Poverty Resolve in American History

I am doing a current event project+essay.

My prompt is on Poverty and who or what event in American History from 1600 to 1877 would be able to solve the issue or can be refrenced to find ways to solve it.

The only thing I was able to pull from my textbook (or remember) was Alexander Hamilton who designed the US Fiscal Plan.

I am not so sure he would be the best choice so I would like to know of the other options of persons or events that would be good for solving such an issue.

Thank you very much for this info.
"A People's History of the United States" looks to be a valuable source of info.

Also thanks for putting the Western Expansion into perspective.

I do know Poverty never really has been solved at any time but the prompt from my teacher was simply (not really that simple) to choose an event to learn from or a person who could deal with the issue.

Very broad for creativity .. that is if I were a bit more knowledgable.

Once again thanks, any more ideas would be very helpful.

just a tip:
What is the definition of poverty? The unability to own some elementary commodities (which commodities it depends).
How can you get these commodities?
1) You buy it yourself.
2) An organization "gives" it to you (government, NGO...)

consequences: At equal income one may be better off than another. What you have to consider is the real standard of living and not the income.

In the case of the US, a worker who earn 20$ a week, has no folks but have to sustain a familly of 4 may be poorer than a farmer who makes 2$ a day but has his wife working, grows some vegetable and is taken care off by the local church whenever he is ill.

Hence one of the most important matter is the disappearance of the solidarity network in the urban industrial center that creat a immiseration (proletarianization) while the wage seem to go up.