Identity Conflicts Between 1800 And 1860

230 Words1 Pages
Between 1800 and 1860, the United States experienced a period of territorial expansion, which led to many people questioning the nation’s motives. During this particular period, the U.S underwent an identity crisis that affected, us, as a nation economically, politically, and socially. In this particular essay, I will be describing how the territorial expansion intensified the conflict over slavery. Because of the territorial expansion, the economy struggled. This was caused by the work that needed to be done around the world, but there was no one to do the heavy labor. Because of this drastic change, slavery caused a major divide in the states. They were divided into free and slave states. Northern workers felt that slavery “suppressed