The acquisition of new land from the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 kickstarted the Westward Expansion, which was a period of time in the 1800s when people began to move westward in America. The size of the United States has doubled in size, giving a whole new world for people to explore and settle in. People began to move and settle westward for many different reasons, including the government’s desire to expand, great financial opportunities, and people’s belief in their God-given right to expand, which all ultimately affected the Native Americans. The U.S. government wanted to expand west, and President Polk believed they had the right to do so. “It is my duty to assert and maintain by all constitutional means the right of the United States …show more content…
A painting by John Gast, titled “American Progress”, portrays the idea of Manifest Destiny. The contents of the painting show a divine being representing God, hovering over the settlers as they lit up the path westward. As the pioneers move, we can see the Native Americans in the image seemingly running away, covered by the dark (Document 8). A mass of people decided to settle west because of this concept. In a speech from John L. O’Sullivan, he stated that we had humane freedom and that God was watching over us along the movement. “We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march? Providence is with us, and no earthly power can” (Document 1). However, despite all the greatness of the expansion, there were people along the journey who were majorly affected by it. Those people were the Native Americans who had already been living on the land way before the extension of territory. On a graph showing the population development of Oregon, we can see a clear point in time, around the 1840s, where the non-Native American settlers began to rapidly increase, and the Native Americans significantly decreased (Document
Permissiveness coupled with a self-righteous entitlement is not considered very flattering on anyone, much less a developing young country. The loose handle the US government had in the 1800s on its land-hungry constituents contributed to the worst (but among the most overlooked) genocide in recorded history. The few preventative actions taken by the federation to slow the quickening roll of excessive expansion were overruled or overlooked by the citizens. Deciding that the east coast was no longer enough to satiate their appetite for possession, they looked to the west. Imagining themselves to be Moses, claiming their promised land, the settlers surged westward, citing Manifest Destiny, a concept that suggested providence had intended the
While their means of land acquisition differed, both Jefferson and Polk emphasized American expansion during their presidencies, obtaining extensive swathes of North American territory. In 1803, Jefferson’s administration finalized an agreement with France to purchase the Louisiana Territory, a large portion of central North America stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Thirty years later, this region contained several states and territories, and pioneers forged even further west, seeking new homes in the distant frontier. Obstacles remai...
The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. Now that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable.
In 1845, a fellow named John C. Calhoun coined the term "Manifest Destiny." The term Manifest Destiny was a slogan for westward expansion during the 1840's. In the west there was plenty of land, national security, the spread of democracy, urbanization, but there was also poverty out west. People moved out west in search for a new life such as a new beginning. Moving out west, settlers from the east were taking a risk of a lot of things. The climate was different and there were more cultures that lived out west because of how much land was available.
How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.
The United States saw its territory more than double in the first three decades of the 19th century. Bursting with nationalist fervor, an insatiable desire for more land, and a rapidly increasing population, the western frontiers of the United States would not remain east of the Mississippi. The eventual spread of the American nation beyond the Mississippi into Native and French land, referred to as “Manifest Destiny” by John O’Sullivan, was rationalized as a realization of their God given duty. The Louisiana Purchase set the precedent for unrestricted westward expansion in America, and allowed for others to follow in his footsteps. Characterized by racist overtones, a lack of the “consent of the governed, and ethnic cleansing, there is no valid distinction between this American continental expansion and the international expansion sought by Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries, and is clearly imperialist in nature.
In 1844 the new president Polk got elected he had a vision to expand the U.S westward, provoking the war with Mexico. When Polk first got elected he concentrated on the land northwestward which was possessed b...
The United States began as a group of 13 colonies controlled by Great Britain. These colonies won their independence in the American Revolution and became a unified country. Since that moment, the United States has been continuously expanding its borders. The Northwest Territory was gained as a result of the American Revolution, the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France, and the lands of California, New Mexico, and Texas were gained after the Mexican-American War. All of these gained lands helped expand the borders of the United States and develop the country into a global force. Expansion into the western lands of the United States became a growing trend in the early 19th century and continued to gain popularity amongst Americans. These lands promised a new start for some people, and for others, an opportunity for great wealth. Western expansion also created conflict between Americans. Competition for the best land, debates over slavery, and conflicts with Indians began to emerge with the increased expansion. The benefits and conflicts associated with western expansion defined the area and its role in America.
