USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The sparsely populated western regions of the continent became folded into a nation with enormous potential for power. The hundreds of thousands of settlers who moved west established new communities. New territories gave the country access to greater natural resources and the Pacific trade.

Detailed explanation-2: -Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada) The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.

Detailed explanation-3: -The California Gold Rush was a major factor in expansion west of the Mississippi. That westward expansion was greatly aided by the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and passage of the Homestead Act in 1862.

Detailed explanation-4: -William S. Belko, in 2015, summarized “the core concepts underlying Jacksonian Democracy” as: equal protection of the laws; an aversion to a moneyed aristocracy, exclusive privileges, and monopolies, and a predilection for the common man; majority rule; and the welfare of the community over the individual.