The Philosophy of the American Settlers' Westward Expansion Leads to Expulsion of the Native Americans

America’s Westward Expansion was published on suite101, an American History website, in February 2007 and was written by K.C. Morgan. K.C. Morgan is a professional freelance writer who has written various articles and blog posts that appear on a range of websites. After several years of writing fantasy fiction, she decided to write about the real world she faces everyday. During her years of writing professionally, however, she has covered a wide range of topics. The purpose of America’s Westward Expansion is to provide a very ‘native American friendly’ view of the manifest destiny ideal. This article, though very one-sided, had great value to me. In it the author stated that the famous phrase “manifest destiny” was coined by a journalist in 1844. This information enlightened me about the fact that the idea of manifest destiny existed and was being executed for many years before it was actually given a name. This was not something I had ever given thought to, however, I had the misconceived notion that the word came before the definition, which is a false statement when pertaining to any topic. Though it presented some very interesting information, this website was limiting in the fact that it only presented information that was very

In the 19th century there was a popular doctrine or belief that the westward expansion of the United States not only could happen, but that it was destined to stretch from coast to coast. For awhile, the nation’s leaders were unable to resolve the divisive issue of slavery. This belief was called Manifest Destiny and it eventually provided a larger stage for the growing conflict over slavery in America.

Manifest Destiny is a term coined by John L. Sullivan in 1845 when talking about the annexation of Texas. He believed, along with other expansionists, that it’s inevitable that the US population would spread across North America because the land is given by Providence to the United States and that it’s natural that the land should be part of the country [Doc 1]. The idea of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny had positive and negative effects on the politics, society and the economics of the United States and

While some were driven on what they believe was God’s will others saw Manifest Destiny as the historical inevitability domination of North America from sea to sea. Before, manifest destiny, many Americans had small families not by choice, but for the mere fact that many of the people would die before they would reach forty. By the mid 1800’s technology began to rise, and the life span for many Americans increased. The U.S. population grew from more than 5 million in 1800 to more than 23 million by the mid century. By the increasing of families in town many of the towns became overcrowded. At this point many Americans looked to the west for possible permanent homes.

Thomas Jefferson purchased land from the French during the Louisiana Purchase which gave the United States land west. He sent Lewis and Clark west to explore what he had just purchased. During the same time of the Louisiana Purchase, there was a concept of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a main idea during the 1800s. It is the belief that the land west was the Americans land to settle and that the resources were theirs to use. This belief was self-centered and did not focus on the Native Americans. The Americans did not reach out to the Natives to build a strong nation and instead they took the tools, ideas, and materials to build their nation and left the Natives out of it. Americans saw their dream as a free country and it was their right to conquer others’ property without their consent. During westward expansion, American identity evolved into one image for all Americans that emphasized greed and power and the belief that American settlers should create their own sovereign land.

When Americans expanded their country west, they interfered with many American Indian Tribes. In a letter he wrote to congress, he explained “This emigration should be voluntary… (but) if they remain within the limits of the states they must be subject to their laws” (Andrew Jackson’s Message to Congress December 7, 1829). Andrew Jackson offered to let the American Indians stay if they followed their laws. But in 1831, Jackson forced the Native Americans out of their homelands starting the Indian Removal. According to a reprinted in Niles Weekly Register, the Cherokee’s said “We wish to remain on the land of our fathers. We have a perfect and original right to remain without interruption or molestation”. Jackson lied to the American Indians about allowing them to stay. Jackson did not act democratically because he did not allow the American Indians to stay and forced them to move west. Jackson was fair to his supporters, but not to

Before the Eastern World knew that the America’s were there, natives to the American lands were already here and thriving. As the land was discovered, more and more people from the European side of the Hemisphere traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to stake a claim for land in this newfound world. Throughout these Europeans settling in, and making new homes and lives for themselves these natives stayed to their own ways, and were slowly pushed westward. The problems between the Indians and now Americans were brought to the forefront as the population of the states grew, and there was a need for expansion. When the Louisiana Purchase was struck between the United States and France, the land previously inhabited by the natives were now under the control of the United States government. As the population continued to climb in numbers, individuals along with the United States government decided to take actions for the removal of these natives. Throughout the book, The Long, Bitter Trail, Andrew Jackson and the Indians by: Anthony F.C. Wallace, the events leading up to, during, and the effects of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Individuals such as Andrew Jackson along with the government used different methods to remove these Indians from the southeastern lands of the United States. Starting in the beginning of the 1800’s,

Imagine being taken out of your home and told that you must leave to a new, foreign land and leave the only thing that you know. This is what Native Americans during Andrew Jackson’s presidency had to live through. America was growing rapidly, expanding into the lower south of the U.S. During the 19th century white settlers moving into the area, were faced with Native Americans living on the land. These settlers were looked upon as a major obstacle for expansion of the United States. Driven by gold fever and the ideas for new business, the settlers were looking towards the government to help them take the land away from the Natives. Presidents had acknowledged the issue of Natives and whites coexisting and the problems that would be addressed, but it wasn’t until Andrew Jackson stepped into American history that a change would’ve be made.

