With Immigration, relatively cheap land, and Tobacco, the West was a great place to expand on however President Jefferson and President Polk approached this in fairly different ways while both contributing to strengthening the United States. Great treaties and compromises signed by both will be forever recognized in history to the help of expanded our country.
Jefferson conducted one of the largest territory gains in United States history with the Louisiana Purchase. Louisiana was France territory, originally from Spain; and Napoleon was already eager to sell because his empire was expanding and needed money, especially from the loss at Santo Domingo. France did not want Britain to take Louisiana because they controlled the seas.
…show more content…
The Oregon Fever was one of many great expansions from Polk.
Polk concluded that he wanted to buy Texas and California from the Mexicans, which was hard because they wouldn’t give up parts of their countries unless by force. Polk began by offering 25 million dollars but this plan as expected, failed. His next solution was to take it by force, so he sent his army to the border of the Rio Grande River to wait for the Mexicans. Rumors of the British wanting to buy California caused him to rush the purchase. After his army built up over a short period of time, shots were fired on April 25th, 1846. With better generals, a bigger army, and better artillery the Americans won the battle. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the war was officially brought to an end. With defeat to their army and their capital being taken over, the Mexicans essentially surrendered to the Americans and granted them California and Texas as well as some more land for a total of 18 million dollars with the claims of citizens and property damage. This gain was a major development in the United States and really satisfied the Manifest Destiny which was the desire to increase in size.
The efforts of Jefferson and Polk helped our country domestically by increasing the actual physical size of the United States. Jefferson in particular with the Louisiana Purchase aided the country economically releasing fresh new economic breaks, and Polk did as well with California because in 1848 Gold was
The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 was one of the most major turning points for America. America was only an official country for 24 years and we were about to make some of the most important decisions that would affect us to this day. Thomas Jeffersons economic view that farmers were the most productive and trustworthy citizens, yet recognized that we needed a machine-based economy along with Albert Gallatin issuing the, “Report on Roads and Canals,” leading to the creation of a national road were both big contributions to the American economy at that present time. Along with the Louisiana Purchase from France and Lewis and Clarke Expedition were two huge factors in the way America’s geography would turn out to this present day,
Has anyone ever wondered how America spread? Thomas Jefferson helped spread America throughout the New World. He bought the territory of Louisiana and started the exploration of Lewis and Clark. America developed economically during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. Thomas Jefferson impacted the nation during his time in office, leading the country to the Louisiana Purchase and sending Lewis and Clark on the Expedition to America’s new land.
One of Thomas Jefferson greatest accomplishments during incumbency was his role in the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of America and was essential in our expansion. The land was purchased by the U.S. in 1803 from Napoleon Bonaparte of France. America only paid $15 million in the purchase which was an exceptional
The Louisiana Purchase was the most important event of President Thomas Jefferson's first Administration. In this transaction, the United States bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. This vast area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching
Western Expansion in the United States was one of the most important historical events of our nation. Western expansion in the United states was one of the historical events that most impacted the future of America.The United States expansion had many motives behind it and had different outcomes which either benefited the United States or negatively affected the nation. The United States wanted to expand west because they desired more land, wished to prevent conflicts with France, and to build a stronger economy. The United States expanded west because they desired to own more land, wished to prevent conflicts with France, and they wanted to build a stronger economy. According to Document A, it says “but France was a much stronger power. Jefferson
It has offered the United States citizens with new natural resources and new land for farming and housing. The Louisiana Territory offered some of the richest land for farming. The Louisiana Purchase is one of the most important land deals in the United States history, Even though many Americans were wary about the large addition to the United States. Many Americans were worried about defending the new addition to the United States and worried about boundary disputes with Spain. But not only did the Louisiana territory offer new space but it provided new information about new animal species and plant species. Many Americans celebrated the transfer of power of Louisiana from France to the United States. The Louisiana Purchase allowed the United States to have unlimited access to the Mississippi river which is a very important natural resource. According to the article, The Louisiana Purchase was probably Thomas Jefferson’s greatest achievement as a president. This purchase shows the power of the federal government and the presidency. This purchase helped the United States gain wealth and stature. The United States continued to grow throughout the nineteenth century. (American Eras: Primary
The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was one of the greatest achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. This purchase almost doubled the size of the United States territory. The area of land was purchased from France, which removed the potential threat of France being an enemy with control of New Orleans.
