WESTWARD EXPANSION AMERICA'S PUSH TO THE PACIFIC SETTLERS TRADERS AND TRAILS XINA M UHL Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
INTRODUCTION The settlement of the American colonies began in the early 1600s when English immigrants sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and settled at Jamestown and Plymouth Rock The first years were full of peril and sickness but the colonists endured and over time their colonies flourished The boundaries of early America began expanding almost from the beginning of settlement For the next three hundred years settlers pushed the frontier westward navigating first through dense forests and wide rivers then across the endless plains and the towering mountains beyond until at last they were stopped by the Pacific Ocean The original inhabitants of the lands Native Americans found their territory pushed farther westward westward Weakened by diseases and overwhelmed by military conquest and the magnitude of white settle ment the American Indians gradually lost claim to their ancestral grounds 4
INTRODUCTION Many settlers heading west traveled in groups of covered wagons The wagons were filled with essential supplies such as food dishes pots and pans and clothing America’s population kept increasing Large numbers numbers of people immigrated to the new country from Europe and many of them moved to the West The process of settling the whole of the continental United States would be marked by a host of difficulties that included rough terrain harsh weather and wars with Mexico and Native American tribes The early settlers of the West faced countless challenges yet their numbers numbers continued to grow and they fueled the relentless expansion across the country The hunger for land drove this westward push Having land of one’s own allowed settlers to make their 5
