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America's Westward Expansion

724 Words3 Pages

During the early 19th century, the United States of America was still growing into the mighty nation we know today. American pioneers set westward towards the Pacific ocean in search of new, fertile land. Unfortunately, as a result of this expansion, the native American population, which once covered the entire continent continued to be pushed into smaller and smaller areas. White Americans believed the diminishing population was simply an unavoidable result of the “Manifest Destiny”, an inevitable expansion of American land. This ideology was the cause of years of mistreatment of the nonwhites, especially Native Americans. Westward expansion was founded on ideas of white supremacy and the treatment of nonwhites during it was seen as an inevitable …show more content…

White Americans saw themselves as the advanced version of the the natives and the mistreatment of the natives of simply a part of America's development. The ideology was that it was only natural the more advanced society (Agricultural Americans) replace the uncivilized one (Hunter Natives), many citizens believing that “as civilization advanced westward, it must inevitably displace savagery” (Rogin, 101). The conquering of these natives whom had rightful claim to the land was also justified by the ideology of “parentism”, or the belief that the Native Americans needed to be protected by the superior American government. The Native Americans were seen as a childish society, naïve and in need of protection. President Andrew Jackson stating that it was “the moral duty of the Government of the United States to protect” what remained of the Native American population (Jackson, 109). This meant that the natives were relocated onto small territories, often far from where they had been living. There was no option for natives to remain in their homes, only to try and create a new home on the land which they no longer were the majority. The trek of Native Americans hundreds of miles was known as the Trail of Tears. By the end of America's expansion, very little of the original native population

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