preview

Westward Expansion Analysis

Decent Essays

The United States gained its independence from its colonial power, Great Britain, with the promise of creating a utopian democratic country. Abraham Lincoln noted that this new government would be a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth”. However, as history has demonstrated, the United States simply established an illusion of democracy with an agenda to address fake ideal in which everybody will be equal, but in reality, is was never accomplished. The United States government had never follow the premise set by the founding father in the Constitution or in the Declaration of Independence. Actions as slavery, National laws applied by the government, and even actions done by the presidents, …show more content…

President Thomas Jefferson believed that the nation's future depended on the expansion to the West and promised free land and prosperity for Americans moving west. The history of the U.S affected by the westward expansion in several ways, beginning with the East coast and continuing expanding to the West until they reached the pacific. Americans already had the idea of expanding their land across the continent in order to become a stronger country and become a nation of prosperity. This was America's destiny, to expand around the continent and spread their traditions and costumes because of God's will. Also, many Americans believed that God blessed the growth of the nation and he demanded to expand and bring the United States government to the unenlightened people. Even before the American colonies won their independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary war, people were immigrating to the West because they were provided more opportunities and benefits than living under Great Britain's control. According to History.com “Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, …show more content…

Moreover, presidents along with the governmental influence abused their power bringing slavery, exploitation, oppression and many negative influences in the society. After the Americans started migrating to the West, the U.S government took Natives land and gave it to the people who were moving westward (white Americans). The Natives did not want to give up on their land, because that place meant their life, their ancestors and their culture by losing it, they would lose their dignity. For this reason, some of them refused to leave their property and the government implement both political and military action from removing natives Americans from their tribes. The Indians were forced to assimilate, follow U.S laws of leaving their homeland and the Indians forced themselves to move away from their land to Oklahoma. The Indian tribes that were affected the most were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole which were the civilized tribes and ended up losing their ancestral lands. It was the Native Americans who suffered most from Andrew Jackson's vision of America, just because that relocation would make room for Americans settlers migrating westward. In response to president Andrew Jackson’s actions of the tension the Cherokees refused to follow his orders and give

Get Access