The westward movement in the United States is a long-term and sustainable development process. Long before the independence of the United States, the American nation began to expand to the western part of the North American continent, but it was not until the independence of the United States that the westward movement of the United States became more active and continued in a planned way. Throughout the history of American westward movement, it can be divided into the following periods. From the end of the American War of Independence to the American Civil War, it was the first period of American westward movement, mainly the initial development period of agriculture. The land in the west is of great significance to the economic development of the United States after independence. Without the development of the western region, there would be no America today. After the end of the seven-year Anglo-French War, Britain acquired Canada and a vast area from the west of the Appalachian Mountains to the east bank of the Mississippi River from France. At the same time, Britain declared that the land west of the Appalachian Mountains belonged to the British royal family, which became one of the factors that triggered the anti-British of the colonial people in North America, because the land in the west was attractive to people from all walks of life in North America. The bourgeoisie is eager to expand the territory of the country, and land speculators try to make huge profits from it. Farmers, craftsmen and immigrants regard the western land as the only hope to get rid of oppression and seek new life. After the independence of the United States, according to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783, the territory of the United States has expanded to the east bank of the Mississippi River. Later, with the quiet start of the industrial revolution in the north, the "cotton kingdom" in the south also rose, and the new west continued to explore.

During this period, the westward movement took the land issue as the core and agricultural development as the main body. Mainly because: objectively, there was a fertile and uncultivated vast land in the western United States at that time, which was the basic premise of the American westward movement; Subjectively, after the American War of Independence, the United States acquired a large area of land from the west of the Appalachian Mountains to the east of the Mississippi River, forming a new view in the minds of the American people: the newly acquired land was exchanged for the lives and wealth of 13 North American States, so these lands should be owned by the people, and the people have the right to reclaim, plant and develop them.

During this period, the federal government of the United States adopted many policies and measures to promote land development and agricultural development in the westward movement, mainly in the following aspects: land policy. First of all, the American government promulgated the procedures and regulations for the founding of the western region. 1784, Jefferson, the third president of the United States, drafted a land decree on the formation plan of the western land ceded by Virginia, stipulating that the western land should be owned by all Americans; The land between Ohio and Mississippi River is divided into sixteen states. Only when the number of residents reaches a certain number (the lowest number in the original thirteen States) can a new state be established that is completely equal to the eastern States. Although the proposal of establishing sixteen states in law has not been implemented, the principle of establishing states has been confirmed. 1785, the government promulgated the land law, which made specific provisions on land survey and sale. The land in the west is divided into several towns, and each town is divided into 36 districts, each with an area of 640 square kilometers, of which 4 districts are controlled by the federal government, and 1 district serves as a sponsor of public education. On July 1787 and 13, the Northwest Land Law was passed in the Federal Parliament. This law, based on 1784 Land Law, specifies the land treatment methods in the northern part of the Ohio River basin and the procedures and principles for establishing a new state. The American government's regulations and procedures for establishing a country on the western land have played a positive role in promoting the development of the western region and the stable development of the economy.

