Conquest of the West 1865-1900

How does this image exemplify Manifest Destiny?

The West provided investors and those looking for a new life an opportunity to reap profits from:• Land• Railroads• Natural Resources• Farming• Ranching

However, the West needed to be tamed and civilized…not just the land, but its inhabitants.

Railroad expansion and new inventions such as barb wire help contain the West.

What themes connected to Manifest Destiny are incorporated in this advertisement?

Taming the Land and Its Inhabitants

Current Indian Reservation Lands

Lands lost by Native Americans 1775-1894

Compare and contrast the two images and explain how both represent the influence of geography on the development of the West.

To what extent did the natural environment shape the development of the West beyond the Mississippi and the lives of those who lived there? How important were other factors?