Natalie Merchant’s song “Gold Rush Brides” features a very powerful and illustrative story of women during the westward expansion, which is detailed in chapter 16 of Eric Foner’s book, Give Me Liberty. The song demonstrates the hardships and the impact that women during that period faced with their migration towards the west.
In the 1912 election for president there were four candidates, two were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Both had reforms that they placed as the center of their campaigns. Roosevelt’s reform was New Nationalism and Wilson’s was New Freedom. While they were different in ways they also had some similarities, and their own significance to the people of America.
For some, it was destiny to move west. Although there were many conflicts and disagreements between ourselves and others, it was destiny to move west because of overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities.
In the mid 18th century settlers moved to the west. Their move brought them more opportunities and a better lifestyle on the frontier. Such as the transcontinental Railroad. The railroad was spread out all over the U.S. in order to build this railroad they had to clear all of the buffalo out of the way of the path, so the white people started to kill the buffalo. Without the buffalo the indians would die.
The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism. The land mass was first claimed by france, ceded to Spain in 1762, and then ceded back to France nearly 40 years later.
The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased. After their exploration, many people started to take interest in moving West. There were many different reasons why people moved, including a search for a fresh start at life, a chance at starting an economic success through agriculture and
The course text states that in the mid-1800s many people in the United States felt a sense of uniqueness about the United States that helped drive westward expansion. As the course text elaborates, “rooted in Puritan utopianism and revolutionary republicanism, this sense of uniqueness and mission also stemmed from the
As Americans set their course westward, their steadfast belief in manifest destiny was used as a means of justification for immoral actions taken against the Native Americans. Following the Louisiana Purchase, America gained 828,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River. As a large populus of Americans abandoned the
“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion. The time of Manifest Destiny was a time of true American brotherhood and comradeship. With Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk being the leading presidents of the cause during this time, it not only led to continental expansion but homicide as well. While the Americans believed they were expanding into free land, Native Americans had already settled the land centuries earlier. This led to the dark side of Manifest Destiny. Native Americans were forced to pick up their homes and resettle in areas that were less than sufficient to meet their basic needs. If Native Americans were not compliant, Americans would murder them. Although Manifest Destiny was seen as an inevitable movement among Americans and resulted in the formation of the American West in the Nineteenth century, it was truthfully an act of invasion and subjugation against peoples who had settled the land for hundreds of years earlier. Manifest Destiny led to an obvious upsurge in racial
America’s expansion seemed to cause major instability as it transitioned into independence. It caused wars with Britain and Mexico, but formed a strong relationship with France. However, this is the only case in which some stability is caused by expansion. Debatably one of the most destabilising outcomes of westward
America a country full of dreams coming true. People from over the globe travel to America in order to find a better life for themselves. As a newly born country, America is able to create this reality by their developing economy. The government helps sustain their increasing economic status by creating the Commerce Clause in the Constitution. The Commerce clause allows Congress to regulate trade between foreign nations, states, and Indian tribes(I.VIII.III). Overall, the Commerce Clause allows the federal government to be able to regulate economic activity throughout the country. It plays a fundamental role in America’s growing economy. This clause is important because it can control what goods are being imported and exported throughout America.
America’s steady westward expansion in 19th century was influenced by several factors. Firstly, the overflowing population of America which according to second census was 5.3 million and by seventh census, it was expected to reach 23.2 million. This growing population is one of the major reason expansions of America in late 19th century. Secondly, the farmers during this time required arable land for livestock and crops which was not available due to overcrowd. Thereby, financial panics uprooted the people and sent them west for the fresh start.
Westward Expansion rundown: The narrative of the United States has dependably been one of westward extension, starting along the East Coast and proceeding with, frequently rapidly, until it came to the Pacific—what Theodore Roosevelt portrayed as "The Colossal Jump Westward." The securing of Hawaii and Alaska, however not typically incorporated into exchanges of Americans growing their country westward, proceeded with the practices set up under the rule of Manifest Destiny. A trip to the west for an average American would cost them about one thousand dollars per family.
How did the United States expand over the years and why? The expansion of the United States was a vital part of America’s history and greatly affects how we live today. America's early days only started in 13 states and then progressively grew to 50 states in total. The time throughout the 1800’s and what happened throughout that time greatly impacted how America expanded land, resources, opportunity, trade, and money. Two of many main causes that evoked American expansion was the amount of opportunity that America could take, the idea of Manifest destiny, and the amount of power that the US had on other countries. Two main effects of the US expansion were the amount of mistreatment towards the Native Americans and the increased amount of land
“Manifest Destiny,” written by John L. O’Sullivan, explains how expansion is needed for america and how it could better our nation. The painting “American Progress,”supports expansion by displaying what it looked like when the settlers moved in. The text, “Reporting to the President, September 23-December 31,1806,” by Stephen Ambrose, supports westward expansion by talking about how lewis and Clarke did good things to help westward expansion. What do you think about westward expansion?