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Arguments Against Westward Expansion

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Westward Expansion
What does Westward Expansion mean? The term Westward Expansion is the acquisition of territories by the United States across the whole area of the North American continent, from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Westward expansion was enabled by buying land, wars, treaties and the displacement of Native American Indians. The rapid settlement of territories gained during the process of Westward Expansion was made possible by progressive transportation systems such as roads, canals and the railroads and the belief in the Manifest Destiny of the United States of America.
Thomas Jefferson had dreamed of exploring the West for a long time before he had even become President. In 1783 he had asked Clark's brother, George, to take on the challenge of exploring the Louisiana Territory. After finally purchasing the Louisiana Territory, Jefferson asked, his secretary of state, Lewis to go on the journey. Lewis was very intelligent and trustworthy, and after being given specific instructions and properly trained, he began the expedition on August 30, 1803 in Pittsburgh PA. William Clark would then offer to join Lewis on the expedition weeks later on October 13 at Camp Dubois, which is now in present-day Indiana. Jefferson had given Lewis authority as …show more content…

They had struggled to find food and water, and some of them died because of this situation. Some of them were not only lacking food for people, but also lacking food for horses. Not having enough food for themselves or their horses resulted in multiple deaths. People would also often get caught in dust storms and the wheels of their wagons would break. Sickness was also a typical cause of death during the Westward Expansion. Due to weather conditions people would either become sick because of the cold or they could also have heat stroke due to being in the sun for days on

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182 Words | 1 Pages

Lewis & Clark Expedition (June 20, 1803): Jefferson charters the Lewis and Clark expedition—led by his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis—to survey the new Louisiana Territory, establish friendly relations with the American Indian tribes living inland, and search for a Northwest Passage allowing easy travel to the Pacific. This event lead to finding a water passage that helped the U.S with trading goods

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702 Words | 3 Pages

There was a drought that lasted 1605-1614 which was the longest period Jamestown suffered (Document B). The lack of rain really affected the colonist because their crops didn't grow which meant that they could no longer trade with the Powhatan indians and because they had no food to feed themselves. Some colonist even considered cannibalism because they were so hungry. Also the drought left no water for the colonist to drink, so some died of dehydration. One winter of 1609-16010 (Document B) affected and killed many of the colonist, this happened because it left the colonist starving, it was too cold to do anything, and because it froze the crops and killed them too.

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523 Words | 3 Pages

On February 28, 1803, congress approved the expedition Jefferson had presented. $2,500 was put aside by Congress for the expedition as well. After the expedition was approved, Jefferson assigned Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis chose William Clark to co-lead the expedition with him. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were told to explore the recently purchased Louisiana Territory.

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549 Words | 3 Pages

Two explorers under direct instructions from the President traveled with their crew westward and explored the Louisiana territory in search of the Pacific water route. The two travelers involved in this exploration were none other than Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Their journey was vastly known as the Lewis and Clark's expedition. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this expedition shortly after he bought the Louisiana territory from France, which was also known as the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark along with their crew namely Corps of Discovery set out on the journey of finding the route on 18th May, 1804.

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178 Words | 1 Pages

Then, he tied against Aaron Burr, so the House of Representatives had voted Jefferson into office. They created a 12th amendment changing the way of electing a president to avoid this problem from occurring again. Thomas was a delegate of the Second Continental Congress, and became the first secretary of state, although he never fought in the American Revolution because he was in France. He was also asked

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268 Words | 2 Pages

Jefferson had 50 years of service towaards the new country of the United States. Some of jeffersons accomplhiments other then the expansion of the country and being presiden were: Govenor of Virginia, Founded university of Virginia, wrote declaration of independance, contributed to the louisana purchase, and many other notable things to the

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1363 Words | 6 Pages

The Westward Expansion consisted of almost 7 million Americans migrating west, hoping to get land and be wealthy. It is often called Manifest Destiny, because many people believed settlers was intended to expand the west. Because so many people thought this way it was also thought the U.S was physically separated from Europe. This migration of people included people from Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries. The Western Expansion had a part in the foreign policies in the expansion towards the pacific and the way the U.S treated their relationship with other

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224 Words | 1 Pages

The Jamestown settlement was one of the harshest experiences for many of the people on that voyage and it was led by Bartholomew Gosnold. If one family member owned a big section of land the family would often fight over the claim on the land. The settlers lost all of their clean water supply and that caused them to have to drink salt water that carried diseases and illness. Many settlers could not handle the harsh weather. They did not know how to dress for the weather and could not find food.

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Western Expansion Western expansion is the populating of the western part of the United States. This event took place in the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, and it was the western area of the United states expanding to the pacific area of America. This event took place in result of the Manifest destiny, gold rush of 1849, the homestead act, and railroads.

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356 Words | 2 Pages

The westward expansion of of the U.S. began to happen around the 1800s. during that time the social opportunities increased since many people moved to the west because the government was paying them or giving them free land. The political opportunities did not increased as much since most of the people moving westwards were poor or immigrants and only white males had the right to participate in those events. The economic opportunities increased for the people who moved westward because of the gold rush and the opportu tires that were provided.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

During the pre-civil war time period— also known as the antebellum years— America experienced a widespread transformation for the sake of its economy. With the booming belief of the Manifest Destiny, America’s constant desire for westward expansion caused disputes between the North and the South regarding the establishment of free states and slave states, which led to certain compromises such as the Missouri Compromise. After the Market Revolution, the North and South used its new gained land to create different means of economic gains; the North became industrialized through manufacturing, while the South became an agricultural industry dependent on cotton. However, as America’s boundaries expanded, tensions between the North and South grew, often leading to compromises in bloodshed. The drastic differences between the two groups eventually transformed America into a divided nation of sectionalism economically, politically, and socially.

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Westward Expansion Flash Draft Have you ever wondered about what would 've happened if the westward expansion never occurred? We wouldn 't have many things you know today and America would be a lot smaller. The westward expansion happened during the 1800s and helped shape the modern America. The westward expansion started with the Louisiana Purchase and was made even stronger by the Gold Rush. Many people came to strike it rich or just to start a new life out west.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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930 Words | 4 Pages

Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

That is just one of many reasons there was Westward Expansion. Overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities. These are three of many reasons why Americans in the 1800’s felt urged to move west. Some may claim that Westward expansion was not right for America to do because of the conflicts that were aroused afterward.

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