Emerging colonial frontiers
American
expansion in the 19th century
| GRADE LEVEL | THEME | TOPIC | DURATION |
| 7 | SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY | EMERGING COLONIAL FRONTIERS | x LESSONS |
Emerging colonial frontiers |
In 1793 the French Revolution led to a war between France and Britain. Relations between America and Britain had also weakened because of British harbour blockades and impressment of sailors suspected to be deserters.
Picture A: John Jay In 1794 an American representative called John Jay was sent to Britain to negotiate a treaty. The John Jay Treaty said that Britain would no longer claim any American land on the western frontier. In return it would be allowed to continue the blockade of France. This agreement caused serious tension between France and America. After the treaty had been completed Thomas Jefferson was elected president. His greatest contribution to American history was his drive for expansion towards west. From the late 18th century to the end of the 19th century America expanded constantly. The most active period lasted from 1790 and 1830. In this period 11 new states were added to the Union of States.
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B: President Thomas Jefferson President Thomas Jefferson recruited Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a sailing route to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the uncharted west of America in 1803. The two men led a Corps of Discovery and opened a route to the west. This opening caused a period of exploration, expansion and growth, but also resulted in violence, greed and exploitation. The flow of people to the Western Frontier, and their greed for land and riches destroyed the culture and civilisation of many American Indian tribes.
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C: Lewis and Clark Click here to read more about their journey. Look at some of their maps of exploration. After the war between France and England ended in 1814, many European settlers moved to America. One of the main reasons for this move was the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Industrialisation left many people without work as human labour was replaced by machinery. These people decided to seek a better life in the New World. A major attraction was the land in the west of America. The region had a great deal of fertile territory that could be taken from the people already living there. These settlers were called frontier pioneers. They travelled by wagons, horses or boats and established towns as far as they went. This meant that a communication network could be installed. As soon as a town was settled traders arrived and opened shops to provide the pioneers and farmers with food, clothes and equipment. The American government soon declared all territories that settlers lived on under American control. Before the pioneers arrived in the west American native tribes made their living there. They believed that the land could be shared by everyone, but soon realised that the pioneers were intending to drive them out. The Native Americans fought bravely to keep their heritage and the land that had been theirs for centuries, but they were brutally overrun and lost all they had, sometimes even their lives and cultures. Eventually the pioneers reached Mexico in the south, which was under Spanish control. To the north they came into contact with the British in Canada and they entered into conflicts with both groups.
Picture D: President Andrew Jackson In 1829 Andrew Jackson became president of the United States of America and during his rule thousands of native Americans were killed. In his first message to Congress Jackson suggested that all native Americans be moved west, over the Mississippi, and on 28 May 1830 this became law. Many Native Americans were forcibly removed and marched, in the winter, to camps or reservations, where they were held. Cold, hunger and disease killed thousands. Learning Outcome: The learner is able to compile and organise information from images to obtain evidence about American expansion in the 19th century, to use that information to present answers to questions and to describe and make links between reasons for and results of events and changes
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