Manifest Destiny In American Progress By John Gast

America has progressed a long way from the time the nation had become independant. America fought the war of 1812, which was the first war in which the United States stood by themselves. From there, they began to expand dramatically to the west. The US gained more land in time, such as the Louisiana Purchase from France and the Mexican Cession from Mexico. In the end, they achieved manifest destiny, or the belief that America should span across the whole continent. However, achieving manifest destiny did not come without an impact. Achieving manifest destiny affected America socially, economically, and politically. Expanding west caused worse relations with the Native Americans. Native Americans have been abused and mistreated ever since Christopher Columbus came to find ‘gold’. Over time, Natives were pushed more and more to the west as Americans began to settle in the east. For example Santana, a chief of the Kiowas once said, “A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers; but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers” (Santana 1). However when America spread all the way west. The natives now had almost no place to go, even though Andrew Jackson had promised them “Indian

When there became word of fold in California, so many people left their homes in hope of striking gold. In “American Progress” by John Gast, it is depicted that many families are in carriage/wagons moving west for such reasons such as the gold rush. The gold rush had an impact on the economy. Those who found the largest amounts of gold, would of course, become rich. However, the people who benefitted the most from the gold rush were the merchants. The merchants realized that in order to mine gold, people would need supplies. Therefore, merchants began selling items such as pots, pans, and picks at higher prices to gain more profit. For example, one merchant invented pants out of tent canvas that has become current day’s