US HISTORY
FINAL PAPER
Throughout the history of the United States from the 1500’s to 1865 a number of enduring motifs played out that shaped the future of the country. This is the place in time where the origins of racist ideologies can be traced back to the introduction of slavery to the American agricultural system in order to justify its malicious immorality. The 1500’s also saw the infancy of the specialization of the different regional economies of America to capitalize on what was closely available and abundant, and scarce and needed in another region; and by the 1860’s those regional economies had developed into behemoths that exported their products on large scales, not only domestically but internationally as well. But the most important theme of U.S. history from the 1500’s to 1865 was expansion, from Europe to colonial America, and then the westward expansion of the United States. I believe the theme of expansion is so integral to American history because it incorporates elements of the previous two themes (racism and racist ideologies, and specialized regional development) into it; the European colonial expansion is where the regional economies and values where first developed and still exist, in some aspects, to this day. This theme is also so important because the differing opinions on how to carry out the westward expansion of the United States, specifically whether the new states would slave states or free states, eventually became so contentious and
history focuses on the conquest of new land through westward expansion and global imperialism. Starting with the roots of frontier and building up into a huge network of land and territory evokes a common and national goal among the American people during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Frontier and expansion of the great west allowed for the United States to gain power and work its way up to bigger and better: the world. With so much land to acquire and such a desire to conquer, the United States was able to build its coveted empire, but only with a certain cost. The damages and death brought about by westward expansion and imperialism greatly outweigh the benefits. The United States grew rapidly and was able to spread its culture like wildfire but the territories and nations that were to be civilized were damaged victims. Culture was destroyed and the United States’ reputation was tarnished during this time period. Growing discontent in the county continued to escalate throughout the twentieth century and our country wasn’t united and failed to share a national
Throughout the history of the United States, America had a desire to expand its boundaries. The United States acquired most of it's land during the nineteenth and early twentieth century with a brief break during the Civil War and Reconstruction. However, the way America went about graining new lands drastically changed from non-aggressive means in the beginning to extremely aggressive means towards the end. This essay will depict the extent to how late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism was a continuation
Throughout history society has to go through many changes that not only affect many of the people but also the areas around the transformation. The main point of Fredrick Jackson Turner’s thesis is what the real essence of America is, and how we’re all influenced by the many changes we have to go through. He believes that American history should not be focused on the extension of European enterprise. The society will have to realize that America will have to be emancipated because of the fact that we had a country with an unlimited amount of boundaries and have to come to realization that we have many closed-spaced limits. The views in the seminal essay share his thoughts on the idea of how the frontier shaped
The first half of the nineteenth century in the United States of America was a time of tremendous change for the nation. Firstly, change began as Thomas Jefferson was elected president, which meant the beginning of the Democratic-Republicans reign in office. But this development of the modern United States led not to a unified nation, yet it led to one divided. The expansion and development of ideas and land exposed great regional differences in the United States between 1800 and 1848. Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase had not only provided the country with land to farm, but it had doubled the size of the United States. Decisions over what to do with the new land separated the country. This is clearly seen in disputes concerning the United States’
History is like a die. It can have a small or large number of sides, but it can never have just one. Regarding the United States Westward Expansion in the Post-Civil War era, there were many sides to be taken into account, including (but not limited to) the Apache Indians, the US Government workers and soldiers, the American Elite, journalists, and scholars. How historians and others perceive this era is dependent on the primary sources available. By looking at sources such as Apache Chief Geronimo’s Story of His Life, Harvard Educated Ranch Manager Richard Trimble’s Letters to his Mother, and Financial Editor H.D. Lloyd’s “Story of a Great Monopoly”, one can unearth little nuggets of information that help determine how the process of incorporation affected large and diverse groups of people.
The Early American Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion, two interconnected yet independent occurrences, were significant events in the Antebellum Era. The Early Industrial Revolution utilized new inventions to improve the United State’s economy and change lifestyles (Hakim NN 105; Hakim NN 107). It had offered new opportunities and transformed America 's farm economy into a market economy, which is, arguably, more efficient (Hakim NN 109). While Westward Expansion extended America’s borders, fueled by a popular ideal known as “manifest destiny, it caused many disputes amongst the American citizens, creating complications in Congress (Hakim 62-63). As shown, the Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion were both major changes for America 's economy, each with its own benefits and disadvantages (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). The Early Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion promoted and enhanced the effects of each other; the increased production of textiles urged Southern farmers to expand their plantations, which in turn, produced more raw materials for the Northern industrial workers to process (Hakim NN 103-109; Hakim 58-59). While both, as shown above, had improved the economy and allowed some freedom for the workers in free states which would otherwise not have, they also promoted slavery, which, at the time, was an ongoing issue
Yes, there were four main "waves of immigration"; late 1820s-1842, late 1840s to 1852, late 1860s-1872, and 1879-1893
Prior to the 1800s, US expansion had been accepted by the government in the thirteen colonies. Despite the government's favor for territorial expansion, the controversy was spread throughout the 13 colonies on the idea of expansion. An American who influenced expansion in America, John O’ Sullivan, conjectured that territorial expansion was destined and it was god’s given right to expand America coast to coast, or in this case into westward territories. This thought was defined as Manifest Destiny and aided the fuel of western settlement, Native American Removal and war with Mexico. Many Americans did, however, oppose expansion and war causing, but their inputs didn’t change the idea of expansion. During the period of 1800-1855, America’s idea to expand territory succeeded in events such as the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Indian Removal Act. These events certainly satisfied proponents of expansion and influenced America's westward expansion. Despite these achievements, opponents of expansions opposed because of events like the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American war. America’s shape today is indeed based on these beliefs of expanding America.
