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https://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/5/ils_gr5a_u7_c14_l2.pdf It was very hard to farm back in the Great Plains it was very dry and flat and very few people lived there. In 1862 the Homestead Act was passed and the government were helping people settle on the land. The government was selling 160 acres of land to adults for a small amount of money and that attracted people to the land. The settlers had to learn to farm there because the soil was held together by grass roots. The settlers were called sodbusters because they had to actually break through the sod to make crops. There was very little wood for the settlers to build homes. There were grass fires because of how dry it was. The farmers had to grow crops that didn't need much water, they carried the water from the streams. In the 1870's the grasshoppers ate all the crops. A lot of settlers ended up leaving so farmers made new and better machines. The new machines made it way faster and easier to make the crops.

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The Native Americans were forced off of several lands during the Westward Expansion. The government declared that they did not have land rights so they kicked them out. Assimilation means to blend into another culture. The government wanted the Native Americans to be farmers and settle the land. The missionaries attempted to convert Native Americans to Christianity Indian boarding schools educated on skills.

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The California Gold Rush took place in January of 1849. The first piece of gold was found by a man named James Wilson Marshal in 1848. In December of 1849 the population got way larger (100,000 people). Many Americans and immigrants (cheap labor) rushed to Cali in search for gold. They are known as the 49rs. There was a ton of long term effects during this time such as starvation, disease, abuse, and massacre. Lands and environments were destroyed because of floods of mud. The discovery of gold helped California develop and help shape the economic growth.

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Lets start by talking about the American progress painting of 1872 by John Gast. The painting was made during the manifest destiny. The title "American Progress" reflects the idea of manifest destiny, the development and civilization of the American West.