Question

What made the Westward Expansion so easy?

Answer 1

Answer:

There were a number of factors that seemed to converge to make westward expansion more feasible. This included political acts like the Louisiana Purchase and the notion of "manifest destiny."  Increased economic activity like fur trading helped to forge routes westward like the Oregon Trail.

Explanation:

Westward expansion describes the movement of settlers in the American West beginning in the 19th-century. This began when President Thomas Jefferson purchased territory from the French government that doubled the size of the United States in 1803.  Western expansion was also aided by the Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail.  Initially, the Oregon Trail was a route that fur trappers had staked beginning about 1811. They continued to use the route for trading and moving their products until the 1840s. At that time the trail was on passable by foot or by horse. It wasn't until 1836 that the first wagon train left Independence Missouri and was able to get as far as Idaho.  People liked the idea of settling in new communities and finding new opportunities out west and this was reinforced with manifest destiny, the notion that Americans should progressively develop the country and generate prosperity. Unfortunately, this displaced a lot of indigenous groups in the process.