Western Expansion: A Major Cause Of The Civil War

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.

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.

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.

I mostly agree with this statement because westward expansion caused the most tension politically, economically and territorially between the northern and southern states due to the balance of power. However, it could be argued that the north and south's views on slavery was a more significant cause the civil war.

By the mid nineteenth century, the United States was expanding westward rapidly. And as America expanded, so did the sectionalism. The rifts between the North and the South, caused by conflicting views on Westward Expansion were becoming more evident. Not only were the debates over westward expansion tedious; the ever growing social debate was also becoming alarmingly prevalent. And in 1860, the Civil War broke out, ultimately because of economic, political and social aspects of westward expansion. Therefore, westward expansion caused the Civil War.

Southern expansionism took on many forms in the United States between the years 1789 and 1860. Examining southern history for these years shows how slave-grown cotton played a major factor in southern expansion, specifically through the issues of the Louisiana Purchase, soil erosion, the desires of yeoman farmers and planters, Indian removal, the interstate slave trade, the independence movement in Texas, the Mexican War, filibusters in Central America, and especially concerning relations between the southern and northern states. However, southern history shows us that while the growth of southern cotton did in fact play a large role in the rationale for expansion, but there are other concerns involved here. Most notably, the constant dilemma of the slave to free state representation in Congress additionally played a large role in why so many southerners decided to pack up and head west. These two reasons can be explained as the two most primary concerns involving the sudden growth of southern expansion. Despite cotton being one of the major factors that led to southern expansion, it can be proven by examining southern history that the constant struggle between northerners and southerners to balance the ratio of slave to free states in Congress additionally played into expansion.

Before the Civil War started, the North and the South argued on two main topics: slavery and state rights. In my opinion, it was because of slavery that state rights were argued. When Western territories were annexed from Mexico, they were admitted to the Union with the condition that that slavery be banned through the Wilmot Proviso (History.com). Because of this, slave states felt they were unfairly treated and outnumbered. The religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening also gave way to new ideology. Combined with the growing abolitionist sentiment, Northern states began taking action against Southern states. Because their rights as

The first reason of expansion was the decline in The North for slaves. Because the North prospered during the Industrial Revolution, northern cities were the center of industry in the US. They became major metropolises due to the large flow of immigrants. Also the first reasons for the civil war. After the lands in the Old South were exhausted from cotton

The westward expansion of America involves many events that are important to history as a whole. It took place during the Age of Imperialism which began during the nineteenth and twentieth century. Westward expansion was a major event that took place throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the early half of the nineteenth century, the westward movement arose numerous issues involving social class, gender roles, and slavery by both political and social means.

Through the expansionist tendencies, lots of southerners and a handful of Northerners wanted slavery to be everywhere and they also would have loved the act of slavery to be in the new territories as well. There is also the fact that some people, mainly Americans would not want slavery to expand at all whatsoever, while some just wanted it to banned everywhere. As of a result of these different opinions a Civil War broke out between these people and their opinions too. In the expansionists, tendencies led to a Civil war which was not good, and there is also the fact that the relationships with others were negatively affected due to the idea of manifest

Leading up to the American Civil War was an era of change in the labor systems of the North and South. The question of whether slavery would expand to the territories of the United States, or whether it would be restricted to the South dominated politics. The North, with its free labor system, feared the expansion of slavery to the territories—which would effectively make them the political minority, as well as going against their desire for the territories to be all white. The South, however, saw the North’s attempts to limit slavery in the territories as an attack on these new territory’s rights. The question of whether the causes of the Civil War have been resolved has been questioned by scholars since its completion. The regional changes

Between 1865 and the 1880’s the United States were very much removed from the entire world. This was an issue that required focus because many other nations, such as Europe and Asia were constantly building an empire so the American’s demanded U.S. expansion. The majority of their focus was on the Western Hemisphere (Barnes & Bowles, The American Story - Perspectives and Encounters from 1877, 2014). The Western Hemisphere was the main focus and it made America what it is today.

“American claim to new territory is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative self-government entrusted to us”. (Brinkly, American History 1, 2012) (Quote of John L. O’Sullivan). Many say that the manifest destiny caused the civil war between the North and South. It was presumed that the northern states did not want slavery in the north. The south however did due to the vast land and propensity to grow cotton. It created tension between the north and south. There was plenty of land out west also. Many Americans were moving west to Texas.

Ever since the first English colonists arrived in Jamestown and Plymouth, the colonists and eventually Americans have always considered expanding west, whether the land was previously inhabited or not: And like most things, many people had different opinions if and how it should be done. Before the 1800s, this issue already had opinions on the best solution. One example of this can be observed by King George III in The Royal Proclamation of 1763, in which he forbade all English settlement past a line in the Appalachian Mountains. Contrarily, Daniel Boone carved out the Wilderness Road and built the settlement of Boonesborough in the late 1700s. These sharp contrasts in ideas led to future debates. From 1800-1855, territorial expansion ignited nationwide debates: The supporters of territorial expansion rallied behind the term “manifest destiny,” while the opposition argued the unconstitutionality of the acquisition of territory, and the future negative consequences expansion may cause.

Liberia has always been under pressure, similar to other countries. At first, the establishment of Liberia in 1822 with the reinforcement of the American Colonization Society may have seemed like a pleasant time. The American Colonization Society’s enterprise was for liberated black slaves to immigrate to Africa. In general, this wasn’t an appalling event along with the time when Liberia was observed as independent by the United States of America in 1862. Although the discovery and foundation of Liberia is essential and positive, Liberia is still like a rose with thorns. Underneath the beauty of Liberia were grotesque misfortunes. In particular, these hardships were the civil war and revolution, violations of human rights, and the