Manifest Destiny Dbq

Manifest Destiny was a controversial movement from the 1820’s to the 1850s. Manifest Destiny is the belief that Americans have a god given right to pursue liberty and happiness. The movement included pushing Mexicans and Native Americans out of their homes and their land to make way for American settlers. Manifest Destiny’s influence on Westward Expansion fostered change due to the expansion of slavery, the Gold Rush, and populating the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

To begin, the newly acclaimed land led to many disputes about slavery and the inevitable expansion of it. As more and more people began to settle in Texas, slavery began to popularize. As document 6 states, “The committee whose names are below are opposed to the

Soon after the population in the west exploded, there was a discovery that made President Polk’s victory of the land even sweeter. As the notes state, “1848: Gold is found near Sutter’s Mill.” (3-23-23). Sutter’s Mill was a small water powered mill in California, but today it is now a historical tourist attraction. In the water below the mill, a small chunk of gold was found by one of the settlers. After this discovery, citizens who weren’t inhabiting the foreign lands that were in the west, soon saw a reason to move to said west area. As the document states, “I’ll got to Californy, and try to raise a stake!!! - ‘Joe Bowers from Pike’”. This song was the most popular song during the Gold Rush. The last two lyrics of this song represent the risks but promise of California. In summary, Manifest Destiny led to the discovery of gold in the United States, which led to the Gold

Even though the act of slaughtering and relocating the Mexicans and native americans was very wrong, America wouldn’t be where it was today. As the chart shows, the population of Non-Indian people exploded from zero to over ninety thousand in the span of roughly 65 years. The biggest jump in population is right around 1848, which is when gold was discovered. After said gold was discovered, many families found a reason to relocate to the west. Adding to the problem of settlers and slavery, whole families began to move to the west along with their slaves. As written in the notes, “Americans began moving into Texas in the 1820’s and brought their slaves with them.” (3-22-23). To put into perspective how fast the west was populating, imagine over two thirds of the entire western population owned slaves. This situation added to the western land supporting slavery as the first people there were slave owners. All in all, Manifest Destiny was responsible for populating the west as many families and their slaves moved