Module 2: Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900

In the middle of the nineteenth century, farmers in the “Old West”—the land across the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania—began to hear about the opportunities to be found in the “New West.” They had long believed that the land west of the Mississippi was a great desert, unfit for human habitation. But now, the federal government was encouraging them to join the migratory stream westward to this unknown land. For a variety of reasons, Americans increasingly felt compelled to fulfill their “Manifest Destiny,” a phrase that came to mean that they were expected to spread across the land given to them by God and, most importantly, spread predominantly American values to the frontier. This module explores Westward Expansion. 

1. Explain the evolution of American views about westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-7)
   
2. Analyze the ways in which the federal government facilitated Americans’ westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
3. Identify the challenges that farmers faced as they settled west of the Mississippi River (CO 1-7)
4. Describe the unique experiences of women who participated in westward migration (CO 1-7)
5. Identify the major discoveries and developments in western gold, silver, and copper mining in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
6. Explain why the cattle industry was paramount to the development of the West and how it became the catalyst for violent range wars (CO 1-5)
7. Describe the methods that the U.S. government used to address the “Indian problem” during the settlement of the West (CO 1-7)
   
8. Explain the United States policy of Americanization as it applied to Native peoples in the nineteenth century (CO 1-7)
9. Describe the treatment of Chinese immigrants and Hispanic citizens during the westward expansion of the nineteenth century (CO 1-5)

To achieve these objectives:

1. Read the Module 2 Introduction above.
   
2. Read and view the materials in Module 2 (click below)
3. View the Module 2 PowerPoint below.
4. Complete Module 2 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities