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Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion was the
period of time in the early
1800s when many Americans
moved west.
Background
In the 1800s, many Americans decided that they
wanted some more elbow room as cities like New York,
Philadelphia, and Baltimore along the East Coast got
overcrowded. They packed up their bags, said goodbye
to their friends, their families, their common daily routine,
and hitched a covered wagon to a better life in the West.
It didnt matter who you were, where you came
from, your job or age. Everyone started migrating to the
Great Plains (Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska etc.), the
Southwest, (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico etc.), and that
Golden Coast past the Rocky Mountains (California,
Oregon, Washington), especially when the California Gold
Rush started.
Some peoples lives became better. Others took a
turn for the worse due to bad planning or harsh weather.
Many people died on the trail. The trip was hard, but most
of the time, rewarding.
Everyone was moving west.
This is a map of the Indian Territory, where
removed Native Americans were sent. It is now the
western part of the state of Oklahoma.
Words to Know
Cherokee
Great
Plains
agriculture
sovereign
The Cherokee were a
Native American tribe that
lived in southwest Georgia.
The central area of the U.S,
like Kansas, Nebraska, and
Oklahoma. Prone to
tornadoes.
Farming, specifically
growing crops. A huge
American industry in the
1800s.
Independent, or your own,
country/state separate
from the others.
Adam

2

The Trail of Tears
In 1785, even before the
Constitution was signed, President
George Washington signed the
Treaty of Hopewell, signifying that
the Cherokee people of the
Southeast could continue living in
the land of their birth.
The treaty founded a sovereign
entity much like a state inside the
other states like Georgia,
Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama.
The Cherokee Nation was
originally led by small village
councils like the old Cherokee
land was, but soon Cherokees
gone wealthy from agriculture
started a National Council,
completely removing any power
of village councils, headquartered
in the city of New Echota.
At the same time, President
Thomas Jefferson made a promise to
the Georgian government stating that
he would remove the Cherokee and
other Native nations from the state, a
promise not wholly legal due to the
Treaty of Hopewell. That was a promise
never kept as he left his second term in
1809, the Cherokee people were still
there. But the danger of removal was
still real.
When Andrew Jackson was elected
President in 1828, gold was discovered
in Georgia on Native land. Jackson, in
his quest for wealth and hatred, passed
a federal law stating that any state
government may revoke the right of
sovereignty to the Native nations,
making them follow state law instead of
their own. This made not just the
Cherokee, but also the Chickasaw and
the Creek and the Choctaw and the
Seminole, angry. Soon, though it was
election time, and just as things
were starting to look a little bit
better for the Natives, Jackson was
reelected, passed the Indian
Removal Act, and sent tens of
thousands of Chickasaw, Creek, and
Seminole to Indian Territory, or to
their death.
Suddenly, a rally started in the
Cherokee Nation, overthrowing the
National Council with the Treaty
Party, who wanted to leave and go to
Indian Territory. While the National
Council went to whine in
Washington, the Treaty Party signed
the Treaty of New Echota with John
Schermerhorn of Congress. In 1836,
the removal started. Many died on
what would be known as The Trail of
Tears. America harming its own
people.

For European immigrants
looking for a better life, the
Westward Expansion was a
great thing. For the Native
Americans living in the West or
Southeast, it wasnt and many of
them died and/or had to leave
their homes. The Trail of Tears
got its name after all the tears on
the ground after Native family
members mourned the leaving
of their home or the loved ones that
passed along the way.
For more information on the Trail
of Tears, go to:
*http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/reso
urces/archives/two/
*http://wak.infobaselearning.com/recor
durl.aspx?wid=104448&nid=14852


