There were many things that ended up helping the American West Frontier during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. Once the Civil War was over, many people, northerners and southerners alike, figured that striking out away from the established lands was a way to start fresh. Many people sought a new life out West and decided to uproot their lives in the process—establishing towns and gathering land for themselves. Compounding this was the fact that taxes rose sharply to pay for many of the acts of reconstruction—so many people chose to go their own way instead of pay the heavy taxes.

Additionally, a unifying effort was made throughout the established states - as work programs and, in particular, railroads were introduced and improved. Almost every state decided to start subsidizing railroads with tax money. While there was as of yet no major railroad to cross the country, they began spreading out further West, and had more connections to Eastern states than ever before.

Finally, because of the bitterness that grew up following the Civil War towards African-Americans, many of them fled in droves to the West, establishing all African-American towns. These places promised prosperity and eventually gained diversity by including Chinese immigrants, Native Americans, and other minorities. The rate of growth of these towns led to population explosions throughout the Frontier.

List and describe three specific ways in which the American West benefited from the reconstruction after the Civil War.

For this question, I think it is important that one defines who benefits. Native Americans did not benefit from the settlement of the West since violence was committed against them their way of life was upended over the course of about thirty years. The buffalo was pushed to extinction by market hunters who received discounted ammunition from the U.S. government. While the U.S. benefited from natural resources and cheap land in the West, not everyone benefited equally.

When looked at from a white industrialist perspective, the West benefited from the industrial growth experienced by the U.S. during Reconstruction. The Civil War demonstrated the power of railroads, and during Reconstruction a handful of railroad financiers made millions off of railroad contracts with the U.S. government. The end of the Civil War brought renewed interest in creating a transcontinental railroad—the last spike of this railroad was driven at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869. The minerals and farm products of the West could now be moved more efficiently to the East where they had ready markets. This made the West more profitable. More people came to the West in order to seek their fortunes. Others came West in order to enjoy the drier climate that was supposed to help with lung diseases. All of these people made their mark on Western culture and the economy.

The West benefited from a flood of new arrivals. The end of the Civil War saw an immigration boom from Europe. Many from Central and Eastern Europe came to the Western plains in search of cheap land made available under the Homestead Act. Whereas many Americans saw the Plains as a treeless wasteland, Russians, Poles, and Ukrainians saw land similar to the steppes back home. They came and planted wheat—though farm prices would rise and fall unpredictably during the postwar era, these immigrants made the West into the world's breadbasket.

The West also benefited from a postwar boom in emigration from other states. Many Black people and poor White people left the South after the war and sought opportunities as miners, cowboys, and ranchers in the West. These poorer Americans became the labor needed in order to fully use the resources of the West.

The West also benefited from the U.S. Army's focus on conflicts with Native Americans after the war. The wars with the Lakota and other tribes intensified during the Reconstruction era. The U.S. Army was able to send Civil War veterans and generals such as William Sherman and Philip Sheridan to the West in order to convince or force the tribes to accept reservation life. While the U.S. and Native Americans of the West sparred over trails, most notably with the Lakota signing the Laramie Treaty in 1851 which guaranteed safe White passage on the Oregon Trail, it took the end of the Civil War for the U.S. government to focus the energies of its smaller army on fighting the Native Americans and achieving a permanent peace. While the Native Americans clearly did not benefit from this action because of the loss their lives and culture, others who used the West, such as White settlers, benefited from having additional land for cattle, mining, and industrial farming.