The Economic Effects Of Westward Expansion In The United States

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Starting in the late 18th century, the United States began moving west. Due increased land exhaustion in the South and the heavily felt pernicious effects of the Embargo Act of 1807 in the North, many people wanted to start over and get a new chance at gaining riches. The west gave Americans this chance of starting over, as there were cheap lands in the Ohio territory and the presence of land speculators made the purchase of land easier than ever before. Drawn in by the desire of personal gain, people began to settle land from the Mississippi to areas as far as the Rocky Mountains. With the help of new technologies, like the steamboat and the railroad, the west was more easily accessible. Most would think that westward expansion would …show more content…
New technologies were introduced to connect a nation that was expanding westward. During the transportation revolution, steamships as well as railroads were introduced which created more jobs, increased trade, connected the nation’s economy, formed easier traveling methods, and amplified industrialization. Steamships and railways, created in response to westward expansion, may have physically connected the nation and led to a few benefits, but both couldn’t fix a nation divided in ideals and facing other underlying …show more content…
As people headed west, they had had to buy land on which to live. Land speculators, who bought land and resold it at higher or prices, sold much of the land to farmers living out west, and other farmers went through the process of buying land themselves. When the Second Bank of America was created in 1815, the amount of money in circulation increased and the amount of state banks increased as well. Due to the presence of these banks, people were receiving loans from the banks to purchase land as they settle in the west. The state, banks, however weren’t really strict in their loaning policies, and the banks issued more notes, or a piece of paper that stated a promise to pay the bank back, then they could redeem. In the summer of 1818, the Bank of the U.S. stated that all the state banks has to redeem their notes, and many farmers and speculators were forced into repaying their loans that that couldn’t yet repay. On top of this impending financial crisis, the farmers were also suffering because crop prices had dropped year as Europe had a decrease in demand that year for crop. These two events led to the Panic of 1819, which led to failure of banks, business, and public land sales. Unemployment rocketed as well. The Panic of 1819 led to increased tensions with in America, as many of the nation’s citizens grew angry at how they lost their money

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