First Along the River Chapter 3

By: Lauren Spier

Chapter 3 The Early 1800s: Destroying the Frontier

• During the 1800s, the major concerns of the Americans was settling the West.

• They believed it was “God’s Bounty” meant for them to use while expanding their nation.

• Reflection their actions was unthinkable.• Very few voices spoke out for the preservation of the

wilderness (Ex. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and George Catlin)

Manifest Destiny • In the 1840s, Americans coined the

term Manifest Destiny to describe their need to move further West.

• Large groups of people moved west, some towns growing from 500 to 4,000 in 10 years.

• As settlers continued to push further and further West, new inventions were used, such as the train, to continue helping the growth.

• The United States soon acquired new states, such as Texas, Alaska, New Mexico, and California.

• Urbanization grew because of higher immigration.

Domesticating the Wilderness • Many of the native North

American plants were quickly over taken by the European plants.

• Much of the timber along the trails was taken and used, creating massive shortages.

• Many native animals were killed for their pelts, or because they destroyed the settlers crops.

• The American Bison was driven to near extinction because it was killed for sport as well as food.

• Many other animals were driven off the plains to make room for the cattle and swine being moved onto it.

• Wild stallions were also killed because they impregnated valuable mares, and ate the nearby grasslands.

Final Conquest of the West• After the Civil War, the United

States government became involved in Westward expansion.

• The government began to remove the Native Americans, who “stood in the way of progress”.

• The Trans-Continental railroad was the biggest achievement of sponsored expansion west.

• Land was given to settlers with certain government policies, but ranchers and timber companies took advantage of the loosely enforced policies.

• A new invention, barbed wire, was starting to partition up the frontier.

• Most believed the resources of the West were inexhaustible, and did not think about the consequences of their actions.

Renewed Interest in Nature• The romantic era helped bring

about a renewal in nature. • Many different people, using

different methods such as writing and painting drew attention back to nature.

• The arguments of people such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson helped shape the environmental movement.

• George Catlin’s argument helped initiated the idea for National Parks.

Oil Painting 1 By: George Catlin

Sources

• http://www.sjlshots.com/tag/barbed-wire/• http://

bubblelibrary.blogspot.com/2011/05/when-were-american-bison-almost-wiped.html

• http://www.mitchellteachers.net/USHistory/WestwardMigration/ManifestDestinyandSettlingtheWestLesson.html

• http://ppaintinga.com/george-catlin-paintings/