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Westward Expansion Analysis

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Critical Analysis of Westward Expansion
“Go west, young man”. It was the phrase of the 19th Century advocating for Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the idea that settlers were destined to expand to the west. “Americans not only considered Westward expansion a desirable objective but an endowment from God through which they could take their democratic republicanism across North America (Dobson, 2013). There were many factors that urged westward expansion, but the most common reasons for settlers were for the social environment, the natural environment, and the economic opportunities. The social environment of the west included the idea of freedom and the idea of Native American interaction. The natural environment was thriving in the west as gold and other precious minerals were discovered throughout westward expansion. The economic opportunities in the west were almost endless. As settlers took adapted Manifest Destiny, opportunist and businessmen took it towards their advantage …show more content…
As many saw the gold rush and precious minerals as quick way to get rich, so did many wealthy business owners and even freed slaves. Poor settlers moved out west looking to make an attempt at mining and the discovery of precious minerals often inhabiting the region learning valuable information about the areas resources and routes. Business owners saw the opportunity to grow their wealth as many boom towns were quickly built due to the mining of minerals. In most boom towns, there were no law enforcements but needs were still to be met. Businessmen took the opportunity to help build towns and provide loans to small business owners. African Americans were also moving west as it “provided an unprecedented opportunity for blacks to work toward land ownership and possible creation of wealth in the West” (Winston, n.d.). The economic opportunities grew as the west became more populated hence the more customers, the more

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