Native Americans
&
Westward Expansion
This map is the basic map of the
trails pioneers followed during
Westward Expansion. It includes
the Oregon Trail.
Westward Expansion
In the 1800s many people traveled west in covered
wagons. They left their homes and packed their bags and
headed out west on the Oregon Trail. This trail started from
the east coast to the west coast. They traveled west because
they wanted a better life than they had. On the trail there were
many dangers. For example, there were sometimes Native
American raids and there were many diseases like cholera that
killed pioneers on the way, and there were also tough terrains
that were extremely hard to get over. This trail became more
popular when the word got out that there was gold in
California. This became known as the California Gold Rush.
People also traveled to California by boat, but that way was
longer. They went all the way down to South America and
came back up.
Pioneers making a temporary shelter.
Words to Know
Pioneer
Temporary
Reservation
a person who is among
the first to explore or settle
a new country or area
lasting for only a limited
period of time; not
permanent
the place Native
Americans were forced
onto
Albert

2

Native Americans
Native American tribes were deeply
impacted when the settlers moved
west. Native Americans got forced
out of their homes and they were
forced onto reservations.
The Apache tribes were once good
friends with the U.S but that
relation soon fell apart when gold
miners captured an Apache chief
and tied him to a tree and beat him.
This relation also fell apart when
the U.S forced the Apache tribe
onto reservations. This made the
Apache tribe and the U.S go to war
and they killed each other.
A famous person in the Apache
tribe was Apache Chief Geronimo.
He was a mysterious man because
it is said that he ran into a cave and
U.S. soldiers surrounded the outside of
the cave and Geronimo got out
unharmed and the U.S soldiers still
were waiting outside of the cave. He
is also said to be cornered on the edge
of a 310ft. cliff and he jumped off and
he still survived. When Chief
Geronimo was in battle, he attacked
people like their weapons were
nothing. He was also known to walk
in muddy areas without leaving
footsteps.
The trail of tears was a dangerous and
sad time. The Cherokee, and other
tribes, were forced out of their
homelands and onto reservations by
President Jackson. They were given
the choice to move peacefully, but
some tribes did not move so the U.S
soldiers forced them out. There
were 2000 people sick and feeble,
many were near death, and the
Native Americans usually buried 14
or 15 at every stopping place.
Many people think that the Iroquois
influenced many parts of the
constitution. Many people think
this because the Iroquois were
separate, but united. This is just like
the United States. The states are
separate but they are united. In the
Iroquois tribe men and women
shared power. There was also the
Iroquois League where Iroquois
leaders met to make rules that
affected everyone. This is like the
Constitutional Convention and like
when the president meets with the
leaders of other countries.
As you can see, when many people
moved west they wanted to get a
better life and also start a new life,
fresh and clean. When Pioneers
moved west they impacted a lot of
Native American tribes like the
Cherokee and the Apache. There
were ups and downs about moving
west. For more information on
Native Americans please feel free to
visit TrueFlix at:
http://tfx.grolier.com/cb/node-
33086
and also for the Trail of Tears
please visit FreedomFlix at:
http://freedomflix.digital.scholastic
.com/unitPage/node-
34834/10014103/.





What do you think about moving
west?

This is a Cherokee Native American.


Westward Expansion
This picture is a map of the
route of the Oregon Trail.
Many pioneers used this
route.
Westward Expansion

There were many reasons people moved West. You
could be a farmer wanting to explore the better landscapes
with all the rich soil that makes it easy for you and your future
farmers. You could be an explorer who is looking for a new
land nobody has heard of. You could be a slave who is looking
for freedom. You could be a miner looking into the Gold
Rush. Or, you could be a family who wants to solve all the
hardships you have been through.
There were many events going on while pioneers were
moving west. During 1803, the Louisiana Purchase started,
during that time Lewis and Clark were sent by Thomas
Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Territory. 43 years later
more settlers began traveling in their covered wagons to move
West! Oregon Territory was no longer owned by the British
because the U.S and Great Britain made an Oregon Treaty. 2
years later U.S and Mexico signed another treaty to add 1.2
million sq. miles to the U.S to expand it even more! Then, the
California Gold Rush started! A lot of chaos just for gold!
This is people traveling in covered wagons through the Oregon
Trail.
Words To Know
pioneer
James
Marshall
cholera
A person who moves
west
He discovered gold in
California
Infectious intestinal
disorder
Audrey

