United States History Westward Expansion (1800-1900)

Westward Expansion (1800-1900) Westward expansion refers to the time in the 1800s when the US territory spread from the original 13 states on the East Coast all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The idea of manifest destiny was important in westward expansion – this idea said that God had given the US the right to expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean, even if it meant taking the territory of other people. ● These are some of the most important examples of US territorial growth: o Louisiana Purchase (1803) – Thomas Jefferson bought a huge territory from o France (it doubled the size of the United States). The US gained new territory and also New Orleans (an important port on the Gulf of Mexico), as well as control of the Mississippi River (important for the transportation of goods and people). ● Texas Annexation (1845) – Texas broke away from Mexico and was eventually annexed (added on to) the US. ● The Mexican Cession (1848) – As a result of the Mexican-American War (which the US won), Mexico was forced to give up over 1/3 of its territory (the modern-day states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada). ● Other important factors in territorial growth were: the Erie Canal (which connected the Hudson River with Lake Erie), Andrew Jackson’s policy of “Indian removal,” the Homestead Act, the transcontinental railroad, and the California Gold Rush. You should be familiar with how each of these contributed to westward expansion. As the 1800s progressed, westward expansion eventually resulted in a growth in sectionalism (divisions between North and South) and increased tensions over the issue of slavery – the North and South began to fight more and more over whether or not to allow slavery in the new territories of the United States. ● Gold Rush 1849 o Resulted in an increase in westward migration and led to the growth of the populations of California and western territories. ● Homestead Act 1862 o Promoted development of western lands by providing free land to settlers. o Demonstrated the federal government’s commitment to the settlement of western territories and most directly affected the Great Plains. o Pacific (Transcontinental Act) Railway Act 1862 o In the second half of the 1800’s, the federal government encouraged the building of transcontinental railroads by giving land to the railroad companies. ● Manifest Destiny: Idea that the U.S. should have the entire continent. o Used to support westward expansion of the U.S. to the Pacific Ocean. o Used as an excuse to expand into lands claimed by other nations. o Led to the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican War. ● During the 1840’s abolitionists (people who wanted to make slavery illegal) opposed annexation of new western territory because they feared the admission of new slave states. ● Major Abolitionists o William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe ● Territorial expansion led to increased tensions over slavery (should the new territories be open to slavery?). ● President James Polk o Policies involving Texas, California, and Oregon Territory were all efforts to fulfill the goal of Manifest Destiny. ● Missouri Compromise 1820/Compromise of 1850/Kansas-Nebraska Act o Missouri Compromise: Missouri would be entered as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Any states above north of the 36” 30’ would be barred from slavery. o Compromise of 1850: Allowed the US to expand by accepting California as a free state. The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and slave trade in Washington D. C. was abolished. o Kansas- Nebraska Act 1854- All were efforts to settle disputes over the spread of slavery to the western territories. The debate was whether new states admitted to the union would be free or slave states, and rapid migration caused by the discovery of gold in California led to the Compromise. o Bleeding Kansas ▪ Phrase used to describe clashes between proslavery and antislavery groups in Kansas. ● Popular Sovereignty o The idea that settlers had the right to decide whether slavery would be legal in their new territory or not. o Set up by Kansas-Nebraska Act ● Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857 o Supreme Court decision which ruled that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. o Ruled that Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional ● Plantations o Large farms in the south that used slave labor. o Slavery became more widespread in the South than in the North because geographic factors contributed to the growth of the southern plantation system. Slavery expanded in the South in the first half of the 1800’s because new inventions led to an increase in cotton production. ● Uncle Tom Cabin o A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that described slavery contributing to the start of the Civil War by intensifying Northern dislike of slavery. ● Underground Railroad o A secret network supported by many abolitionists that aided slaves in escaping slave-owners and reaching free states.