Louisiana Purchase Research Paper

The Louisiana Purchase

In the year 1803, 42 years before the term “Manifest Destiny” was ever uttered, the idea was still prevalent in the United States. Two years prior, Thomas Jefferson had been elected into office. He was one of the original pioneers of the manifest destiny and set the playing field for many presidents to come. He made the decision to purchase approximately eight hundred and twenty-eight million square miles of land for twelve million dollars from Napoleon Bonaparte. This purchase was known as the Louisiana purchase, and immensely doubled the size of the United States up until the 1840’s. Texas Annexation

In the year 1845, under James Polk, the newly elected president, who was one of the most devoted people to the westward expansion of the United States was left to deal with the controversial issue of the Annexation of Texas. Prior to his presidency, president John Tyler in 1844 and Mexico had created tension between each other. Mexico strived to increase its population. Mexico Attempted to increase their population by

In an effort to subdue American settlers, the Mexican government sent troops under the command of Santa Anna into Texas in order to keep the peace. However, the contact was seen as hostile and the Texans saw this as a declaration of battle. This led to the Battle of Goliad which ended in the retreat of the Texans. In 1837, Texas became an independent nation. Under James Polk in 1845 Texas was annexed into the United States. For a short period, the United States tried to stay on good terms with Mexico however, this period didn't last and eventually, the Mexican War broke out. These events were all justified by the Manifest Destiny and the American Settlers who believed in it. The manifest destiny continued to increase the size throughout the 19th century. (The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo,