The Westward Move of White Americans and Wheat Cultivation


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

The Westward Move of White Americans and Wheat Cultivation

The Westward Move of White Americans and Wheat Cultivation:

  • The story of agrarian expansion is closely connected to the westward movement of the white settlers who took over the land . After the American War of Independence from the 1775 to 1783 and the formation of the united states of America, the white american began to move westward. By the time Thomas Jefferson became president of the USA in 1800, over 700,000 white settlers had moved on to the  Appalachian plateau through the passes . Seen from the east coast , America seemed to be a land of promise. Its wildness could be turned into cultivated fields . Forest timber could be cut for export , animals hunted for skin, mountains mined for gold  and minerals . But this meant that the Americans Indians had to be cleared from the land.
  • In the decades after 1800 the US government committed itself to a policy of driving the American Indians westward , first beyond the river Mississippi, and then further west. Numerous wars were waged in which Indians were massacred and many more victories in wars, but were ultimately forced to sign treaties, give up their land and move westward.    
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     Displacement of Local Tribes and Settlement:To displace local tribes was not easy.  Many wars were waged in which Indians were massacred and many of their villages burnt. They were forced to sign treaties, give up their lands and move Westward. The settlers poured in as the Indians retreated. The white Americans settled on The Appalachian plateau by the first decade of the 18th century and then moved into the Mississippi valley between 1820 and 1850. Wherever the White American settlers went, they slashed and burnt the forests and cleared the land for cultivation. They ploughed the land and sowed corn and wheat. After l860s, the Great Plains across the River Mississippi became a major wheat—producing area of America. Timber for houses was not available in this area. Settlers in the area began clearing the grasslands and Made sod houses to live in.

  • In the early years , the fertile soil produced good crops. When the soil became impoverished and exhausted in one place, the migrants move further west, to explore new lands and raise a new crop. It was, however only after the 1860s that settlers swept into the Great Plains across the river Mississippi. In subsequent decades this region become a major wheat- production area of America.                                             
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