territorial expansion dbq

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During the early to mid eighteen hundreds, there was great unrest across the country over territorial expansion. Half of the nation believed that it would be beneficial to the country if we expanded, while the other half were firmly opposed to expansion. Within the century, the United States managed to claim Texas, California, and the majority of Indian-owned lands. Opinions on this expansion were mixed around the country. Polls taken during the time period show that the majority of the south and west supported expansion, while northerns were opposed to it. (Document B) This was because the northerners had different values and beliefs than the southerners of westerners. Both the opponents and supporters of territorial expansion during the time period between 1800 and 1855, had a tremendous influence on shaping federal government policy. However, it can be argued that the supporters of territorial expansion had the largest impact. They were able to sway the federal government to create policies and new laws that were in favor of supporter’s beliefs. It was mainly the people in the north that opposed territorial expansion. This was because northerners saw how unmoral expansion could be. They also had no need for the newly acquired lands and feared that further acquisition of land would only strengthen the west; this is why opponents of expansion got so upset when the United States considered annexing Texas. William Plumer, a Federalist, said, “Admit this western world into the union, and you destroy with a single operation the whole weight and importance of the eastern states.”(Document A). People against territorial expansion realized that by annexing Texas, the western territory would grow, have a larger population, and would t... ... middle of paper ... ...luenced by supporters of territorial expansion can be seen id document i. Henry David Thoreau wrote that the government is a tool for the people to act through. However, only a select few had chosen to use the government as a tool, and therefore they got what they wanted, a war with Mexico over territorial expansion. The majority of people though, didn’t want or support a war with Mexico over territorial expansion. In conclusion, in the eighteen hundreds, many people debated over whether territorial expansion was good or bad. Debates between the supporters and opposers created tension in the nation and enforced sectionalism. Although, typically, everybody is supposed to have the same say in government, it can be clearly seen during this time period that the supporters of territorial expansion had a greater influence on the policies created by the federal government.

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