Subsequent to the political, social, and economical changes that occurred because of the "Manifest Destiny", the lives of the Native Americans had been changed forever. " Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast." (Manifest Destiny). This attitude encouraged the United States to begin to build settlements westward, which resulted in the removal of Native Americans. It deprived them of their land, and in some ways, their independence; they were faced with inequality and were forced to fight with the Americans. "

Westward expansion also known as “manifest destiny” was the belief that it was Americans destiny to expand and cultivate west in the 1800s. Before 1840 there hadn’t been much American activity in the west besides the occasional explorer or fur trader, but by 1845 around 5,000 Immigrants made the 2,000-mile trek by wagon from Oregon. And by 1860 about 300,000 men, women, and children made the journey. They faced many problems such as starvation, disease, The Rocky Mountains, and occasional Indian attacks.

Manifest Destiny is a term that was first coined in 1845 by a journalist named John L. O’Sullivan, and was described as America’s destiny to expand, and that it was God’s will that America was to expand. According to Genovese, “The notion of westward expansion and domination of the white races struck a responsive chord in many Americans” (Genovese, 2017). The idea of expanding America’s territory was so popular that is was even later used in Congress to justify the claiming of Oregon’s territory. While the idea of expanding America seemed great to the Americans, it was not so great for those who were living on the land that the Americans would later claim. According to Hastedt, “The failure to assimilate and prosper was the fault of those receiving America’s goodness” (Hastedt, 2016). The Americans felt that they were superior to those whose lands they were trying to take, such as the Native Americans and Mexicans, and that they should be the ones to adopt American culture, even if they were there before the Americans claimed the land. The Americans even thought that those whose lands they were taking would be happy to convert to their way of living, as is stated by Hastedt, “The inherent superiority of American Values was sure to be recognized by those with whom they came in contact and would gladly be adopted” (Hastedt, 2016). This mindset would ultimately lead to the expansion of America, turning it into what we know today, but it would also ultimately result in conflict with those that the American’s were attempting to take the land from for the sake of expansion.

Robert V. Remini argues that Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 was socially motivated by humanitarian impulses, and that Jackson’s actions where driven by the desire to save the culture and populace of the Native

Around the 1840’s, the western land was still fairy new to America with many Americans eager to expand. Americans became extremely curious, wondering what lies in this forsaken land and developed the proposal of manifest destiny. The term manifest destiny “was a brief way to express support for American expansion and the annexation of western lands” (Mountjoy 12). Americans were now longing for a path from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast and hoping to fulfill manifest destiny. To achieve this “Asa Whitney proposes the construction of a transcontinental railroad” (Streissguth 9). The transcontinental railroad was designed to “link Omaha, Nebraska with Sacramento, California” (Stein 105). By creating the transcontinental railroad America would be able to expand across the entire country and manifest destiny would be fulfilled. After a long process “On May 10, 1869 the transcontinental railroad was complete” (Bain 9). Americans had access across the entire United States and was able to complete manifest destiny. This accomplishment was huge for America and provided happiness for an abundance of citizens. However, this happiness was not achieved by everyone. Plains Indians were very agitated upon the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The transcontinental railroad’s “tracks ran through a number of tribal territories, bringing into conflict cultures that held very different views of the land and how it might be used and lived on” (Jawort). How were Plains Indians

Rapid population growth and overuse of the land east of the Mississippi River, coupled with the knowledge that there was an abundance of land for new settlement west of the river, led to the ideology of expansionism; the ideology became simply known as Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, written by Amy S. Greenburg, deeply explains the motivation of the individuals looking to expand their settlements westward. Since the time of publication, we have realized that we could have handled the situation, in which we removed the inhabitants of the west from their homeland, in a better way. Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand westward by destroying anything in their path. “…courageous pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean.” (“29. Manifest Destiny.”)

Manifest Destiny, one of the most influential ideologies in American history, was used as the basis to justify almost-continuous conflict from the early- to the late-19th century (Greenberg 3). This conflict included the relentless displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral lands, a war of aggression against Mexico in 1846, and attacks on countries such as Canada, Cuba, and even Central America, by filibusters and military action to gain overseas colonies (Greenberg 10, 25, and 26). While Manifest Destiny first arose as a dominant ideology during the early nineteenth-century, the concept of American exceptionalism, the heart of this ideology, was older than the nation itself. This concept was taken by white Americans as proof that they, and their nation, were unique and marked by God for a special destiny (Greenberg, 5). It would be several decades before the advantages of American settlement would be presented to the world. One advantage being the Louisiana Purchase, which was the expansion westward.