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Manifest Destiny: The Colonization Of North America

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Since the beginning of colonization in North America, Anglo-Saxon Americans have continuously been moving west. Some might say that their westward colonization was destined; a right given by God. While this expedition began from the colonization of the New world, it was truly identified as Manifest Destiny in the 1840s. Anglo-Saxons saw it as their duty to spread civilization and replace darkness with light. After the second Great awakening, many truly believed that God Himself had blessed the advancement of the American Nation. Americans began to Christianize Native Americans, further acting as racially and culturally superior. The heart of Manifest destiny was the belief that America as a race and culture was superior and was deemed to spread …show more content…

After California and Texas joined the union, many began to question whether these new states were going to be slave or free states. California requested to be a free state which made the south concerned about the balance between 15 free states and 15 slave states. The south was also agitated by the north passing the “personal liberty” Laws to try and end slavery, essentially countering the fugitive slave acts of 1850 and 1793. The south ended up blocking California’s admission and chaos ensued. Extended tension led to the Compromise of 1850 which stated that California would be admitted as a free state, stricter fugitive slave laws would be authorized, Congress would not interfere in slave trafficking in the south, the prohibition of slave trade in the district of Columbia, and finally popular sovereignty on slavery in the new states. While many argue that the joining of Texas and California to the Union is what “poisoned” America, others argue that the Kansas-Nebraska Act is what truly sparked the fire that would soon spread throughout America becoming the Civil

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