2

The California Gold Rush
The beginning of the Gold Rush
started all from a discovery that
changed U.S history. James
Marshall was checking out the
canal while he was working.
There was something that struck
his mind. Marshall found golden
rocks.
He then scooped some up with
his hat. He found out it was
gold. Marshall tried to keep it a
secret, before he knew it
thousands of foreigners and
Americans raced to California
for the search of gold - the gold
rush!
The Gold Rush started.
Newspapers from all around the
U.S quickly got word. Men took
off into the gold fields and
wanted to strike rich.
Now a new occupation opened
up, being a forty-niner. Back
then, meals were expensive so if
you were a forty-niner you
would work to dig up gold and
in return you would have a nice
meal. You could also buy
clothes for you and your family.
But when gold mining it can be
dangerous, choosing routes to
mine at. You could get attacked
by Native Americans or catch a
deadly disease like cholera. Not
only did Americans mine,
different people had mined too.
The Native Americans started
mining. Chinese miners started
coming. The population of
Chinese miners was up to
20,000! Slave owners would
force slaves to dig up gold. The
California Gold Rush played a
big part in Westward
Expansion.


Westward Expansion during the
1800s was hard for pioneers.
With all the reasons for moving
West, including the Gold Rush,
sometimes things didnt always
go well. The dangers of animals
or predators can cause someone
hurt. Diseases and the harsh
weather can cause hardships.
You could die of starvation and
dehydration or get hurt by
Native American attacks.
However, once you got
through all the hardships, some
felt it was worth it!



To find more
information you can go onto these
following sites.
http://tfx.grolier.com/
http://freedomflix.digital.scholastic
.com/


A Journey Full of Tears
Westward Expansion was a
great time for Americans.
However, controversial
decisions by President
Andrew Jackson led to
sorrow for Native Americans.
Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion was a chaotic time during the
1800s. The U.S was acquiring territories like crazy, and
people were moving to them.

In 1805, Thomas Jefferson
hired Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the
newly acquired territories in the West and bring back
plant and animal specimens. Most people moved west:
teachers, lawyers, criminals, jobless people, immigrants
and miners, just to name a few. They moved west because
of the rolling hills, fertile farmland, empty land, animals to
hunt, and basically, a new life. There were many hardships
along the way, just like there were hardships before they
expanded west. People went there by covered wagon or
by the Transcontinental Railroad, which was completed in
1869.

Territories the U.S acquired to complete Westward
Expansion.
Words to Know
Infamous
Implored
Fertile
Notorious, well-known
Pleaded
Land or region
Rich land for growing
crops
Brenner
Territories

2

The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was when a
Native American tribe, the
Cherokee was forced out of their
territory in Northwest Georgia.
This started in 1829, when white
settlers discovered gold on
Cherokee lands, became greedy
and decided that they HAD to
have the Cherokees land and that
they couldnt share. They
implored for the removal of the
Cherokee tribe. Andrew Jackson,
[in]famous for fighting Native
Americans, like the Seminoles,
didnt think that whites and Native
Americans could {and should}live
together peacefully, and agreed,
and passed the Indian Removal
Act of 1830. This evil act called
for the removal of every single
Native American in the
southeastern United States to the
territory west of the Mississippi
River. Native Americans had to
either walk {which is ridiculous]
or take a water route to
Oklahoma. The walking or
horseback-riding route took
Native Americans through
Tennessee, Kentucky, southern
Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
The water route took them on
the Tennessee and Ohio rivers,
then down the Mississippi river
and finally up the Arkansas
river. Things started to look up
for Native Americans. Cherokee
leader John Ross argued against
the Indian Removal Act of 1830
and won. But this was [rudely]
ignored by the governor of
Georgia and Andrew Jackson.
Starting in May of 1838, the U.S.
Army forced Cherokees into
stockades for preparation for
their harsh dismissal. The army
sent soldiers to Indian Territory
starting on June 6 of 1838. The last
party arrived on March 24, 1839.
The Native Americans traveled
almost 1,000 miles. Many
Cherokee became sick during the
journey and thousands of
Cherokee died.
At the same time others started to
move west by choice. Some
ways Pioneers moved were by
wagon train, [on the Oregon
Trail], by taking a ship around
Panama and through the Panama
Canal, or by the Transcontinental
Railroad. What way would YOU
take?
For information on the Trail of
Tears and Westward
Expansion go to:
http://www.history.com/topics/wes
tward-expansion

