Lewis And Clark
Marcos, Ky, Azaani, Santiago Thomas Jefferson purchased from France Louisiana territory. Meriwether Lewis Jefferson's personal secretary. William Clark got chosen by Lewis to go on a amazing journey to find the water route to the pacific ocean with Lewis. The journey began May 14, 1804. So the so the trip began! They ran into some Native American tribes on the way some were nice like the Shoshone and some attacked them like the Blackfoot. They went through things like Indian attacks but before that they met the Mandan Native americans in North Dakota. Sometimes they even had to pull the boats up some rivers. They got to three forks and met Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau. They both were in the Shoshone tribe. Sacagawea helped alot with routs. On the way back a lot of the people were starving but they were okay. Also, other than them starving, they fought the Blackfeet` indians. Finally they came back from their crazy journey in Sept.23, 1806.
0 Comments
The First Ever Transcontinental Railroad
By Otto Yu and Lucian Pouthier The transcontinental railroad was a big part of the later Westward Expansion. It brought pioneers to the west in a safer and faster way than traveling in a covered wagon. For a long time people argued weather to build it following a southern route, which started in Texas New Mexico and ended in Los Angeles California, or a central route, which went from Omaha Nebraska to Sacramento California. Eventually the central route was chosen when Abraham Lincoln signed the pacific railroad act in 1862 ,completing the railroad was a very important thing to him, which consisted of two railroads the central pacific railroad and the union pacific railroad. The union pacific railroad coming out to 1,086 miles was mostly worked on by Irish laborers and the central pacific railroad coming out to 690 miles was mostly worked on by chinese laborers. Building the railroad took a lot of work, the workers had to blow holes in the side of mountains just to make room for the railroad. Eventually the two railroads met and the golden spike was hammered down. The golden spike was the last spike to be planted on the railroad. It was planted may 10th 1869 in Utah, which completed the railroad, and made it the first ever Transcontinental railroad. FUN FACTS
The Homestead Act
by Atticus Radwell and Lillian Graves The Homestead Act started in 1862, signed in office by Abraham Lincoln. Originally President James Buchanan had the bills and the responsibility for the homestead act but later the bills and responsibility for this act was passed onto President Abraham Lincoln. What was the Homestead Act? It was allowing everyone, even freed slaves to have up to 160 acres of land in the west, that was federal land “in all, more than 270 million acres of public land, or nearly 10% of the total area of the U.S., was given away free to 1.6 million homesteaders.” But to Homestead you had to be 21 years or older and be an american citizen or intend to be. You also had to be the head of the family if you wanted to homestead(you had to sign a paper to be the head of the family) . People who fought in the Army or Navy could homestead younger than 21, which was a good advantage . But if you hold arms which means hold a weapon against the government,then you can not homestead. That shows that a lot of people used this opportunity and that a lot of people moved to the west. The land was for free or really little, but to keep the the land you had to maintain it. Why would the Government give away free land you may ask? They did this because most of the east was completed and the the west side was a whole new land. The Government wanted people to move to the west, so this was a bait to bring people to the west and it worked, bringing 1.6 million people to the west. Before the Civil War people voted against Homesteading. People did not want this because the people who did live there did not want people to have free land where they lived. It happened during the civil war. It said that adult citizen and intended ones could claim 160 acres that belonged to the government. That could only happen if they have never “borne arms” against the U.S. government. The reason I think Homestead act was important in our history is because it gave people an equal opportunity to own free land. The Homestead Act brought many people to the west, and without that not as many people would be able to live in the west. By granting the 160 acres to these people, it gave men and women a “fair chance.” this historical event is also important because it contributed to american settlement in western states and territories. The homestead act offered a potential route out of poverty and encouraged more immigration from Europe. FRONTIER WOMEN
