Our latest conversations in Mrs. G class has been about Western Migration. Many people went west for multiple reasons. People of all different races and size made the trip with their families and animals, of the hopes of starting a new and better economic life. One of the main reasons people left was because of agriculture and the gold rush.
African Americans were a large group of people that went west. Mainly because of the fact that many African Americans didn't want to wait for the government to start making conditions better for them in the south, so they decided to move west in the hopes of beginning a farm and a agricultural life or striking gold in the gold rush.
Another group of people that left was poor white young men in the South. Young poor white men had nothing going for them in the south after Reconstruction so they did like many and moved west. They really wasn't looking for the land that the west offered but the gold it did. The young white men thought that if they moved west they would become rich.
Other people went west strictly to make money. These types of people were called speculators. Speculators are people who buy land and then sell it later on for more than they bought it for to make profit. This was widely done during western migration because the price of buying land was cheap , $10, and affordable.
I think that western migration was good during that time period because it gave people that was poor a chance for a new start that could possibly lead to making money. Though the trip for many was hard, long, and for some lonely, they all new one thing, that there life could change for the better. That was the motivation that each person had and if it wasn't for that many wouldn't of last the grueling trip.
10 comments:
Nice blog! I like how you reviewed the lesson we learned the last few days. And you are right, many different groups of people moved to the West to grab a chance to make a better life themselves unlike others that were anxious for wealth. Keep up a good work!
Well written! Western Migration is pretty interesting. Many groups did migrate to the West for new oppurtunities and life styles. At the same time, there were still some hardships that had to be faced.
Nice L. The migration west was a big part of american history. It is very similar to other times throughout history that people traveled to another place to have a better life. You used a couple of good details that really made your blog interesting.
Your blog was great in describing how various groups of people migrated westward for similar and different reasons. All were looking for greater opportunities, while some were desperate for gold and money. Although westward expansion was a long process, it helped promote the agribusiness industry.
Good job on your blog. I liked how you summarized some factors that pushed people into moving west. Like you said, this was a great opportunity in turn for blacks to own their own land and actually make some kind of money. If they didn’t do that, they could search for gold. It wasn’t only blacks, but poor young whites and women alike. Everyone had a good mind of getting something out of moving west.
I am glad that you stated that it was many races and ethnic groups that moved west not just black, white or whatever. I am very suprised though that the people would risk so much to take the journey through desserts and mountains just to start a new life. I guess you have to do what needs to be done to become successful. It does seem that the main reason for this particular migration was the land but also the gold rush that seemed to be happening. I also like how you used some of our vocab in your blog.
Your blog gave me a lot of information i didn't know before reading it. I had no idea that African Americans were also moving west. They were not really mentioned too much whenever my other history classes talked a little about western migration.
This was a very interesting blog, about the western migration. I learned that speculators bought land for a low price, and sold it for a profit. If I was given a chance to go back in time, I would go back to the time; when Americans were moving west because. The value of land will always go up; meaning the price value of the lands you purchase will soon increase after time. I hope will pay more attention to what happens around me, so if good deals come by, I will grab it and make money of it.
great blog! i like how you descibed how you told that there were alot of different types of people w/ different ethinicty and they were so determined to get their own freedom and thier own land that they did what ever they had to do
This topic was very interesting because it started a new beginning for broke people that needed money. I agree on your opinion on how the trip was hard,lonely,and etc. I bet that trip to the west was unbearable for a lot of the people that migrated.
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