Summary
Highlights
Westward expansion led to the establishment of diverse new communities, especially immigrant communities. The economic opportunities, like the California Gold Rush and railroad construction, attracted large numbers of Chinese immigrants, particularly to the West Coast. Despite their crucial role in building railroads, Chinese workers were paid less and faced renewed nativist sentiment, culminating in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. As a result, Chinese immigrants formed their own communities, such as Chinatowns in Seattle and San Francisco, and created their own economic opportunities, like operating laundry houses which required minimal startup capital and English proficiency, allowing them to integrate into the growing American economy despite restrictions.
Westward migration from 1865 to 1898 was a continuation of earlier trends, including the market revolution's desire for cheaper land. Three main causes in this period were government land grants through the Homestead Acts of 1862, offering free 160-acre plots; the construction of transcontinental railroads, funded by federal land grants and built by Chinese and Irish immigrants; and the expansion of communication technology, particularly the telegraph, which followed railroad lines, allowing for instant communication across vast distances.
Despite the lure of free land, farming on the Great Plains proved difficult, leading many independent farmers to bankruptcy as 160-acre plots were insufficient for success. Surviving farmers utilized 'dry farming' with expensive new technologies like steel plows and steam-powered tractors, and planted hard-kernel wheat. This era saw the commercialization of agriculture and ranching, with large corporations purchasing failed farms and investing in technology to operate on a massive scale. The railroad infrastructure integrated western farms and ranches with eastern markets, facilitating the transport of goods like beef via refrigerated rail cars.
Independent farmers faced significant challenges from powerful corporations, including exorbitant shipping and storage fees from railroad companies, declining crop prices due to large-scale corporate production, and inflated land prices from railroad tycoons. In response, farmers organized movements like the National Grange (1868), which initially provided social and educational support but later lobbied for political change, successfully advocating for railroad price regulation in cases like Munv. Illinois. The Colored Farmers Alliance also formed to address the economic hardships faced by Black farmers who were excluded from white cooperatives during the post-Reconstruction era.
Westward migration fostered significant economic growth. Transcontinental railroads created an interconnected national economy, leading to a boom in markets for bison pelts, almost driving the animal to extinction. Cattle ranching also integrated into the national economy, with Texas ranchers driving herds north to railroad termini for transport to eastern markets, leading to massive profits. The discovery of precious minerals like silver in places like Nevada (Comstock Lode, 1859) spurred the creation of 'boom towns' such as Virginia City, which rapidly grew and prospered but often declined just as quickly once resources were depleted and advanced machinery was required for extraction.