http://www.history.com/topics/trail
-of-tears




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spieau eveiywheie anu people
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because mineis hau to uig
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one oi two times a uay once
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The golu iush went fiom 1799
to 188S. The golu iush maue a
lot of people move to Califoinia
foi jobs anu foi golu. Some
people weie iich in Califoinia
because they weie the fiist
people to finu the golu!
Bowevei, mineis hau to
expeiience hot weathei. They
only hau canules, so fiie haue to
light the whole tunnel.
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usually took a lot of time to
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Foi moie infoimation you can visit:
http:auth.gioliei.comlogintfxlogin.php
http:auth.gioliei.comloginbookflixlogin.p
hp
http:fieeuomflix.uigital.scholastic.com
http:woilubookonline.comwbpiouucts.eu
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Westward Expansion
There was something called
Westward Expansion back in the
1800s. The pioneers traveled
west to places such as Oregon.
Westward Expansion
Back in the 1800s there was something called
Westward Expansion. There were many pioneers moving
west. There were many dangers, but still many fortunes.
The pioneers traveled west on either the Oregon Trail, or
the Hacker Trail or other trails. The most famous trail was
the Oregon Trail. Many pioneers traveled in wagon trains
or covered wagons. The wagon trains were very often
hauled by their oxen or horse. Moving west was a big
decision; you had to be prepared for any possible fates.
You had to remember you were leaving civilization to get
to a better place where you could be living with fresh land,
better civilization, and a much better life living in the west.
The west was waiting for Pioneers to arrive.

This is a map of how the Pioneers traveled to
Oregon. This is the Oregon Trail. The trail in red
is a westward route.
Words to Know
Hauled
Pioneers
Wagon Train
or Covered
Wagon
Civilization
To pull or drag
People that traveled
west
A transportation
system the pioneers
used to get to Oregon
People living in a
certain area
Daniella

2

Oregon Trail
Back in the 1800s many
people were moving west.
Many took the Oregon Trail.
Now, this was a big decision
so the pioneers had to prepare
for everything, I mean
everything. They had to
prepare for even the most
impossible things that could
happen.
The pioneers never really
knew when all of a sudden
something could happen.
Once the pioneers started to
travel west they were excited,
but not too excited to not be
cautious. There was some
loss of lives, but the pioneers
had to stay focused to keep
going and moving west. The
pioneers went through many
hardships on the Oregon
Trail. They could get diseases
such as malaria, cholera, and
mountain fever.
Still, there were some good
things that happened such as,
a trail helping lead the way to
Oregon, many good food and
crops, and chances to buy or
trade supplies found.
The Oregon Trail provided
many crossings and that
meant many tough decisions
and many possible fates.
When pioneers finally got to
Oregon and they were ready
to start their new lives. They
went through about five
months on the trail with no
civilization. The pioneers
were going to start their new
lives but didnt always have
an exact plan! So, the
pioneers had to make a plan
and get to work. After the
pioneers built their house and
settled down, it was time for
farming, growing crops, and
cooking. The pioneers finally
settled down and began their
new lives in the west.
For more information go to
some of these websites to learn
more:
http://worldbookonline.com/student
/home
http://worldbookonline.com/student
/kids





These are the pioneers moving along the Oregon
Trail to Oregon.


Westward Expansion
People traveled on the Oregon Trail in
covered wagons
Background
In the 1800s America started Manifest Destiny, the policy that the
expansion of the US was needed to gain more control. The US
government encouraged settlers to settle the western land so the US
could claim it as their own. It was a win-win situation because
settlers from the east wanted to move west. Some were farmers who
had heard of the luscious, fertile land west of the Rocky Mountains
good for growing their cash crops. Some people got gold fever and
thought they had a chance of finding gold and striking it rich. Some
people were just looking for adventure, a fresh start or more space as
the east was becoming crowded. Pioneers started their journeys west,
traveling west in trains of covered wagons, thinking it safer to travel
with others. The trip west though, was not an easy one. They could
be raided by Indians, catch diseases like Cholera, get bitten by a
rattlesnake, lose their supplies and lots more. For some, the trip was
worth it and others, perhaps not.