Secondly, the U.S. government promulgated the policy of land expropriation for residents. 1785 promulgated the land regulations, which established the principle of selling state-owned land to immigrants. According to this law, public land will be sold by block auction, with a minimum land area of 640 acres (about 388 acres) and a minimum land price of $65,438 +0 per acre. 1796' s land law raised the minimum selling price per acre to $2, and the payment period was changed to one year and paid in four years. Later, because this regulation could not meet the land demand of a large number of farmers who moved to the west, the US government continuously reduced the minimum amount of land purchased from 640 acres to 160 acres, which lowered the price of state-owned land. From 1802 to 1832, the us congress passed several relief laws to delay the confiscation of unpaid land and enable poor farmers to obtain land. 1832 during the period of the seventh president Jackson, the government allowed farmers to occupy land, that is, those farmers who occupied land that was not measured and agreed to be sold could buy the land they cultivated and improved at the lowest price. And gradually reduce the price of public land, from $65438+$0.25 per acre to $0.50 for auction. 1862, the sixteenth president Lincoln's government promulgated the Homestead Law, which stipulated that citizens aged 2 1 have the right to 160 acres or/kloc as long as they pay 1863 1 0. In short, the land policy of the American government during this period provided institutional and policy guarantees for farmers to acquire land and carry out agricultural development, promoted the development of the western United States, and made the United States rapidly develop into an agricultural power. Immigration policy. 1787 "American land law" not only provides some principles for establishing a new state, but also provides civil rights according to the third part of the law, especially according to civil rights, people can freely move to the west. Therefore, the promulgation of the American Land Law greatly promoted the influx of American immigrants to the west, and Ohio companies took the lead. 1787 ~1in the winter of 788, their advance team set out from Massachusetts and Connecticut and headed for sunset. Since then, the large-scale westward movement has flourished, and immigrants mainly come from New England, central States and southern States in North America 13 States. In just 1790 ~ 1800 years, all the residents in Maryland 13 counties and 26 counties in Virginia are immigrants. 180. 1820, the United States has a population of 9.64 million, of which 3 million people live in the west of the Appalachian Mountains. By 1840, more than13 of the national population lived there. In addition, a large number of foreign immigrants came to the United States, providing cheap labor for the development of the western United States. 1820 There were only 8,385 immigrants from the United States, but after the failure of the European Revolution in 1848, immigrants from northern Europe and western Europe flooded into the United States, reaching 3 10004 in 1854 and increasing to 427,833. In short, during the period of 1820 ~ 1860, about 5 million immigrants came to the United States, which provided sufficient labor for the development of the western region of the United States. Infrastructure development policy. The United States attaches great importance to the construction of infrastructure in the westward movement, especially the construction of transportation facilities such as railways, highways and water transport. In railway construction, the US government has adopted the policy of "building more railways and getting more benefits". The railway company can obtain a certain area of land along the railway for every mile of railway construction; At the same time, it is stipulated that railway companies can obtain different loans from the government according to the length and terrain of the railway. 1828, the United States began to build railways. 1860 The railway mileage is as long as 30,000 miles, most of which are built in the western region. The railway construction in this period greatly promoted the economic development of the western region. In highway construction, an important policy of the US government is to encourage private investment. In order to solve the shortage of highway construction funds, toll roads have become the earliest priority in the United States. From 1792 to 1794, the first expressway was built to 1830, with a total mileage of 6,400 kilometers. With the invention and use of steamboats, the US government has strengthened the construction of water transport. The 350-mile-long Il Canal from 18 17 to 1828 was built with the support of the State of New York, connecting the Hudson River in the east and the Great Lakes in the west, reducing the freight rate of 20 cents per mile to 1 cent. In a word, during the period of 18 15 ~ 1840, states invested 654.38+25 million dollars to build 3000 miles of canals, making the United States the most developed country in the world at that time. The construction and great development of transportation facilities in the United States during this period provided convenience for the westward movement at that time. Policies to support education development. The American government attaches great importance to the development of education, especially school education. According to the land law of 1785, each state established in the western region can obtain a piece of land for the establishment of public colleges. At that time, President Jefferson also designed and formulated a grand education system, including primary and secondary schools and even state universities. Therefore, state universities have been established in the southern and western States, and free education has been implemented. 1862, the US Congress passed the Morel Act, which decided that the government would permanently donate at least 30,000 acres of public land to relevant state institutions. At that time, Aihe Huanong College was established by accepting this land grant. During the 65438+60s, according to the Moreel Act, a number of agricultural colleges and engineering colleges were established in the United States, such as the famous University of Illinois, Maceri Institute of Technology, Cornell University, etc., all of which were established during this period and trained a large number of professionals for agricultural mechanization and industrialization in the western United States. The Hatch Act of 1887 stipulates that each state shall be allocated 15000 dollars annually, which provides new federal funds for agricultural experiments and scientific research. 1907, this fund is doubled to expand agricultural scientific research and popularization; In addition, legislation was passed to increase the subsidy to schools to $50,000 per year. At the same time, under the influence of the first industrial revolution, American science and technology also developed by leaps and bounds. According to statistics, before 1860, the United States issued a total of 36,000 patents, which played an important role in the development of the western United States and the development of agriculture. The westward movement is a process in which the American people work hard. In the face of all kinds of difficulties and obstacles, the American people abandoned all prejudices, overcame difficulties and forged ahead, thus cultivating and forming the American national character of seeking truth from facts, optimism and courage, which is inexhaustible wealth.

The problem of establishing a country in the newly developed territory in the west has caused fierce conflicts between the north and the south. According to the Constitution of the United States, each state has two seats in the Senate. Whether the newly-built state joins the Union as a free state or a slave-holding state is related to whether the northern bourgeoisie or the southern planter controls the Senate. In a sense, if there were no westward movement, the contradiction between the north and the south would not have intensified to the outbreak of civil war. The successful end of the civil war has cleared the way for speeding up the development of the western region.