8.8.2
Describe the purpose,
challenges, and economic incentives associated with westward expansion,
including the concept of Manifest Destiny (e.g., the Lewis and Clark expedition,
accounts of the removal of Indians, the Cherokees' "Trail of Tears," settlement
of the Great Plains) and the territorial acquisitions that spanned numerous
decades.
Manifest Destiny, a doctrine that
the United States had the right and duty to expand throughout the North American
continent, was proposed with a purpose; to allow settlers to travel and expand
west. The manifest destiny allowed the Lewis and Clark expeditions to take
place, and led to the removal of Indians. Challenges of the westward expansion
involved removing the Native Americans that would allow the white settlers to
move in.
Extraordinary as it was, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the first United
States overland exploration of the American West and Pacific Northwest, began in
May 1804 and ended in September 1806. The expedition was commissioned by
President Thomas Jefferson and led by army officers Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark. The principal goal of the expedition was to locate a route from the East
coast to the west coast and survey its potential as a waterway for American
westward expansion.
During Andrew Jackson's Presidential Term, Jackson supported Georgia in its effort to
deprive the Cherokee nation of its land. Even though the Cherokee’s won a
Supreme Court decision, Jackson managed to remove these eastern tribes and
relocate them to different areas.
Henry Clay called Jackson's Native American policy a stain on the nation's honor.
However, Jackson's antipathy toward these peoples was typical of the frontier
settler, and because this policy opened more land to settlement, most Westerners
supported it with enthusiasm.
Westward expansion, the movement of people from the settled regions of the
United States to lands farther west, occured mainly between the early 17th and
late 19th centuries, American people, with other white settlers, expanded from
the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast. This westward movement, across what was
often called the American frontier, was of enormous significance. By expanding
the nation’s borders to include more than three million square miles, the United
States became one of the most powerful nations of the 20th century. However,
this expansion also resulted in great suffering, destruction, and cultural loss
for the Native Americans of North America.
This expansion also meant that much of North America was dominated by English
establishments and ways of life, instead of Spanish or French ones. The Spanish
and French were also exploring and settling North America in the sixteenth,
seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. For good or ill, the westward movement of
these Anglo-American settlers was one of the most influential forces to shape
North American history.
More Information:
1.
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/dialogues/prelude/manifest/manifestdestiny.html
More information on Manifest Destiny. No nation ever existed without some
sense of national destiny or purpose.
2.
http://www.lewis-clark.org/index.htm
Lewis and Clark; purposes, legacy, and the journey.
3.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html
Indian removal; Early in the 19th century, while the rapidly-growing United
States expanded into the lower South, white settlers faced what they considered
an obstacle. This area was home to the Cherokee...
4.
http://www.ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
More on the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. Between 1790 and 1830 the
population of Georgia increased six-fold. The western push of the settlers
created a problem. Georgians continued to take Native American lands...
5.
http://www.usis.usemb.se/usis/history/chapter5.html
More on time period of westward expansion ...regional differences.
6.
http://www.bestschools.org/8thsocial/westexp.html
Westward expansion, transcontinental railroad, Native Americans.
7.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=1741500823&sec=62#s62.
Manifest Destiny was believed by most people in the States that it was
inevitable. Therefore they didn’t question their right to take over Texas and
Indian lands.
8.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761589809.
Western expansion was significant for many reasons. By almost doubling the
nation’s size, the United States became one of the most powerful nations of the
20th century. However, this expansion also resulted in great suffering,
destruction, and cultural loss for the Native Americans of North America as
white settlers forced them out of their native land.
9.
http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Am/manifest_destiny.
People believed it was United States destiny to spread from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea. Thus all other
people must either accept their fate or be removed by the US military force.
Recommended Books:
1.
Conquering the Great American Desert: Nebraska.
by Dick, Everett Newfon.
2.
The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dreams
by H.W. Brands
3.
The Oregon Trail: Adventures on the Prairie in the 1840s
by Francis Parkman