Words to Know
Pioneer

Uncharted

Expedition
First person to
explore territory

Unexplored

Journey
Danielle

2

Lewis and Clarks Expedition
President Thomas Jefferson made
a deal with Napoleon, the ruler of
France at the time, to buy the
Louisiana Territory in 1803 for
$500 per acre (about $15 million).
After his purchase, Jefferson
realized he had 800,000 square
miles of uncharted land! He
needed people to go and explore
that land and so he called
Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark to the job. Lewis and Clark
though, had individual jobs as
well. Lewis would take animal,
mineral and plant samples along
the way to study. Clark would
serve as a cartographer on the
journey and would chart the land.
So Lewis and Clark gathered
together a group of about 38
men and a few French boatmen.
York, Clarks slave came along
too. The expedition left St.
Louis in 1804. They arrived at
the Hidatsa villages where they
stayed at a fort they built which
they called Fort Mandan from
October of 1804 until April of
1805. The Mandan people, who
lived nearby, were friendly with
them and were good trading
partners. When the expedition
got ready to leave, the Mandan
gave them advice. Tribes out
west would think they were war
parties and that they would need
horses to help them cross the
mountain. They included that they
would get the horses from the
Shoshone people. Louis and Clark
knew that in order to get the
horses, they would need someone
who could communicate with the
Shoshone people. When Toussaint
Charbonneau, a common visitor
of the Hidatsa, heard of this, he
immediately suggested that he and
his wife Sacagawea, who spoke
Shoshone, could accompany
them. The translation process
would go like this:
Sacagawea- Shoshone to Hidatsa
Charbonneau- Hidatsa to French
Libache (one of the men on the original expedition)- French to
English
Another upside of having Sacagawea along was that with a
woman, Native American tribes out west would know they
werent a war party. On the way to the Shoshone villages and even after, when
she decided to stay with the expedition, Sacagawea was also very helpful as she knew the land well and
knew other useful things such as which plants were edible and which ones werent. The expedition finally
reached the Pacific Ocean on November 8
th
, 1805, their final destination before returning.

Lewis
Clark
Sacagawea


Westward Expansion
In the mid 1800s, people
moved west for a better
life.
Background
Imagine if you and your family traveled in a wagon for a couple of
months. How would you survive? In the 1800s, people would travel
west for better farmland, to get gold, or just for a better life. First,
Thomas Jefferson bought land from France. Then, he sent explorers
named Lewis and Clark to go explore the land. When they came
back, they told Jefferson that the land was good. When that news
spread, people wanted to move west.
A covered wagon is a wagon with a white sheet over it. If you went
west, you could not take too much with you, but this is how you
could travel. The most important thing that you would bring was
food and water. And you had to bring a lot of that! There were
problems and hardships on the trail as pioneers traveled in covered
wagons. One was Native American attacks, they were very rare
though. Another one could have been running out of food. If you
did, you would hunt, fish, or try to find fruit. Water was hard to
find. Sometimes just taking water from lakes could make the
pioneers sick.
This is map of the Oregon Trail which many
people followed to go west.
Words to Know
Pioneers
Covered
Wagon
Wagon
Train
Gold Rush
The people who moved
west
A wagon that pioneers
traveled in that had a white
sheet over it
A group of different
families who followed
each other on the trail
When a lot of people
move west to mine for
gold.
Halle

