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How did US policy from 1850 to 1900 encourage Westward expansion and Eastern industrial development?
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From 1850 to 1900, U.S. policies encouraged westward expansion through the Homestead Act, which offered free land to settlers, and the construction of the transcontinental railroad, supported by government land grants. Native American lands were forcibly taken, facilitating further settlement. The Oklahoma Land Rush also opened new territories. Meanwhile, Eastern industrial growth was fueled by unregulated business practices, minimal government interference, and resources from the West, despite tensions between Western farmers and Eastern business interests.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the federal government instituted a number of policies aimed at encouraging settlement in the West. Overpopulation in the East coupled with seemingly endless opportunities in the West meant that many Americans were hungry for new land to settle and cultivate. To address this issue, the Homestead Act was passed by Congress in 1862. This act essentially gave land away to settlers for free. They just had to live on it and cultivate it for five years. As many as 600,000 families took the government up on this generous offer.
The federal government also freed up land in the West for settlement by forcefully resettling many of the Native American tribes in the region. This sometimes resulted in bloody and brutal wars against native peoples. US policy was for these tribes to become part of the general society of the country and give...
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up their own cultural traditions. When they resisted this forced "civilization" they were brought under control by force. Once their ancestral lands had been taken from them, white settlers quickly moved in.
One unique episode in westward expansion became known as the Oklahoma Land Rush. In 1889, a large swath of the Oklahoma territory was seized by the government from tribes that had previously allied themselves with the Confederacy during the Civil War. With all this new unassigned land up for grabs, the government essentially said whoever got there first, starting at noon on April 22, 1889, could claim the land. As many as 50,000 people took part in this unprecedented land-grab.
All the settlement in the West had an indelible impact on the East. First of all, it took a lot of pressure off the problems that were coming with overpopulation in the region. This period of history coincides with a period of heavy immigration. With more and more people crowding East Coast cities, many people looked to the endless expanses of the West for opportunities. Once in the West, settlers sent a vast amount of resources to the factories back East. Furthermore, food grown in the Great Plains helped to feed the urban populations in the Eastern cities, allowing more people to settle there and work in the factories.
References
Settlement of the West could not proceed in earnest until the sectional dispute between the North and the South was settled. After the North had won the Civil War in 1865, serious work began on a transcontinental railroad. Before the Civil War, the two sides were not able to agree on a route for the railroad.
The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlement of the West. A settler could buy land for $1.25 an acre or receive 160 acres free after working it for five years.
The transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869. The U.S. government encouraged its construction through generous land grants to the railroad companies. Prior to its completion, one had to travel West on horseback or ride in a wagon.
Railroad owners overcharged Western farmers. State governments eventually passed Granger laws that limited the rates railroads could charge. But most farmers in the West faced severe financial difficulties and were in debt.
The federal government waged numerous wars against Native Americans between 1864 and 1890. Indians who survived were often required to become farmers through the Dawes Act (1887). The government's ruthless actions made more land available for whites. Oklahoma, once known as Indian Territory, was opened to white settlers in 1889.
As the West was settled, it was evident that the federal government favored Eastern business interests over Western settlers. There was a great deal of corruption, too. Western farmers became politically active in an attempt to improve their economic prospects.
For westward expansion, the government did a lot of things:
- Provided protection against Indians (Army)
- Gave huge land grants to the railroads to get them to push westward
- Gave cheap land to settlers (Homestead Act)
- Helped figure out the best ways to farm (Land grant colleges)
These are the main things the government did to help settlers.
For industrial growth, mainly the government just didn't do anything to regulate the large companies. The government didn't impose any rules on things like child labor or minimum wage/maximum hours, things like that. They also tended to side with businesses against unions.