For years the people of America had used economic gain as a reason to push west into territory that was both uncharted and fought over. (Acuna 255-256). However the religious revival, as well as O'sullivan's term, Manifest destiny breathed new purpose into the march westward. God himself had chosen Americans to hold the great responsibility of controlling all of the land from the west coast of America to the east coast and it was the people's destiny to spread out in conquest. Along with this destiny came the divine mission to spread the democratic ideals of the nation to those who did not have it, to civilize and make free the people who held the land of America long before the pilgrims reached the shores of North America. Though pushed by an increase in technology and the market economy many defended that the ideals of Manifest Destiny had nothing to do with the desire for wealth at all, but that they only expanded westward because God had chosen them to. (Foote 478-479). In John L. O'sullivan's article The Greatest Good of the Greatest Number he defends America's rights, writing "We feel safe under the banner of the democratic principle, which is borne onward by an unseen hand of providence, to lead our race toward the high destinies of which every human soul contains the
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us?
John Gast’s painting titled American Progress perfectly portrays the idea of manifest destiny that engulfed the minds of Americans. Portrayed in the right side of the painting is indubitable western influence with boats, a bridge in the distance, and trains with little or no track in front of them which allows the mind to conclude the newcomers are pushing west. In the middle of the landscape are horses, buggies, and covered wagons, showing a slight increase in modernity compared to what is shown in the far left of the painting, Indians or better known by 18th and 19th century Europeans as savages. Gast also places the portrayal of western influence in the light portion of the piece, and the old primitive way of live portrayed by savages on the dark side of the piece. This is not coincidence, primitive behavior was viewed as improper and it needed enlightenment this is precisely what Gast presents in American Progress. In the bottom left corner an animal shows its teeth, which could be a signal of the dangers to moving west. What is probably noticed first however is the woman in the center of the painting. The angel, the guiding light of Manifest Destiny the one who is bringing the light that you see so prominently in the right side of the painting. Manifest Destiny was thought of as God’s call to bring western enlightenment to the west. Those who were enlightened and civilizations created by those who were enlightened were viewed as utopian. However, eleven years before Gast painted American Progress was the start of a war that rattled America. Westward expansion and subsequent acquisition of the west was fought over and the utopian ideal Gast portrays was...
to reach their goal on `Western Waters' of the Great Lakes or the tributaries of
At the beginning of the 1840’s there was a new mindset that was summed up by Horace Greeley’s famous quote, "Go West, Young man." This was only fueled by the numerous Natural and Social environmental advantages of going west. The Natural environment of the West was the land, gold, industry, and climate. The Social environment of the West was freedom and Native American interaction. The natural environment along with the social environment of the West helped greatly shape the way in which the West was developed and the way in which people lived their lives while west of the Mississippi river.
The period from 1800 to 1865 marked a time of immerse sectionalism in American history. Sectionalism grew more intense due to the added conflict of how to embrace new territories gained during Western Expansion. Westward Expansion began with the Louisiana Purchase made by President Thomas Jefferson. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (Give Me Liberty! 304). The most controversial issue was whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories acquired by the United States. As the philosophy of Manifest Destiny spread among the whole country, the South wanted new slave territories while the North wanted to stop the spread of slavery. According to John O’Sullivan,
The Westward Expansion was a turning point on United States becoming a continental agricultural and manufacturing power. United States wanted to explore and settle into the West after the Louisiana Purchase as the result of the War of 1812. Many pioneers and families moved west between 1816 and 1821. The land was purchased by the federal government to sell it at a very high price to the farmers. The farmers were willing to purchase land with the increase of American agricultural products. The state bank collapsed and all the farmers that were depending on it had all their land values go down. The Panic of 1819 greatly affected the western settlers who purchased land for crops. Most made it through the Panic and followed the conquest heading West.