Westward Expansion Era

In American history, it refers to the period around the time of American independence when the United States expanded its territory into the western wilderness, where European civilization had not reached and an independent Indigenous culture existed.

The period from 1607 to 1912, during which the U.S. territory was completed through continued pioneering, migration, and war, is called the American frontier. Among these, the era of direct westward expansion was the mid-to-late 19th century, from the 1850s to the 1890s, after the United States took vast territories from France (the Louisiana colony) and Mexico (northern New Spain) through purchase contracts, nearly completing the present-day U.S. territory[2]. In the 'Western myth,' which includes the late westward expansion era, it refers to the period up to 1924, when capitalism in the American West was completed.