for lots of people. It went through the states Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and finally stopped at Oregon. Soon it was replaced by the transcontinental railroad. The Oregon Trail is still able to see over many years. Map of Oregon Trail

3 Gold Rush In 1848 there was a rush of madmen that went to San Francisco; California for gold. In January 24 in 1848 a carpenter named James Marshall who was building a sawmill for his business found gold in a nearby stream. He found a yellowy color rock substance, and bit it to test if it was gold, and it was. Many San Franciscans came to get rich. These people who went to seek gold were called the 49ers. Many people came from around the world and the Chinese started the first China Town. 9,000 miners from around the world came to California to seek gold. Many got rich, but many got only a little. Over the time San Francisco grew from a small town to a big city, towering with population. Finally in 1853, the 5 year rush was over James Marshall found GOLD! 1848 Many people around the world came to San Francisco to get rich 1850 San Francisco s China Town was created by Chinese immigrants who worked in the gold rush 1853 No more gold was found and San Francisco became a huge city.

4 Transcontinental railroad After years of going through the Oregon Trail it became more and more dangerous so they started to do something about it. On January 8 th, 1863 the first track began to go on and hundreds more through the years. The transcontinental railroad took 20,000 workers to lay 1,000 miles of track. At first it only went as far as Omaha. It took 6 years to build. Lots of towns grew along the rail road. It finally was finished in spring, It connected the west and the east. They say that it brought America together and made it more united. Workers laying down track

5 Pony express Buffalo Bill Cody The pony express was a very hard job that went through Native American lands and also the Civil War. The pony express was used to send mail. To get mail from there to there they used ships, wagons, stage coaches and horses. It was a very dangerous ride through St. Joseph Missouri and Sacramento, California. During the ride they could have been attacked by Native Americans. One of the most famous riders was named Buffalo Bill Cody who actually rode through the Civil war. There were very strict rules about being in the pony express. You had to be ages and you had to be at the most 125 pounds. You would get paid 100$ a month.

6 Life in the west Life in the west was a big deal but also had tough times. There were lots of dust storms and droughts in the Great Plains. Houses were mostly made out of mud and dirt because of lack of trees in the Great Plains. Other homes were made up of logs more western near the Rocky Mountains. Most homes were made up of farms and had lots of farm animals. In the west the pioneers had lots of work. They had to round up cattle, milk the cows, fed chickens, fetched eggs, and gathered buffalo chips. The women s work was mostly made up of raising children, cooking and storing food, hauling water and made quilts and blankets. The west had many dedicated people working to make it a good place to live. Westward expansion extended America and brought it together. Without its founding fathers the west would not exist today. The west brought us history of things we didn t know connected to it like cowboys. It has brought many joys of the beaches and a new style into this country from then to now.