1. Jefferson's views on westward expansion is simply to establish trading houses in Indian territory and pursue the Native peoples ways of living. Jefferson's other intentions were to also gather information of the Native Americans. Jefferson has always wanted to venture out west to explore lands. He was interested in Native American culture although the decision to expand towards their territory would cause them to leave their way of living life. Slavery was also an issue considering that Jefferson didn't support extension of slavery. He felt that could cause friction amongst the people down in the southern regions, eventually giving the possibilty of a civil war. Jefferson wanted to find a water route to the Pacific as well for better methods
Consequently, Polk conceded on demands for expansion deep into Canada and set about instead to negotiated a more reasonable American-Canadian border. The Oregon Treaty, signed with Great Britain in 1846, allowed the U.S. to acquire peacefully what is now Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Reasonably certain that war in the Northwest could be avoided, Polk concentrated on efforts to claim the Southwest from Mexico… He tried to buy the territory, and when that failed, he
James K. Polk was elected as president of the United States in 1848 and with him he brought a determination to expand territory more than any other president had before. In his one term administration he expanded the country by two-thirds. Polks hunger for more land resulted in a war with Mexico over Texas which evoked lots of opposition from the Whig party. The idea of Manifest Destiny was germinating throughout Democrats everywhere, countering the Whig ideology of “true republicanism”. They believed “A nation cannot simultaneously devote its energies to the absorption of others’ territories and the improvement of its own,” (pg, 49). Polk ignored this belief and soon John C. Fremont was declaring California independent and Stephen Watts Kearny was leading his army to several victories south of the Rio Grande. Nicholas Trist was able to get Mexico to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, recognizing the Rio Grande boundary of Texas and ceding New Mexico and upper Californian to the US.
The United States portion of this region would soon form the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and part of Montana. Polk and his expansionist ambitions increased the size of the United States and supported America's political, moral, and strategic interests.
Despite the fact that the Mexican War, happened more than a decade before the American Civil War, Mr. Polk’s war was vital in reigniting the debate on slavery and lead to more political action from Northerners on the issue. From the time he was sworn into office, Polk readied for Westward Expansion. He attempted to extend the United State 's borders by buying Mexico’s northern lands (Norton 356). In 1846, when Mexico refused to sell, Polk basically guided the two countries to war (356-357). Two years later, the war officially ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which basically stipulated that America gained all of Mexico’s territory north of the Rio Grande (358). But while the war, at least in the eyes of Polk, had been in success, it brought an issue which had been avoided and tabled for a very long time: slavery (359). On one
James K. Polk was the eleventh President, from 1845 to 1849. James K. Polk had said in his inaugural address on March 4, 1845, “ The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our government. “ He basically is saying that we as citizens and people in the world should not have any fear in military ambition from our government. Polk’s presidency reflected this statement by achieving his four main goals he set out to achieve during his presidency. The four main goals were to cut tariffs, reestablishing an independent U.S Treasury, securing the Oregon Territory, gaining the territories of California and New Mexico from Mexico. In ways that didn’t reflect the statement was that he caused war with Mexico for three years.
The United States became further united due to the continuous desire and procurement of new territories. In President James Polk’s 1845 Inaugural Address, he shared his opinion of the “danger to [the nation’s] safety and future peace” if Texas remained an independent state. Polk’s point of view was that the annexation of Texas in 1845 was necessary in order to avoid a conflict with Mexico. However, the United States went to war with Mexico anyway over the California territory. Economic opportunities were created in California due to the gold rush, which brought many people from many different ethnicities. California became a “seat of wealth and power,” due to the California Gold Rush (1848-1855) and its acquisition from Mexico after the Mexican-American War, as foreshadowed by an anonymous writer of the 1846 article “California and the National I
The U.S. government encouraged westward expansion through the Louisiana Purchase and the Homestead Act. President Thomas Jefferson acted on the Louisiana Purchase, after buying the land from France for millions of dollars, he also believed in the idea of moving west and thought of it as a