Effects Of European Expansion On America

Westward Expansion caused many problems, but without westward expansion we wouldn’t have a lot of the land or culture we have today. Westward Expansion may have almost destroyed America, but it did give the U.S more land and it lead to many other historical events. Without moving into other Nations territories we wouldn’t have the America we have today.

In the early 1400’s ,the Europeans began to have control over the world by setting colonies in the Americas, along the coast of Africa, and parts of southeast Asia. This is referred to as the Age of Exploration . This Age was  caused by advances in technology and it was motivated by the desire for glory, religion , and economic factors. The accomplishments of the European Age of Exploration were that ideas and goods were being exchanged, wealth allowed them better ships and navigation tools, and they had the chance to claim land and territories. These factors contributed in bringing a European Golden Age.

European imperialism during 1450-1750, began as a plan to gain more riches for the European nations. The Europeans did this for three main reasons, which were for God, Gold, and Glory. The Europeans domination over Latin America, Africa and Asia were made out to be good for the native people of these lands. However, the Europeans were not there to help these geographic areas. They were there to spread their influence and gain riches for themselves and the European nations. The successes and failures of the Europeans and non Europeans would decide their relationship status for as long as they could co-exist.

During the 1890’s, the United States began building and advancing their economy, as well as focusing more independently on becoming an even more powerful nation. Not only did the Americans begin to create a stronger national military and navy, they also began to look overseas towards the Pacific Ocean for resources and territories; this is when America began to look less like a national power and more like an imperial power. There were many reasons as to why the United States began to expand between 1880-1929, two of which include the military opportunities countries abroad had to offer, such as Pearl Harbor, as well as the domestic and political objectives the U.S. felt obligated to fulfill. Although, there were many important reasons for the United States to began to expand, the most significant reason for the expansionist foreign policy was the economic resources and opportunities other foreign countries had to offer the U.S.

European colonization of the Americas should be remembered as a tragedy for the impractical and immoral acts upon Native Americans and slave laborers. The European colonization of the Americas was a series of atrocities committed upon underdeveloped territory by settlers throughout the Americas. Many European countries took part in the advantages of the land to increase economic trade and newly found resources. However, the net result of this colonization for the indigenous who already inhabited these lands was the exploitation of Native Americans and Slaves through forced labor, Christian ideals being forced upon those certainly from different beliefs, and the general theft of land and natural resources.

Major ramifications of Europeans coming to America: “What the Dutch had taken from the Portuguese, the English seized in part from the Dutch. This was equally true in the New World, where the English and French superseded the Dutch challenge to Portuguese and Spanish hegemony in the Caribbean in the eighteenth century.” (Alder & Pouwels 2015, p. 316). Another major ramification was the introduction of diseases to the small Amerindian villages. They had never been exposed to things like smallpox, measles, and influenza. The newcomers brought an epidemic the villages with no immunities or vaccinations “80 to 90 percent of native populations” (p. 319) were killed.

Westward expansions of the united states molded and affected the nations advancement socially, politically and economically holding quick to its connections to agriculture, its relations with and through slavery with the westward expansion therefore there would not be an abolishment movement and the women would not have been there to find against it. Although the Indian removal has helped shape the westward expansion politically and economically because it has given America more land and cotton. The Mexican war shaped the western expansion culturally and politically because the Mexican were racially religiously superior.

What impact did the 1800s American expansion have in our nation's history? Throughout our nation's history, there have been numerous types of expansions, such as the westward expansion that took place in the 1800s. This expansion is most notable since it permitted the growth of our nation's territory. There are both multiple causes of the America expansion of the 1800s and multiple effects of this expansion. Three major causes of expansion in the 1800s include the Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, and The Alamo; as a result, three major effects emerged, which include expansion, wealth, and land.

Impacts of European expansion reached across the world and affected more than the expanding European powers and their colonies in the new world. Life in the world changed when these two cultures that were directly opposite of one another collided. Europe was filled with greed for resources and wealth, the Indigenous people living on these resources were living a simple sustainable life with next to no government or regulation. Once the new world was set up Europeans who ran these new territories called colonists today developed their own society and way of living and would end up revolting against the homeland.

There are many causes and effects for the Europeans to come to America . Some causes were the English Reformation, new materials, new routes to Asia and to escape England. Effects were diseases, religions dying off, lack of food and health problems. The effects weren't all bad though. Some good effects were introduction to horse riding new tools and new land.

long before the Europeans arrived the first nations people had been active traders and had well established trading patterns and alliances through north America.

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 opened the door to westward expansion. Thomas Jefferson purchased this extensive plot of land with the hopes of strengthening and expanding the Republic, unaware that it would have the opposite effect. Jefferson’s fateful decision to expand the United States nearly destroyed the Republic that Americans worked so hard to build. It triggered the rise of divisions amongst Americans. These small cracks continued to grow and tear at the seams of the nation. Although westward expansion between 1800 and 1848 granted many new opportunities to the American people, it also brought about tension that plagued the nation for years to come.

The European had several motivations for expansion. One motivation for expansion was the need for restoration of the population due to the Black Death which was a devastating plague in the 1300’s.Merchants needed to find new sources of precious metals to trade with the Ottomans or an alternate route to bypass them. The Europeans wanted to gain spices for religious rituals, perfume and medicines. They used high status goods as a way to determine social standings. They had a strong passion and will to spread Christianity to unknown lands. The Roman Empire was another group to spread Christianity. They were in a renaissance era which was made up of new people and a sought to explore new places and learn all about unknown waters.

Colonization was a huge part of making America the way it is today. Without the colonization of America there would be no migration which means no settlers. Jamestown was the first English colony with a permanent settlement and the peak of colonization. Colonization basically started with Christopher Columbus and continued to grow from there. Other European countries such as Portugal, Spain, and England became interested and wanted to colonize America because of the want of land and power. England finally established a successful colony that grew and soon had a profit from having plantations and growing cash crops. Plantations were a huge part of the success of colonization because they allowed the colony to gain money and grow the economy.

The United States of America officially gained its independence on July 4th, 1776. However, at the time, America only consisted of 13 colonies. The United States was a very small nation and there was desire amongst the people for that to change. The desire for expansion had been in existence since the time period of the Jamestown settlers and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The United States would then begin its westward expansion from 1783 to 1810 with main expansions such as Old Northwest and Southwest, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Florida territory. These key additions to the nation would light a spark in the minds of the American public and would lead to the idea of “Manifest Destiny”. This term is used to describe the territorial expansion of America between the time period in between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Manifest Destiny is basically the belief that the territorial expansion across the continent was deserved and destined to occur. With this belief in the minds of Americans, the country would continue its growth across the continent through treaties, war, and annexation of land. The Westward Expansion of the United States up until 1860 had a positive effect on the growth of the nation to an extent. The territorial expansion had an effect on the nation politically, economically, and socially.