Expansion Of Westward Expansion

The United States was changing in the 1800’s. Many settlers moved to the west, populating the plains. For many Americans, the movement westward brought new economic opportunities, but for others it meant conflict and a way of life.

During the American Revolution, the colonist revolted against the British and eventually gained independence. The American Revolution instigated the change of American policies and expanded the entire nation. Westward expansion of the American colonies was a developmental time period for the United States. From the American Revolution, Americans established their own laws instead of following British rule, and women pushed abolitionist movements and pushed against the expansion of slavery. Many of these new policies were purely made to expand westward and take over Indian land, which was necessary for the expansion of the growing colonial and slave populations. The era of westward expansion finally came to an end with the United States overcoming Mexico and justifying their actions by claiming they were superior to the Mexicans in every way.

Westward expansion was a time of successes and failures, a time celebrations and grief, a time full of life and death but in the end it shaped how America is the way is today. Westward expansion was put in action because of the belief of Manifest Destiny, the belief that it is America fate to expand from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean. The economical, political and humanitarians impacts were necessary to achieve the goal of manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion.

The United States began its life as a small nation consisting of only thirteen states. Over time the leaders of this county recognized that in order to prosper the nation would need to expand beyond the current set borders. Westward Expansion was the only solution, to adopt such a large endeavor meant that the population had to have a reason to migrate west. Expansion had appeal to the Southern land owners for the fact that the Missouri Compromise did not affect territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, while those who did not have land moved west with the promises of land of their own to farm and own, yet congress continued to battle over “slave states” and “free states” to keep the balance. Westward expansion had many contributions to make to the Unites States.

America’s westward expansion really affected the lives of the Native Americans in several ways. Since Americans were wanting land for farming, ranching, and mining, it took away the Native Americans land for hunting and gathering. In general, this dramatically changed the face of American history.

The story of the United States has always been one of westward expansion, beginning along the East Coast and continuing, often by leaps and bounds, until it reached the Pacific, what Theodore Roosevelt described as "the great leap westward." The acquisition of Hawaii and Alaska, though not usually included in discussions of Americans expanding their nation westward, continued the practices established under the principle of Manifest Destiny. Even before the American colonies won their independence from Britain in the Revolutionary War, settlers were migrating westward into what are now the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as parts of the Ohio Valley and the Deep South. Westward expansion was greatly aided in the early 19th century in the year of 1803 by the Louisiana Purchase , which was followed by the Corps of Discovery Expedition that is generally called the Lewis and Clark Expedition; the War of 1812, which secured existing U.S. boundaries and defeated native tribes of the Old Northwest, the region of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi valleys, and the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forcibly moved virtually all Indians from the Southeast to the present states of Arkansas and Oklahoma, a journey known as the Trail of Tears. In 1845, a journalist by the name of John O’Sullivan created the term "Manifest Destiny," a belief that Americans and American institutions are morally superior and therefore Americans are morally obligated to spread those institutions in order to free people in the Western Hemisphere from European monarchies and to uplift "less civilized" societies, such as the Native American tribes and the people of Mexico. The Monroe Doctrine, adopted in 1823, was the closest America ever came to making Manifest Destiny official policy; it put European nations on notice that the U.S. would defend other nations of the Western Hemisphere from further colonization. The debate over whether the U.S. would continue slavery and expand the area in which it existed or abolish it altogether became increasingly contentious throughout the first half of the 19th century. When the Dred Scott case prevented Congress from passing laws prohibiting slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska act gave citizens of new

Westward expansion is one of the major historical changes in the world. Prior the expansion, the U.S had bordered Allegheny Mountains (Westward), St. Lawrence (North) and the Atlantic Ocean to the south during

America into an "empire for liberty". He made that happen by expanding westward, to create "room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation”. This westward expansion is also known as the "manifests destiny", where many Americans was our God-given right to expand to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican Territory.

Lincoln's election meant the end of southern life, that was the perception in the South (Schultz,n.d.). If the west became free states, Southerners believed that the government would outlaw slavery. The election only ignited more tension than was already there. The south began to talk about succession from the Union. and the economical state played an intricate part in the beginning of the war. The south developed differently than the north because they were more dependent on crops and slavery.They believed that reliance on the river ways could sustain the economy in the region, it did to an extent. The north, on the other hand, developed as a result of the market revolution with communication and transportation.

During the Westward expansion it impacted many people's lives. Americans were proud of what they did and accomplished, but didn't realize what truly was happening in other people’s lives. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and it doubled the size of the United States. Progress can be both positive and negative because of the westward expansion, the gold rush, manifest destiny.

The United States westward expansion is part of the reason the country has become what it is today, but was it morally right to do so? Expansion west at the time was called Manifest Destiny and many Americans believed it to be their god given right or even their duty to conquer the western expanse of mountains and grassland; however to do this many Native American tribes were pushed out of the land that they had occupied for many generations. Natives weren't the only ones to be mistreated. Land what was then Mexican controlled was settle by American pioneers and eventually conquered ignoring national treaties the two countries previously held. The United States westward expansion (Manifest Destiny) was unjust and not only ignored human rights but also made national treaties obsolete.

The facts you present regarding the United States westward expansion is extremely informative. Now, the connection of the Transcontinental Railroad is a significant milestone in American History because it allows goods and materials from the west and east to move across the nation with ease. Consequently, this allows more citizens to settle throughout the nation achieving the Manifest Destiny goal. Additionally, the Homestead Act contributes to moving massive amounts of people who once had reservations regarding the west to the far outlying plans. Now, considering all of the information regarding westward expansion, do you feel that this mass movement of people aids in the creation of new goods and services? Finally, fantastic job over the

The 1800s the United states was eager for new land. With population booming westward expansion seemed to be the only option. The term manifest destiny start from john l O'sullivan in the mid 1800s. O'sullivan said that the United states was destined to expand from coast to coast. At the time the land belongs to others and the U.S tried to be civilized with treaties and other but when this didn't worked turned to violence and war to get what they wanted. However the U.S started making its way westward long before manifest destiny was a thing.

The American Expansion West was a huge, uniting shift in American history. It was a time with Improved Agricultural Land and States and Territories opened. Major Cities like Omaha, Denver, and San Francisco were allowed to connect with the East Coast, grow and flourish . Railroad Networks were so awesome that they inspired new settlers to the United States. The most important developments during the western expansion was the intercontinental railway system. This system opened up the west and helped America to expand and grow into one nation. The opportunity and symbolism of the intercontinental railroad reached across the nation and even overseas.

The Westward expansion allowed the United States to gain more land. “Between the end of the Civil War and 1890, eight new western states entered the Union.” The land the government forcibly took from the Native Americans was freely given to farmers and miners. This stolen land helped grow the American economy. In an effort to “whiten”