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Read pages 166-169 (History)

Early American History and Westward Expansion

Key events in American history:• Earliest inhabitants arrived at least 14,000 years ago

from Asia.• Europeans began arriving 500 years ago: first Spanish,

then English and French.• British established 13 colonies.• After independence, in 1776, U.S. established a federal

system of government and started to expand.• Within 100 years the U.S. stretched from Atlantic to

Pacific by annexing, purchasing land and war.

Section 1 History

Place Names -Settlement History

Named after the group of people that settled the area or place

• British= East Coast (New York, Richmond)• Native Indians= All over (Mississippi, Appalachian)• Spanish = Southwest (Santa Fe, San Francisco)• French= Great Lakes Area, Mississippi River

(St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit)

What is Westward Expansion?

Westward expansion

Obstacles to expansion1. FALL LINE – point of a river where the river goes

from deep, wide, and calm to shallow and rough. The fall line starts were the soft rock of the Atlantic coastal plain meets the hard rock of the Piedmont.

a. Piedmont – dense rock and rolling hills at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains

b. Navigable river – River that is deep and wide enough for ship to sail

Obstacles to expansion - continue

2. Appalachian Mountains (1st major) – there were no trains or roads early on. People were exposed to the weather and could get killed by a winter storm.

3. Mississippi River - there were no bridges or boats

4. “Savage Indians” – Most people could not tell a peaceful Indian Tribe from a more violent tribe. Many colonist were simply too afraid to move.

INDIAN NATIONS

Obstacles to expansion - continue

5. The Rocky Mountain Rangea. High elevation and Rugged terrainb. Winter Blizzards are quick, cold, and deadly

Donner Party – cannibalismc. AKA the Great Divide or Continental Divide

- separates the eastward and westward flowing rivers

6. Death Valley to Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

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Natural Environments of North America

Section 1: Physical FeaturesSection 2: Climates and Biomes

Section 3: Natural Resources

CHAPTER 7

Manifest Destiny

Reasons for expansion

1. Manifest Destiny – It was a common belief that it was a divine plan that

the United State should span from coast to coast

2. The government sold land cheap and often gave it away if people would settle in the west + Sooners (Oklahoma Land Rush)

3. Fertile Farm land in Great Plains Region4. 1849 Gold Rush to California

Reasons for expansion

Gold Rush – Ways to get to Californiaa. Walk/Wagon Trail – cheapest way to travel

- there was power in numbers- took a minimum 4-6 months (often

more)b. Sail through the Caribbean to Panama walk across

and get another ship on the Pacific side of Panama

c. Sail all the way around South America

Old Oregon TrailThrough PanamaAround Cape Horn

Routes to California Gold Rush

1849

What Helped Expansion? Technology……

• Railroad expansion (Transcontinental Railroad was completed by 1869)

• Agriculture Machinery & Irrigation Techniques turned the Great American Desert (Great Plains) into productive farm land.