Expansion of slavery was another important reason that led to territorial expansion. Eli Whitney’s invention of the Cotton Gin in 1793, made cotton production easier and more profitable, enabling it to spread from the Southeast into the old Indian lands of the west. The South was transformed by the expansion of cotton production. Due to the rise of textile industry in England, a huge demand for cotton was created. Cotton production rose from 3000 bales in 1790, to a 100,000 in 1801 and nearly 4 million in 1860. This caused the revitalization of slavery, which was a lucrative business, especially during the Civil War. The south’s economic dependence was mainly due to slavery. Illegal imports of slaves from Africa, led to a substantial rise in population.
It wasn’t until 1794, when the first hard-surfaced road connected Philadelphia and Lancaster led to transport improvement and therefore a general improvement of communication. Without transport improvement, expansion would have taken a much slower path. Most turnpikes were financed and built privately and the road running across the Appalachians led thousands of pioneer families to settle westwards. Other forms of competition subsided the building of roads. After John Fitch had successfully demonstrated a paddle wheeler, it was Robert Fulton who made steam navigation commercially successful in 1807. Steamboats made their greatest impact in the west. States such as New Orleans, which was the natural outlet for Western, flour, corn, beef, tobacco etc grew rapidly leading to territorial expansion in the West.
Railroads took over competition, and steam locomotives resolved the struggle for Western markets. More than $1,250 million was invested in railroads between 1830 and 1860.
The rivalry between East and West led to an advertisement war. To most Americans “the West” still referred to the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Knowing that the average migrant wanted stability and security, newspaper reports and pamphlets aimed at describing the West to easterners usually stressed the bountiful resources of the region. This showed the desire of the federal government to encourage settlement and development in the west.
The West had particular values, which attracted immigrants and Europeans to migrate to its lands. It was more innovative, self-reliant and aggressively democratic than the East. This led Western towns to grow fast. In the 1840’s, the total urban population grew from 1,843,500 to 3,548,000, an increase of 92%. Changes in the public land policy, such as “The Land Act of 1796”, also helped Western settlement. Public land was sold at auction at minimum prices and credit facilities resulted in migration.
Another important role, which led to territorial expansion, was Growth in Industry. Industrialization can be traced back to 1790 when an English immigrant, Samuel Slater, built a tiny cotton-spinning mill. After the war hundreds of mills covered most of New England. The woolen manufacture was transformed by the introduction of power machinery. Formative industries leaned heavily to European technology, but native ingenuity and inventiveness made contribution. New technological advances such as the first automatic flourmill, the electric telegraph or the steam cylinder-press, which made possible to print newspapers quick and cheap led to a greater employment rate. Europeans saw hope of finding prosperous jobs in America and migrated with all their hope.
Industry growth meant a greater need of employees increasing the expansion into the cities. Before the Civil War, the number of people employed in manufacturing grew from 349,000 to 1,311,000. Capital invested in manufacturing rose from $50 million to $1,000 million.
The changes that were taking place in the North caused mass immigration. While the number of people coming abroad rose 10,000, in the 1830s immigrants arrived at a rate of 50,000 a year and by the 1850s well over 300,000. Most of them came from northern and western Europe fleeing from economic pressure or famine like in Ireland. Millions believed and were determined to seek a share of American prosperity. The majority of immigrants settled in the North. Once in America most of them were forced into menial occupations. By 1840, immigrants made up almost half the population of New York, Chicago, Detroit etc
Seen as one of the most remarkable westward migration was due to the Mormon trek to the Great Slat Lake basin. Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith and sprang among the second-generation of New England Yankees. True believes in Mormonism created prosperous communities wherever they settled leading to resentment. They migrated to Missouri but after several massacre moved to Illinois. Their Smith was arrested and murdered in June 1944. Brigham Young became his successor and led to the basin of Great Salt Lake in the Mexican territory, apparently inhospitable for any other white to live. Centralized planning and collective irrigation from mountain streams enabled Mormons to survive.
Abraham Lincoln believed that the Mormons should “I propose to let them alone”.
Along with the migration of the Mormons, the Gold Rush led to the most remarkable westward migration. In 1848 gold had been discovered in the Sacramento Valley. Within a year, 80,000 49ers arrived in California, a population big enough to be justified as statehood. In 1850, they applied to become a state.
In conclusion I would say that the huge territorial expansion in the USA was due to the fact, that Europeans saw it as the land of opportunity. Religious movements, economic development and incidents like the Gold Rush led greatly to expansion. People looked for a better life and the idea of becoming prosperous in a short period of time attracted large amounts of people to become part of the Gold Rush. It was the hope that their lives would improve that caused the mass amount of immigration.
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