territorial expansion dbq

669 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Government role in the economy

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.

Show More
Related

  • Joel H. Silbey's Storm Over Texas

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    James K. Polk was one of many that felt extremely strong about Texas joining the Union. Silbey uses direct quotes from politicians gives a deeper outlook into Texas annexation. “That there is a large majority who would be glad to see Texas, in some way or another, united to this country, there can be no doubt.” (Silbey 81) Shortly after this widespread idea of Texas joining the country Congress was overwhelmed with bills to make Texas’s entry accomplished.

    Read More

  • Sectionalism Dbq

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Territorial Expansion 1800-1850

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Was The Mexican War An Expansion Of American Imperialism

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    Expansion of a nation was nothing new in terms of history. The fighting, buying and selling of land in North America was a common event during the 1800s. The United States had started expanding in 1803 with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory whose borders where not clearly defined. After the War of 1812 with the British, the northern border of this territory was defined at the 49th parallel. Then in 1819, Spain sold its claim to Florida to the United States. The United States wanted to continue to expand itself westward to the Pacific Ocean, a territory then owned by Mexico. The acquirement of this territory occurred after the Mexican War. How the territory was acquired by the United States is the topic in question.

    Read More

  • The Continuation and Departure Trends of United States Expansionism

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    United States expansionism in the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century is both a continuation and a departure of past United States expansionism. Expansionism in the United States has occurred for many reasons. Power (from land), religion, economics, and the ideas of imperialism and manifest destiny are just a few reasons why the U.S. decided to expand time and again throughout the course of its 231 year history. Expansionism has evolved throughout the years as the inhabitants of the country have progressed both socially (the Second Great Awakening, the women's suffrage movement, the populist party and the early 19th and 20th century social reformers) and economically (factories, better farms, more jobs, etc.) Expansion changed from non-interference policies to the democratic control of the government as the United States grew in both size and population. Through the use of the documents and events during two major-expansion time periods (1776-1880) and 1880-1914), I will display both the continuation and departure trends of United States expansionism.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny and the Genocide of the Native American Indian

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...

    Read More

  • Reasons For the Annexation of Texas

    2496 Words  | 5 Pages

    So a major reason for Texas to be annexed into the United States was that the overwhelming majority of the population was former Americans. From the very time of winning independence, annexation of Texas to the United States was at the top of the list of things to do. But as soon as the Texas minister was sent to Washington to negotiate for an annexation, the Martin Van Buren administration said that the proposition could not be entertained. The reasons given were constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico. The real reason behind Washington’s excuses is slavery....

    Read More

  • Expansionism in the late 19th/ Early 20th century

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Expansionism in the late 19th/ Early 20th century Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was the strongest of nations, and that they could take any land they pleased. This is shown in the "manifest destiny" of the 1840's and the "Darwinism" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Apart from the similarities, there were also several differences that included the American attempt to stretch their empire across the seas and into other parts of the world.

    Read More

  • Major Problems in American Immigration History

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    The late 1800’s was a watershed moment for the United States, during which time the Industrial Revolution and the desire for expansion brought about through Manifest Destiny, began to run parallel. Following the end of the Spanish-American war, the United States found itself with a wealth of new territory ceded to it from the dying Spanish empire. The issue of what to do with these new lands became a source of debate all the way up to the U.S. Congress. Men like Albert J. Beveridge, a Senator from Indiana, advocated the annexation, but not necessarily the incorporation of these new l...

    Read More

  • Texas Annexation

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opposition to Texas' admission to the United States was particularly strong in the North during this period. If a challenge to the constitutionality of the move could have been made successfully at that time, there is little doubt that the leaders of the opposition would have instituted such a suit in the Supreme Court.

    Read More

  • The Mexican War

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1845 the U.S attempted to Annex Texas. Basically America wanted Texas to become one of the states rather then and independent nation by itself. At this time Texas was an independent nation that was not a part of America or Mexico. Mexico wanted to keep Texas neutral if not a part of its own country. When the U.S attempted to annex Texas Mexico became outraged, " In November 1843 Mexico had warned that if the United States should commit the 'unheard-of aggression' of seizing an integral part of 'Mexican territory' Mexico would declare war " (Bound for the Rio Grande, 62). Despite the warning the U.S attempted to annex Texas. In doing so Mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the U.S. Mexico felt that the U.S was insulting them by not taking them seriously when they threatened with war. So at this point America showed a very large interest in possessing Texas. America was very close to actually acquiring Texas when they made their first mistake in the war.

    Read More

  • Purchase Of The Louisiana Purchase

    2611 Words  | 6 Pages

    They feared that it would decrease the power that they had experienced to this time . This loss in political power would mean a great deal of things during this time of trying to find a true national identity. The expanding of the United States would ultimately prove to be beneficial to the current states and the lands that would be colonized. This is not saying that it went smooth and without any hardships, but the outcome would prove to be beneficial. There were others that opposed the Louisiana Purchase because of the effect it could possibly have on the relationship with Great

    Read More

  • The American Civil War Was Inevitable

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).

    Read More

  • The 'New' Expansionism Ideas of the United States (1880-1914)

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the United States grew in power, so did her ideas of expansion. The foreign powers were beginning to move out of their continents and seek land in other countries. The United States soon followed. They followed in their founder’s footsteps and tried to occupy lands in the far seas. However, in the beginning, this need for more land was called Manifest Destiny. This idea claimed that God was forcing them to occupy the new western lands. The expansionism that occurred in the late 1800’s was not a result of Manifest Destiny, and thus this "new" idea of expansionism was different from the expansionism ideas of early America. For the most part, the United States’ need for more land was primarily to keep other nations (mainly European powers) out of the western hemisphere. However the United States began to see reason behind change towards the "new" expansionistic ideas.

    Read More

  • The Homestead Act

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    It was not very easy for the United States to expand like they had in mind. The division of land had been a rising problem since the Revolutionary war. Two of the main issues during the time of the Articles of Confederation were the pricing and land measurement (Potter and Schamel 1). Throughout the course of over fifty years, the government had tried many different attempts to get people to want to expand to the west. They just didn’t really know the right way of how to go about it. Trying to sell the acres did not go over well, considering the price seemed outrageous for what they were getting. Untouched soil was very hard to start on and be successful from the beginning, which caused some problems with people not wanting to buy the land (Weiser 1). So again, a different political group tried a different approach.

    Read More

More about territorial expansion dbq

Open Document