Expansion of the United States during President Jefferson and President Polk

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

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

The Westward expansion began for the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. For $15 million dollars, President Thomas Jefferson purchased from France 828,000 square miles, including most of 14 current states, thus doubling the size of America. Jefferson now had the land, but how to populate it was another story. On a three year expedition, Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to explore the lands to get a better understanding of the geography and resources of the West. During the 1830s to 1840s, to promote further territory expansion, the “manifest destiny” came into play – which was the idea that America was destined to expand across the entire country westward. Quickly, the nation expanded.

James K. Polk was the 11th presidents of the United states of America. His name is perhaps most closely associated with Manifest Destiny, because a year before he became the president, the Manifest destiny started the embody the governing philosophy of the Polk administration and its ardently expansionist aims. Polk’s campaigning methods is the leading cause to his victory of becoming the president of America. He campaigned on an expansionist platform, and vowed to not agree with the British on the dispute over the Oregon Territory's northern border. After Polk took office, the tension with Mexico over the annex of Texas continued to grow. In May 1846, Polk got his cabinet to approve of him to send a message of war against Mexico to Congress. In May 1847, president Polk had Nicholas P. Trist, the chief clerk in the state department, to Mexico with Gen. In spite of Polk's wish, Trist signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in early February 1848. This was the Treaty that ended the Mexican American War. Polk still was unhappy with the land he had just ceased- but polk had to settle with what the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had got him: California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and the disputed

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.

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

At the commencement of the 17th century, successions of westward expansion had already begun to take place. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, who was president at the time, purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Several citizens did support Jefferson’s purchase in virtue of the many

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,

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.

Polk would not have the same peaceful negotiations with Mexico over disputed land as he did with Great Britain. Though General Santa Anna signed a treaty recognizing Texas' independence in 1836, both parties would dispute ownership of the land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande until 1848. When the United States annexed Texas and stood behind its claim over the disputed land, the Mexican government became infuriated with America and broke off all diplomatic relations and started to prepare for war. The Mexican-American War would ultimately start over disputed land in Texas. It would turn into so much more. Polk's final goal was to gain control of all the Mexican territories to the west of Texas. Polk continued to try to resolve this problem peacefully through a treaty with Mexico, but they refused to hold any diplomatic talks with Polk's representatives. This forced Polk to have his military occupy the disputed land all the way to the Rio Grande. General Taylor informed Polk that soon after arrival to the Rio Grande the Mexican army attacked him and

The Louisiana Purchase, was a purchase made between Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte for the middle section of the of modern day U.S. This section was originally owned by the French who sold it to Spain who made an alliance with France and gave it back. France, financially struggling, with british fleets headed towards the border, decided to sell approximately 530,000,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million( about 4 cents an acre).

From the years 1800-1850 the nation was full of battles and prosperity. Territorial expansion was a cause in most of the battles, but also gained prosperity for the nation. There were many impacts on national unity between those time periods, but the main impact was territorial expansion. This is true because of the Louisiana Purchase, the purchase of Oregon territory, and the Mexican War.

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 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.