2

The California Gold Rush
During this time period, there
was something called the
California Gold Rush. This was
one of the reasons why so many
people moved west!
It all started when someone
named James Marshall was
building a sawmill for someone
else named John Sutter. They
were in a business together.
When Marshall was checking
the canal, he saw something
bright and shiny. Marshall
thought it was gold! Marshall
did some tests to see if it was
real gold. And it was real gold!
Marshall went to Sutter to tell
him the big news. The two men
did not want to spread the news.
They wanted to keep it a secret.
Soon after gold was found, some
more of Marshalls workers also
saw gold. Those other men
spread the news and it got
around. Soon, it was in the
newspaper. The news spread
pretty fast.
When so many people from so
many places heard about this,
they started rushing west. They
all hoped to strike it rich.
Millions of people came to try to
find gold. Even people from all
over the world came! A lot of
people did not find gold. But,
some got lucky! After so many
different people came, the gold
became more and more rare. As
time passed, the Gold Rush had
come to an end. Some people
got rich and some did not. The
California Gold Rush was a
major even during the westward
movement.
Once people got west, they had
to build a home out of trees,
sticks, dirt, and mud. The floors
were made out of dirt. They also
had to make there own
furniture. To make clothes, they
would have to sew or knit. For
food, they would hunt and grow
crops. Natural resources were
very important! Life could also
be very hard. Sometimes,
winters could be harsh and
from that, you could get
diseases and die. Some took the
risk and moved west, some did
not.





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Westward Expansion, visit
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www.worldbook.com


Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion was an
important part of American
history. It took place in the
1800s and people traveled
Westward Expansion
WESTWARD EXPANSION was an important part in
American history. It all started when the US bought and
claimed land from the West, since that land was owned by the
US, many COLONISTS wanted to move west for new lives,
money, and farm the rich land. People who moved west were
called PIONEERS. There were many ways for Pioneers to
move west, they could travel by ship, wagon, horse, train (late
1800s) and other ways. Pioneers wanted to go to rich places
like Oregon and California, so they took the famous Oregon
Trail. They took wagons on the trail with animals to pull them.
Also, the trail was very dangerous, there were diseases,
NATIVE AMERICAN attacks, resource shortages, and wild
animal attacks. Wagons were used from the 1800s to the
1900s; trains were more popular after that.


These are pioneers traveling in wagons.
Words to Know
Pioneers
Colonist
Native
Americans
Westward
Expansion
People who traveled west in
Westward Expansion
A person who settled in a
place
The first people who lived
in the US
Expanding the US by
claiming/buying land from
the West near the US
Andrew

2

The California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush
was an important part of
American history. It all
started on January 24
th
, 1848.
One day, a man named
Marshall James Wilson, who
had the job to supervise the
construction of John Sutters
mill, found shiny specs near
the river. At first he thought it
was just the suns light, but
then he picked up the shiny
stuff and saw that it was gold!
Marshall kept it a secret but
then the workers at the
construction site found out
and soon the word was
spreading over the territory,
country, and then the whole
world!
Many people all over the
world packed their belongings
and traveled to California to
strike it rich. Back then, in the
1800s, gold was used as money
or jewelry.
To get to California, people
took trails and sea routes. There
were 2 seas, Santa Fe Trail,
Oregon Trail, and the California
Trail.
There were many ways to
mine or get gold. One way
was panning, panning was
getting a tray and holding it
in the river, the river will
collect specs of gold and the
gold will fall in your pan.
Also, there was another way
of panning. People would
collect dirt in their pan and
dump water in it. The water
would separate the dirt and
gold. Another way to collect
gold was to mine it. People
used pickaxes or pipes that
shoot out water to break dirt
or stone.
Westward Expansion played
an important part in
American history. People
raced to the West to strike it
rich, start a new life, and farm
on good areas. It wasnt that
easy, there were diseases,
food shortages, Native
American attacks, dangerous
wild animals, and
wagon or ship
breakdowns. If you
went back in time to travel
west, where would you go?
For more information, go and
copy this website and search
Westward Expansion:
http://www.worldbookonline.com



Westward Movement
The Westward expansion
happened in the 1800s.
Pioneers and people
packed up for a better life
in the west.
Westward Expansion
In the 1800s there were many reasons to move
west. In 1803, Lewis and Clark explored the Louisiana
Territory. After that, people and pioneers packed up
and headed to the west. Some people wanted to
move west because they were facing problems at their
east coast homes. A lot of people wanted to move
west because they wanted better farming and more
space to live. Some took the Oregon Trail to the West.
Along the way to the West it was hard to cross-rivers
and the wheels of wagons could fall off. Pioneers
started their lives over again, had to build houses and
grow crops again. In 1849 the gold rush began. It was
important because it caused MANY more people to
move west to try to find gold.

