ASCC L2 (G1-G4) Westward Expansion

1- The Louisiana Purchase:

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought a huge portion of land west of the Mississippi.
He bought this land from France. The new territory was called the Louisiana. It
more than doubled the size of the United States! The Louisiana Purchase cost 15
million dollars total. The land included 828,000 square miles of new land
(approximately 2,144,000 square km). It stretched the country from the east to the
west coast. Accodring To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation’s
health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry
for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land
ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. Jefferson believed that small
farmers, who owned the land they worked, constituted an ideal form of society. He
saw factories as nightmarish places, where people lost their freedoms and where
tyranny was constructed.The westward expansion of the United States is one of
the defining themes of 19th-century American history, but it is not just the story of
Jefferson’s expanding “empire of liberty.” On the contrary, as one historian writes,
in the six decades after the Louisiana Purchase, westward expansion “very nearly
destroy[ed] the republic.

2- The Manifest Destiny:

In the 19th century US, Manifest Destiny was a belief that was widely held that the destiny of American
settlers was to expand and move across the continent to spread their traditions and their institutions,
while at the same time enlightening more primitive nations. And the American settlers of the time
considered Indians and Hispanics to be inferior and therefore deserving of cultivation. The settlers
considered the United States to be the best possible way to organize a country so they felt the need to
remake the world in the image of their own country.

Many Americans believed that God blessed the growth of American nation and even demanded of them
to actively work on it. Since they were sure of their cultural and racial superiority, they felt that their
destiny was to spread their rule around and enlighten the nations that were not so lucky. The settlers
firmly believed in the virtue of American people and the mission to impose their virtuous – mainly
Puritan – way of life on everybody else. This belief served to explain the acquisition of territories or
reasons to go to war, such as The Annexation of Texas in 1845, The Oregon Territory from Great Britain
in 1846,following the war with Mexico in 1848, the latter ceded much of the Southwest to USA and in
1853, The United States bought an additional track of land from Mexico.
 3- The Mexican American War 1846-1848:

Everything started with the annexation of Texas to the United States. Mexicans believed that the
Americans stole Texas from them. There was a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River
(Mexican claim) or the Rio Grande (U.S. claim). Mexico severed relations with the United States in
March 1845, shortly after the U.S. annexation of Texas. In September U.S. Pres. James K. Polk sent
John Slidell on a secret mission to Mexico City to negotiate the disputed Texas border. Mexican Pres.
José Joaquín Herrera, aware in advance of Slidell’s intention of dismembering the country, refused to
receive him. When Polk learned of the snub, he ordered troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor to occupy the
disputed area between the Nueces and the Rio Grande (January 1846) and then the Congress voted for a
war against Mexico.The war—in which U.S. forces were consistently victorious—resulted in the United
States’ acquisition of more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square km) of Mexican territory
extending westward from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean.

4- The Westward Expansion Effects:

Economic opportunities

Immigrants gained better life and opportunities from expansion. People believed that they could own
land and make huge money in the west. The land was cheap and immigrants grew large food crops and
earned high profits. In addition, California Gold Rush attracted masses at large and gave jobs in the
mining sector. Railroad industry grew at immense pace and provided an efficient form of transportation
along with employment.

Economic growth

The westward expansion contributed in huge amount to the economy of United States. Without it, the
country would be two-thirds of today’s size. Additional states encouraged railroad expansion in the
country. Farming, industrial, and manufacturing sectors intensified the economic growth. Large
production followed the high demands of goods. This led to the invention of new technology to fulfill
these demands in an effective manner and extended economic growth.

Environmental luxury

New plant discoveries led to the research and advances in medicines. The bunch of new land in
America engendered the production of new food crops. Cattle were in high demand and sold for the maximum
price. In addition, the abundant grasses provided required food to these cattle.
 Native Americans

The impact of westward expansion was huge on native Americans. Native Americans, forcefully, lived on the
reservation and faced racism. In addition, military conflicts between whites and native Americans heightened
the problems. Such conflicts followed several deaths. Violent confrontation due to distinct culture was common.
U.S. Government shut down every demand of native Americans.

Slavery

The purchasing of new territories for expansion engendered two categories: free and slave state. During the
westward expansion, the Missouri and Maine became a slave and free state, respectively. Slavery and forced
labor rose under the greed of mercenary ones. Native Americans forcefully worked under inhumane conditions.
Lack of basic necessities followed the introduction of diseases, that ate up many of them. Spreading slavery
divided the nation and raised the alarms of war.

Extreme weather conditions

The conditions in the west were harsh. Blizzards, intense winds, and tornadoes often occurred. People bought
land and find it unfit for farming. They suffered and died of hunger. Many abandoned their land and moved
back to the east coast.