By:Aya and Priyanka Frontier Women were very important to westward expansion. Yes, they made clothes, food, farmed animals, and woke up at 4:00 am , but those women also made a huge impact on others and in history. Many women like Annie Oakley learned how to shoot a gun because it was her only form of survival. Women were a big help in the gold rush.Women like Nellia Cashman were a big help in the gold rush ,Nellia Cashman tended to the miners in California,she helped by giving miners shelter and food because they didn’t have any money. Women like Annie Oakley also inspired other women. Annie Oakley had been performing and Pearl Hart came to the show, Pearl was inspired and so are people today. These women helped inspire so many people then now and in between. As as you can see these women were important to westward expansion because they helped us in many different ways,Annie Oakley and Nellia Cashman and more that helped our history, and they helped shape us and make us who we are today. Fun Facts :
Transcontinental Railroad
By: Ago and Maalik In the early 1800s, many Americans had a common goal: Manifest Destiny. Most Americans lived between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi river, not any further west. Manifest Destiny was the goal to expand west, to places like the Louisiana Territory, Oregon, and California. These places would allow them to have more farming land. So people began to travel west using covered wagons. In the early 1830’s, people began to want a different way of traveling west. They wanted to travel safer, faster, and easier than by wagon. People like Asa Whitney tried to convince congress to build a railroad that could stretch from east to west, giving people a separate option to travel, but failed to. However, in the early 1860’s, Theodore Judah (nicknamed Crazy Judah) found a passageway in the Sierra Nevada mountains that allowed a train to go through. So in 1862, Abraham Lincoln (the U.S president back then) signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law, saying that 2 different companies, the Central Pacific Railroad Company and the Union Pacific Railroad Company, would build a railroad that would stretch from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska. The companies would be paid by the mile. The Central Pacific Railroad Company started in Sacramento, California and was mostly made up of Chinese immigrant workers. They had a harder job than the Union Pacific Railroad Company, because they had to blow up mountains in the Sierra Nevada, and then build. Whereas the Union Pacific didn’t have to deal with mountains. This made The Central Pacific have less land to build tracks on. The Union Pacific Railroad Company started in Omaha, Nebraska and built across great plains. But even though their job was easier, they had a slow start. It lacked money. The government would give them money to build, but only after it laid long stretches of track. They also did not have enough workers. Most men back then were fighting in the Civil War, and therefore couldn’t help build the railroad. So Thomas Durant hired Irish laborers to help build the railroad. Fun Facts!:
Ticket costs: $136 for first class $110 for second class $65 for third class/Emigrant class The Trail of Tears
By Penelope Day and Ella Eisenberg The Trail of Tears was when a lot of Native people who lived in southern places like Georgia, Florida, and Alabama were forced by gunpoint to the Indian Territory which is now modern day Oklahoma. Most of the Native people didn’t want to move, but America was hungry for more land, especially when gold and good cotten was found on cherokee land, and they could not share with the Naives. In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was passed by Andrew Jackson (despite the natives civilized efforts to be more like settlers) and natives were forced to move west. Some (especially the Cherokee tribe) protested. In 1838 the Natives were marched by gunpoint from home to the Indian Territory. This walk became known as “The Trail Where They Cried” in several Native languages which became known as The Trail of Tears. Immediately after Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828, he declared the Indian Removal Act. The next call to action after the Natives decided to stay put, is that the law enforcement signed the Treaty of New Echota. The Treaty of New Echota declared that the Natives had leave for reservations in the Indian Territory, in exchange for five Million Dollars. The Treaty of New Echota cost 3 million lives. Still this was considered a good deal by Americans. Most Natives did not want to move even when they were offered this great amount but some did. Major Ridge was one of them. He was a prominent Cherokee leader. Although He did want his fellow Cherokee to be safe, he did sign the Treaty of New Echota which lead to the tragic trail of tears. It's clear he did not care if they left their home land very much. Many Cherokees died on the journey, They had to bury 14 or 15 dead Natives each stop. The Native people will walk in our minds forever. We will never forget the hardships they had to face on The Trail of Tears. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2017
Categories |