Westward Expansion: Americans On The Move Via Railroads

Hundreds of thousands of Americans travelled west on the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails. The reasons for this were varied, but many were motivated by the idea of Manifest Destiny, which justified their right and duty to govern any other groups they encountered during their expansion. Other reasons included the search for adventure, the promise of gold, and the opportunity to build new communities.

The Oregon Trail

For European immigrants who came to the United States from highly stratified and rigid class societies, moving west offered the opportunity to seek opportunity and build new communities. For African Americans living in the South after the Civil War, moving westward offered the possibility of escaping white supremacy and finding a less racist society. Other migrants, especially men, went west because they sought a life of adventure, whether that meant exploring unknown lands or searching for gold or carving a home out of the wilderness.

The California Trail

The trail was used until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, after which trail traffic rapidly declined as the cross-country trip was much quicker and easier by train.

The Santa Fe Trail

The trail was opened by William Becknell, a trader, and was used by merchant wagon caravans travelling in parallel columns. Native Americans attacked frequently between 1864 and 1869, but the caravans could quickly form a circular line of defence. From the Missouri River, the trail followed the divide between the tributaries of the Arkansas and Kansas rivers to the site of present-day Great Bend, Kansas, then proceeded along the Arkansas River. At the western end, several routes trended southwest to Santa Fe, the shortest being the Cimarron Cutoff through the valley of the Cimarron River.

In 1821, the Santa Fe Trail became America's first great international commercial highway, and for nearly sixty years thereafter was one of the nation's great routes of adventure and western expansion. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path, through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico, has been designated. The Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA), a non-profit association, was created in 1986 to help protect and preserve the trail. The U.S. Congress likewise recognised the significance of the Trail to American history by proclaiming it a National Historic Trail in 1987.

The Homestead Act

Americans travelled westward for a variety of reasons, including the search for adventure, the discovery of gold, and the chance to build a new life in the wilderness. One of the most significant ways in which Americans travelled westward was via the Oregon, California and Santa Fe Trails. The expansion of railroads in the late nineteenth century also made westward travel easier and less expensive.

The passage of the Homestead Act was made possible by the departure of Southern senators in 1861, who had previously opposed the legislation due to fears that homesteaders would work to prevent slavery in new territories. Similar legislation, the Southern Homestead Act of 1866, offered the same promise to loyal Southerners and freedmen who could settle public lands.

The Pacific Railway Act

The construction of the transcontinental railroad was a significant achievement, employing thousands of immigrant workers and facing enormous challenges, including harsh weather, massive mountain ranges, and conflicts with Native Americans. Each company made its way towards a meeting point that would complete the line, and the railroad was completed on 10 May 1869. The railroad connected the nation from coast to coast and reduced a journey of four months or more to just one week, making it one of the greatest technological achievements of the 19th century.

The westward expansion was also justified by the belief in Manifest Destiny, which held that Americans had a right and duty to govern any other groups they encountered during their expansion and absolved them of any questionable tactics employed in the process. This belief, along with the technological advancements brought about by railroads and the telegraph, facilitated the federal government's support for westward migration.

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