Fertile, sparsely populated, and rich in game, the West represented the future to Americans in the 1800s. By the 1840s, when editor John O'Sullivan insisted it was America's "manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole continent," he did not h
In 1839, John L. O'Sullivan of the New York Morning News wrote an editorial in which he proclaimed it was his countrymen's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted [us] by Providence.
Destiny
the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.
Manifest
clear or obvious to the eye or mind.
In 1839, John L. O'Sullivan of the New York Morning News wrote an editorial in which he proclaimed it was his countrymen's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted [us] by Providence.
Why Push West?
Americans had many reasons for wanting to expand westward, but one of the most important was the desire for more farmland. By the 1830s, not only was open land in the East growing scarce, but generations of farming there had reduced the pro
Americans also saw expansion as a way to increase commercial opportunities. Expansionists knew that if they acquired deep harbors along the Pacific coast, such as the San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound, they could build port cities there and facilitate tra
The Oregon Country
In looking westward, Americans had long had their eyes on the sparsely settled region called the "Oregon country," which today includes the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, along with parts of Wyoming and Montana, and all of the
In the early 1840s, "Oregon Fever" hit the nation. News of the abundance of land in the West spread quickly due to improvements in transportation and communications, including canals, roads, and the distribution of the cheap newspapers known as the "penny
Wagon trains covered roughly 2,000 miles over difficult terrain along the route called the Oregon Trail.
New Mexico and California
Oregon was not the only destination of westward-heading pioneers. In the early 1820s, a Missouri trader blazed a trail between St. Louis and Santa Fe�a small settlement situated in a vast region between the territories of Texas a
Mexico also acquired California when it won independence from Spain. In the 1840s, a few American families began following the Oregon Trail and, after crossing the Rocky Mountains, turned south to settle in California. It did not take long for Americans t
Originally a Spanish mission, Santa Fe in New Mexico became a destination of American pioneers in the 1820s.
Texas
When Mexico gained independence from Spain, it acquired another Spanish territory�Texas. While Texas was under the control of Spain, the Spanish government had offered generous land grants to American settlers in an effort to promote economic growth
But disputes between the new Mexican government and the Americans living in Texas soon escalated into fighting. After nearly a year of conflict, a treaty established an independent Republic of Texas. Almost immediately, American settlers and politicians s
One of the most famed battles between Texas and Mexico was at the Alamo, an old Spanish mission in San Antonio.
Who Has the Right?
Thomas Jefferson had looked to the West as "an empire for liberty." In a world mostly ruled by kings, many Americans saw themselves as part of a divine plan to expand freedom across the entire continent. By 1840, that notion was called
Proponents of manifest destiny believed that Americans had a moral right to rule the continent. As the nation expanded, American settlers not only took over lands occupied by British, Spanish, and Mexican settlers, but also lands that for centuries had be
As the nation expanded, American settlers took over lands occupied for centuries by Native Americans.
Pushing Westward
President James K. Polk, like many American leaders, believed in manifest destiny. He wanted the agricultural lands and commercial opportunities that expansion would bring. In his campaign for the presidency in 1844, he promised to add ne
Polk delivered on his campaign promise. During his four years in office, the United States annexed Texas and acquired the Oregon country through a treaty. Polk tried to convince Mexico to sell California and New Mexico, but Mexico refused. In a controvers
Despite protests from many, including Representative Abraham Lincoln and writer Henry David Thoreau, the United States waged war against Mexico and gained an enormous block of land in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which established the first boundaries of the nation.
The original thirteen colonies became the first thirteen states between 1787 and 1790.
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson initiated the purchase of a vast territory wast of the Mississippi River. The Louisiana Purchase doubled in size of the United States.
Parts of the northern border were established when Great Britain ceded land to the United States in 1818 and 1842.
In the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, the United States acquired Spanish Florida in exchange for relinquishing U.S. claims on Spanish Texas.
In 1836, Texans seized land from Mexico and founded an independent Republic of Texas. In 1845, the United States annexed Texas.
In the Oregon Treaty, Great Britain and the United States entered a compromise and established the boundaries of the Oregon country.
The United States, under President James K. Polk, declared war on Mexico. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war, Mexico ceded a vast area of land to the United States.
In the Gadsden Purchase, or Gadsden Treaty, the United States acquired a final piece of land from Mexico.
At the advice of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, the United States bought Alaska from Russia.
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the United States played a role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In his presidential campaign, Polk promised to add new territory to the United States.
Manifest destiny?the idea that it was America's right and God's plan to secure all the lands from coast to coast?took hold.
Early explorers, fur traders, missionaries, and mountain men helped pave the way for pioneers to begin settling the Pacific Northwest.
Americans followed the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon; others took a different path along the Santa Fe Trail to the Southwest.
President James K. Polk pursued war with Mexico to gain new territory.
In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo established the Rio Grande as the southernmost border of Texas, and Mexico ceded lands that included present-day California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
...
Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams employed several practices during their presidential campaigns that have remained a part of modern politics. What are some of those practices? Choose Group A or Group B
Group A
Which of the following best describes the way Andrew Jackson's supporters portrayed Jackson during his campaign?
as a common man
What groups of people could not vote in Thomas Jefferson's election but could vote in Andrew Jackson's?
white men who did not own land
Which phrase best describes "Jacksonian Democracy"?
Ordinary citizens had a leading role and an organized system of political parties arose.
What was the goal of many utopian societies of the early 1800s?
to achieve perfection
Who were some of the most effective speakers of the abolitionist movement?
former slaves
In the 1800s, many Americans believed in manifest destiny. What does that term mean?
that Americans had the God-given right to settle the entire North American continent
Which territories did the United States acquire during James Polk's presidency?
the Oregon Territory, Texas, New Mexico, and California