In 1893, at the 400th anniversary of the appearance of Columbus in the Americas celebrated in Chicago , Frederick Jackson Turner presented an academic paper entitled, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” In this essay, Turner proposes that, “The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development.” The group dynamic that Turner champions is the farmer. More directly it is white, male farmers. While the expansion of the west by white male farmers was a factor in the development of America, it is not the only explanation for this progression. Turner fails to incorporate all of the demographics present during this expansion which were essential to the evolution of America.
Secession is when a territory or state withdrawals from a larger territory. It is significant in this chapter because
America’s strive to move westward was a thought since the very beginning and expansion helped portray the country’s true potential. This was clearly seen throughout the entire first half of the 19th century. Starting in the year 1803, the United States government purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon I of France, under the lead of President Thomas Jefferson. With the purchase, the country doubled in size and only increased the movement of people into the interior of the continent. By 1820, settlers had moved well beyond the Mississippi River, and as years passed it was evident that the west was increasing much more rapidly than the rest of the nation. In the 1840s, the United States had made many significant purchases and additions to the country’s land. One of these was the annexation of Texas. In the 1820s the U.S. attempted to purchase Texas from Mexico twice but both offers were refused. It wasn’t until after violence between Americans and Mexicans in Texas began that the American settlers proclaimed their independence from Mexico and eventually led
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, slavery, principally in the southern states, developed with the growth of the institution of slavery. This dependence on slavery for labor in the South created both an enormous profit but also a rift, separating the North and the South. However, these labels defined more than just the direction, effecting the culture, economy, and politics. Furthermore, these forces created tension that built up as battles for influence and independence ensued between the North and South. The South’s dependence on institution of slavery, marked by the horrific exploitation of black individuals, primarily by white men, created racial boundaries and characterized the abolitionist, industrial culture versus the rural, slave culture, the market economy versus the agricultural economy, and the free states versus the slave states.
Humans have always had a sense of curiosity for the unknown and a greedy fascination for individual growth without seeing the repercussions on others. The United States culminates these qualities not only as a first-world country but it can also be seen from the very beginnings of the nation’s history. The philosophies’ of early settlers in the United States was to have equality between the people, however Americans failed to incorporate this ideology of equality between all races. The seed of white supremacy had already been planted in many settlers minds and was a mouthpiece to many conflicts with Native Americans. Although there were times of peace between the two factions most Native American history involving white settlers is tarnished with bloodshed. Most conflict could have been resolved between the two if the United States had been willing to compromise and look at the Native American people as equals, instead of a burden to expansionism in the Frontier. However severe the conflicts were with the Native Americans many other conflicts arose, including on the Mexican Frontier. The United States during the mid-1800s was developing an interest in westward expansion into the Frontier. These ideas subconsciously then became the phenomenon of the 19th century, because Americans believed that in order to solidify America as one of the largest, most powerful countries in the world expansion within the North American continent would have
Throughout history, neighbor has been fighting neighbor over land. Some of these wars have gone down in history as the most violent or largest of all wars. The study of war must include all aspects of the struggle, including historical, financial, and political ramifications. Insight into the strategy used by military troops, the rational of the military leaders, how the economy was affected, provide an understanding of society during that time. Wars are studied for years after they cease. Studying the causes, results, the economics, the destruction and reconstruction, and other particulars of war offers insight and, hopefully, the wisdom to prevent future ones.
I agree with this statement. Many Americans attend classes about the histories of the United States, Europe, China, even the world, though never soak in the information as much as European students do. This may be because of the different cultures between Europe and America, where Europeans are raised to respect history and how history has impacted their lives, while Americans are raised to focus on other subjects. The sizes of Europe and America also play a part in the interest in history. Several world-known historical events could be within miles from each other in Europe, while Americans might need to travel across the country to visit the location of a single event. These are only a few factors as to why fixations of history are more common