The Transcontinental Railroad.
Words to Know
Westward
Expansion
Transcontinental
Railroad
Immigrants
Moving west in
the 1800s
The
Transcontinental
Railroad is a
faster way to
travel west
People who
traveled from
one place or
country to
another

Jenna

2
w
Transcontinental Railroad
Lots of people liked to use
the Transcontinental
Railroad to travel because it
was faster. Also, it was less
dangerous than a wagon.
Everyone from around the
world helped build the
Transcontinental Railroad. In
1865 Thomas Durant, an Irish
Immigrant, Chinese, and
slaves got hired to help build
the railroad. The
government gave the
railroad companies money.

Many southerners wanted
the railroad to have a
southern route because
slavery could be spread to
new territories and new
businesses and jobs.
Two companies would help
build the railroad across the
continent. The Central
Pacific Railroad would be
built east from Sacramento,
California. And the Union
Pacific Railroad would be
built west from Utah. After,
they would eventually meet
in Utah.
When they were building the
Transcontinental Railroad
they only had shovels,
wheelbarrows, picks, plows
and their bare hands. It was
hard being a worker building
the Transcontinental
Railroad. Some workers
could put 28 ft. of rails in
place every four minutes.



In conclusion, the
Transcontinental Railroad was
a safer, faster way to travel
and less dangerous. It was
hard building the
Transcontinental Railroad
and it took a long time, but it
was worth it in the end.






Westward Expansion

This picture to the right is a
map of the Oregon Trail.
Background
Westward Expansion happened a really long time ago.
Its when everyone packed up and left the eastern towns for
the west. Most people left because they wanted to become
wealthy, or for freedom. The settlers, or pioneers, who settled
the west had traveled in covered wagons. They didnt bring
much with them. Pulling the wagons were horses, oxen, or
any animal that could be strong enough to carry a lot of
weight. The young children had to act like adults so that they
wouldnt get in anyones way. Along the way, gold was
discovered, many people were in a rush to find gold, this is
known as the Gold Rush. They were desperate! In some
cases, when pioneers settled, they kicked the Native
Americans out even though they were there first. Some
Native American tribes were forced to leave, a famous event
called The Trail of Tears. Packing up and leaving their home
was the hardest for them.

This picture to the left is a map of the Louisiana Territory.
Words to Know
Settlers
Discovered
Desperate
People who stayed in a
specific place
Found
To want or need very
badly

Julia

2

Lewis and Clark Trail of Tears The Gold Rush
Thomas Jefferson sent two
people to try to find the
Northwest Passage. One of
the two men was William
Clark, (1770-1838), and the
other man was Meriwether
Lewis, (1774-1809) also a
skilled writer. The two men
explored, discovered, and
traveled for a long two-year
journey. On the way they
found new animals and kept
a journal that kept track of
where they traveled each day.
They were to create maps of
the west and report back what
they found.
When the settlers finally arrived
from their long journey, they
made a change in other peoples
lives. Andrew Jackson quickly
made a decision to push out the
Native Americans. At the time,
it was 1838,in Georgia,
Tennessee, Alabama, North
Carolina, and Florida. The Trail
of Tears was when the Native
Americans had to pack up and
leave. Leaving their homes was
hard! They couldnt stand up
for themselves. Andrew Jackson
was too powerful. Native
Americans died leaving their
homes.
When gold was discovered,
many people wanted to keep
it a secret. They didnt want
to let other people steal their
discovery. Soon the word got
out, and the rush for gold
began! This is known as the
Gold Rush. People moved
west in hopes of finding gold
and striking it rich. New jobs
were created; pioneers could
be miners when they arrived
in the West.



As you can see, Westward
Expansion is a very important
topic. It includes the Gold Rush,
Lewis and Clark, Native
Americans, The Trail of Tears,
and more. To learn more about
Westward Expansion, go to

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