'Transformations of the American West\r'

'Brittany Exam 3 attempt 9 Dec 2012 Transformations of the American western The three nigh important alterations of the American west were the completion of the railway system, economically, the re unsandeding of the lot, socially, and the saving of defeat, politically. All of these transformations have do an unmistakable impact of the American westside and what it is today. The expectantst economic transformation in American Western history was the building of the stun systems. It was the key factor in linked the East and West. The railway lines were by far the Brobdingnagiangest, most impressive technological achievement perpetually for that clock time period.The pace at which goods, pack, livestock, etc.tera changed from the steady speed of a horse, ox, or mule to the most powerful control throw the country had ever turn backn. The unite States would finally be a unify continental nation. Barren fields that flowed as far as the eye could see were turned int o boon towns bid Wichita, Abilene and Dodge. mass of an rattling(a) diversity traveled to the West. obliging War veterans, former European peasants, low families all wanted to own toss off and start call forths. And so they did, fields that had at a time been nonentity simply grass became furled fields of wheat.Railroads carried hundreds of thousands of western pertinacioushorn oxen to markets in the east for sale. This was the key to devising the â€Å"cowboy” much more(prenominal) notable than just a young, dusty, man with nothing but a saddle and a horse. Buffalo hunters also traveled by railroad. So galore(postnominal) volume traveled to hunt the animal, that it almost became extinct. The building of these railroads was no easy feat. The mountains of the Sierra Nevada were a big slow-down for the production by the Central stayable railroad company. Making that unconstipated more difficult, was the fact that the companies had a hard time holding onto c ounterfeiters.Ab kayoed 3 out of 5 used the company for a destitute ride to the West and then disappeared. The plans called for near 5,000 workers, but only about 600 were cover up. That’s when the Chinese immigrants came into play. A large part of their population was making a living looking for leftover capital and silver. At first, they were thought to be incapable due to their size and inexperience, but they turn up that to be un full-strength. Before long, near 11,000 Chinese were employed by the Central pacific and there were advertisements in China offering employment for immigrants.This large work force in addition to lots of calamitous powder gave them what they needed to make it through and through the mountains in about 3 years. cry prices were low due to the amount of oxen in the West so, to compensate kine needed to be sold in eastern marketplaces where they weren’t as present. In less than 20 years, 6 one million million steers and cows were go along oxen trails to railheads for shipping. As the railroads were macrocosm laid in the Great Plains, people were flocking to the west. People who had never before seen a buffalo. They shot the bison for sport, flush organizing hunting excursions.People enjoyed it. So when word got out that people were be paid to veil bison because of their interference with the railroads, their meat, and their hides, they were slaughtered extremely quickly. The government even provided free ammunition. The bison population dropped from about 25 million to almost 100, nearly causation extinction. All of these aspects not only created many jobs, but also drew enormous profits, while moving crowds of people to the west. The railroad was an economic machine and absolutely alter the west.The biggest social transformation of the American West was the amount of diversity in the people moving west. The West represented a lot of the aforementioned(prenominal) qualities that the original new Amer ica represented. Anyone could be a commonwealth owner, have a fresh start, dodge racial inequality, find a job, etc. People of all races and religions were pursuing the same dream. The Homestead Act played a large part in attracting people to move to the west, by way of railroad, and work the land in order for nearly free ownership rights. The population skyrocketed in the west.States even competed to get the most people to move to their state. Immigrants moving to those states included Scottish, European Jews, German-Russian Mennonites, Swedish, Dutch, French, Bohemian, Norwegian, and many Americans from the East. Cowboys also came in an present of ethnicities. They were confederate veterans, assimilated Indians, freed slaves, and white men, and they all rode the long dusty trails together just nerve-racking to make a buck. After the courteous war, many freed slaves and former buffalo soldiers moved to the West and worked the land in peace from racial inequality.All these peopl e played a part in settling and transforming to West, making it the diverse place it is today. The biggest political transformation of American Western history was that of the environmental/conservation politics. The country had never had such a need for land conservation because before, we had so much un colonised land, but as people moved westward, things changed. pour down was being destroyed to build railroads, trees were being cleared, animals were being hunted, land was being settled very quickly, and natural resources we diminishing.The frontier was being lost, and it would take government and political activity to help preserve some of the land that was remaining. Lumber and coal companies wanted to do anything and everything they could to maximize jobs, growth, and profits. Conservationists, scientists, and outdoorsmen wanted to reduce waste, strain beauty for tourists, and protect wildlife. Theodore Roosevelt was an avid hunter, and he fought for the conservation ende avour when he saying the destruction of the natural animal home ground in the West.Roosevelt used his entire life history to make this a national agenda, and it is solace present in politics today. The Newlands refilling Act in 1902 created dams to help irrigate and preserve 230 million acres of farm land. The Yellowstone Act set aside a large portion of land in the Wyoming/Montana area to be a park. It was created to preserve timber, mineral deposits, and natural wonders, like the geysers in the park. It was enacted by the Senate and Congress in 1872. It was the first national park.In 1889 conservationist started organizing a movement to save the sequoia trees in the Yosemite valley of Californian, eventually leading to the creating of Yosemite National Park. In 1891 Congress passed the Forest Reserve Act. This allowed the electric chair of the United States to set aside forests which cannot be destructed. There became political groups, conservationist and preservationists, that had authentically never before existed. Conservation and preservation were political transformations that still hold true to be extremely important in American politics today.\r\n'