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Native Americans and manifest destiny
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The theme of growth is in this time period. As the United States began to grow in land, it also began to grow both philosophically and physically. First stage of growth for America was Nationalism. U.S. Nationalism displayed itself through the development of the idea of Manifest Destiny after winning the War of 1812. The second key theme is developing an American Identity Or considered as the Age of Reform. Many aspects of American society contributed to developing its identity. It showed that the fabric of the new nation was continually changing as it grew into the first forty years of the 19th Century. Major movements just as the Second Great Awakening, Abolitionist movement, and the Temperance Movement showed a division in the American people
During the 19th century, America had an expanding idea of Manifest Destiny, where they would claim land all the way to the east coast. While the government and the citizens were focused on exploring new land, they were able to acquire much of the new land, introducing new people and ideas. Many of these people and ideas were vastly different than the original in the thirteen colonies, which frustrated many people. When these different people and beliefs collided, many disputes and disagreements were born, which intensified the results of sectionalism, unfortunately leading up the Civil War, having a huge impact on the country.
Prior to the “Era of Good Feelings”, America was characterized as a nation where people did not recognize themselves in union but instead identified themselves according their region. During this period America became more integrated (politically, socially and economically) and a sense of nationalism prevailed. In the years following the War of 1812 America 's status on the world stage strengthened, the economy grew and became more prosperous due to the market revolution, and new forms of transportation and their improvements connected the country in ways that had not been seen before. Despite this rise in nationalism, there were also some elements of sectionalism that had existed since colonization.
1. What led to the rise of the spirit of “Manifest Destiny” in the 1840s, and how did that spirit show itself in the American expansionism of the decade?
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.
Behind the scenes of Manifest Destiny, what really transformed the country was the ability to move products across great distances and the Erie Canal was a huge turning point for economic growth in America. Opened in 1825, the Erie Canal was the engineering breakthrough of the nineteenth century: Its four waterways would connect manufacturing and eastern ports with the rest of the country. Farmers could now ship their goods, they could move out, come down the Hudson River and this way of commuting became a part of a global economy. This Moment would bring about the thought of expansion which will become the fuse to enormous economic growth that will ultimately in the next century, become the belief of manifest destiny. The nation that both reflected the pride which reflected American nationalism, and the idealistic image of social perfection through God and the Church caused the nation to separate.
“The United States emerged from a virulent, intense, and inhumane civil war and evolved into a new nation during this period. This transition was the culmination of political, economic, social, and cultural movements which transformed the nation. E Pluribus Unum - out of many United States, one nation; the United States was forged in the cauldron of these revolutions." -Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History
Shortly after the War of 1812, the nation’s ideals of community began to shift to a more individualized approach, which led to numerous reforms and movements. Individualism allows one to act or think outside of what is culturally or socially accepted. This period of time became known as the antebellum period, where social and moral reforms were popularized through political reform, abolition and women’s suffrage movements. Individualism and reform impulses were interdependent upon each other, without one the other could not be as strong; therefore, the desire for individualism established the basis for numerous reforms and movements during the antebellum period of the United States.
The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.
American reform movements in the early to mid 1800’s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women’s rights. These movements were the result of our nation’s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in.
The Age of Reform throughout 1825-1850 was a great turning point for American society. The ideas and beliefs throughout the reform movements greatly expanded the democratic ideals. Reform movements in the United States sought to express ideas through religion and education, start movements through abolition and temperance acts, expand beliefs by caring for the insane, and take a stand by speaking up for personal rights .
One of the largest and most wealthy countries in the world, the United States of America, has gone through many changes in its long history. From winning its independence from Great Britain to present day, America has changed dramatically and continues to change. A term first coined in the 1840s, "Manifest Destiny" helped push America into the next century and make the country part of what it is today. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny played an important role in the development of the United States by allowing the territorial expansion of the 1800s. Without the expansion of the era, America would not have most of the western part of the country it does now.
The Reform Movements was a significant era during the 19th century. A gradual era which was motivated by the Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism. These Reform Movements were a principal portion of the Antebellum era, an era which began after the War of 1812 and the came to an end during the beginning of the civil war. This era incorporated issues such as; the fight for women's rights, free public education, a benevolence environment in prisons/asylums, the opposition of alcohol and slavery. Americans strive to resolve these issues in order to modify the United States chaotic organizational systems so that they can become more reasonable, but hope for those Americans who strive was extremely difficult. Overall every Reform Movement
According to the article “Restoring American Competitiveness” by Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih, the United States industries have worn down competition through the damages from outsourcing manufacturing. There are several issues that have caused serious problems to the U.S. economy, which have caused the decline of trade due to shortage of innovation and competition. Theses problems are lack of funding for research and development by government and businesses and poor financial decisions made by management for outsourcing. There are several recommendations that the government and business executives can do to rebuild U.S. industries.
Although the American revolution had ended, the 1800’s were a time of great social revolutions. Over the course of the 19th century, the United States witnessed the start of several movements that forever changed American society such as the temperance movement, the abolition of slavery, and women’s rights. These causes are the basis for some of the movements that many Americans are still passionate about today.
The essay titled America Remain the World’s Beacon of Success by Tim Roemer discusses the positive position America placed as a leader in many of its endeavors in the fields of technology, sciences, and healthcare. In Roemer’s opinion, America regarded upon by other countries as the litmus test comparing their success. Roemer enumerated the many achievements and discoveries America accomplished as new country at only 700 years old. Now the question remains, will the success of America continue to be sustainable? I believe it will be, and I agree with Roemer’s opinion despite the internal issues the country face on a regular basis. After all, success is a daily repeated effort in small sum.