
Well as meat, so ranchers also benefited. Miners required food, equipment, clothing, services, and entertainment, Supplying the miners' many needs flocked to the latest boom towns. Local population soared, as miners poured in and people engaged in

In Nevada, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Variety of places, including Pikes Peak in Colorado, the Comstock Lode Later discoveries of rich ore deposits spurred new migrations to a "Forty-Niners." The gold rush also attracted Chinese, Europeans, SouthĪmericans, and others, all hoping to strike it rich. Second, a gold rush in California inġ849 attracted droves of American fortune seekers called victory in the Mexican War (1846-1848) gave the young nation vast Two events helped spur a much larger migration by 1849. Over most of the West, migrating instead to fertile valleys inĬalifornia and Oregon by a variety of land and sea routes. They feared the area's vast deserts, rugged mountain Immigrants to the West saw most of the region as an obstacle, not aĭestination. Throughout the 1800's,Īmerica's frontier moved steadily westward. The article willĪlso look at conflicts between Native Americans and white settlers.įinally, it will examine the ways in which the West left its mark on Transformed the region: mining, ranching, and farming. It will then focus on three major economic activities that The western frontier and the different peoples who inhabited thatįrontier. This article will first describe the great changes experienced on Their efforts were aidedīy improvements in transportation, communication, farm equipment, and As a result, immigrants to the West had to adaptĪnd find new ways of doing things to survive. Had a drier climate than that of the East, and western terrain often Regardless of the precise boundary line used, the western frontierĭiffered in many ways from the eastern United States. For the complete story of westernĮxpansion in the United States, see Westward movement in America. Some definitions of the region include all lands west of the Texas and Kansas up through the eastern third of Nebraska and theĭakotas. This line of longitude runs though the middle of Historians sometimes define the American West as lands west of the 98th meridian,

Of the era, the West had become a bustling society populated by new Native American cultures dominated most parts of the region. At the beginning of that period, a great variety of From 1850 to 1900, swift and widespread changes transformed theĪmerican West. Describes one of the most exciting periods in the history of the United
