Westward Expansion

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Table of Contents

• Manifest Destiny

• The Gold Rush

• The Myth of the West

• Frontier Life

• Native Americans

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Manifest Destiny

• Expansion to the Pacific

• Seen as obvious and inevitable

• Not necessarily a religious idea

• Spread of democracy and European-American lifestyle

• Exterminate or convert Native Americans

• Tame the western landscape

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Manifest Destiny

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• What do you think the woman in this picture represents?

• What is she doing?

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What are these people doing, and why do you think they are in the picture?

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• What does this part of the picture show? • What is its significance?

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• Who else is being forced westward?

• What is happening here?

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Why do you think this bear was included in this part of the picture?

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Can you tell what is going on here?

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• Why do you think the artist painted this picture?• What is the larger message he was trying to

convey about Manifest Destiny?

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The California Gold Rush

• Sutter’s Mill—1848

• ‘49ers

• Little law and order

• Supporting businesses

• Growth of towns and cities

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The California Gold Rush

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• What is the title of this source?

• What different elements make up this source?

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What do you think this scene depicts? Is it meant to be realistic?

Here’s a hint: The opening paragraph here quotes a man as saying, “I am a miner who wandered from ‘Away Down East,’ and came to sojourn in a strange land and ‘See the Elephant.’”

What might “see the elephant” have referred to?

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• What is going on in this scene? Does it look like a scene from a mining camp? Why or why not?

Hint: This paragraph warns miners not to “take thy money, nor thy gold dust, nor thy good name, to the gaming table in vain.”

• Why might the artist have included this scene?

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What do you think might be going on in this scene? (Hint: The sign on the far right tent says, “Store.”)

• What does the passage tell miners not to do?

• Why do you think it gives these instructions?

Listen as your teacher reads you this passage from the text that describes the scene shown here.

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• What is going on in this picture?

• What does this scene indicate about the recommended course of action for a miner in the face of danger?

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• What does this scene imply about miners’ daily lives?

• Did they have many luxuries?• What types of domestic

activities did they have to do?

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• What are the men doing in this scene?

• What does this picture indicate about how miners often spent their free time and money?

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Although the “Miners’ Pioneer Ten Commandments” was written in 1853, this version of it (with the drawings) wasn’t created until 1887—well after the Gold Rush had ended. Why might the 1887 version have been created, and who do you think the intended audience for it was?

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Frontier Life

• Homestead Act of 1862

• Great Plains settlement

• Sod houses

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Frontier Life

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• What does the house appear to be made of?• Does it seem to be in good shape?

This picture shows a typical pioneer house on the Great Plains.

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Do you think this family would have been comfortable living in this house?

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• What does the landscape in this picture look like?• What do you think it might have been like to farm

here?

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• What does this tell you about the distance between the house and the farm?

• What does it tell you about the conditions of the soil?

What do you see in the foreground?

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• What is this? • Why do you think it might have been located here?

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Look at the family’s attire.

• Do you think they dressed this way every day?

• How formal do their clothes look considering their occupation?

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Who do you think might have taken this photograph, and why?

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Native Americans

• “Indian wars”

• Treaties

• Reservations

• Perceptions of Native Americans

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Native Americans

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• Why do you think the cartoonist chose a snake for this representation?

• Who does the snake represent in this political cartoon? How can you tell?

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• Who is in the snake’s grasp? What is the snake doing?

• What is the meaning of this representation? (Hint: what do the words on the snake’s body say?)

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• Who is this? What is he doing?

• What is his relationship to the Native American/snake? (Hint: look at the sign on the tree.)

• What do you think his actions represent?

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• What does this piece of paper say?

• What does the book next to it say?

• Why do you think the cartoonist included these in the picture?

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• What does this mean?• Why do you think the

cartoonist drew this cartoon? What message was the artist trying to convey?

This cartoon is titled “The Nation’s Ward.”

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Native Americans

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The professional photographer Edward S. Curtis took this photograph around 1908. During his career, Curtis photographed hundreds of images of Native Americans.

Why do you think he might have focused his career on this subject?

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This photograph is titled “Arikara Medicine Ceremony—The Ducks.”

What appears to be happening in the photo?

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• Why do you think Curtis chose this scene to photograph?

• What might he have found interesting about it?

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The Myth of the West

• Romantic fascination

• Media portrayal

• Buffalo Bill

• Realities of life in the West

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The Myth of the West

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What does the subtitle say? What does it imply about the show?

This 1899 handbill advertises Buffalo Bill’s traveling show.

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How effectively do you think this picture of him might have portrayed the image of the cowboy that the show was trying to convey?

Describe Buffalo Bill’s appearance and stature.

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• What is going on in the center of the picture? • What do you think this scene is attempting to represent?

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• What is happening in the upper left-hand corner of the picture?• What does this scene portray about Native American culture as Buffalo

Bill might have wanted audiences to understand it?

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• How does this part of the poster portray the American West and Native Americans?

• How do you think potential audiences at the time would have responded to this?

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Why do you think Buffalo Bill’s mythologized version of the West appealed so strongly to audiences?

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