Manifest Destiny In The 19th Century

Manifest Destiny was the belief Americans had that they were destined to stretch from coast to coast. All throughout the 19th century, this attitude was enforced. To reach the goal of successful expansion, The United States tried to get all land possible. These territories were no easy task to achieve, however. Not only for America, but for the country on the other side of the agreement, it was difficult. It took a lot of money, compromise, and time to make a deal both sides were content with. Some of the land acquisitions include gaining Oregon Country, the Gadsden Purchase, and the Mexican Cession. One of the many land acquisitions was acquiring Oregon Country. In 1818, America and Britain agreed to a joint occupation,

Even though the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, tensions between The United States and Mexico still were obvious. The United States wanted to build a rail line south of the Gila River. This river, however, was going through disputed Mexican territory. In 1853, U.S. President Pierce, sent James Gadsden to negotiate a deal with Mexico. Mexico was very desperate for money at this time, because Santa Anna wanted to rebuild the Mexican Army for defense against The United States. His goal was to sell as little land as possible for a large amount of money. In the end, they made a deal of $10 million. A similar experience in my life was when my mom and I made a deal over clothes a few years ago. I wanted to buy some clothes, but did not have the money. So, my mom bought them for me, but would not allow me to wear them until I paid her back. I even tried to get them back from her without paying, but she would not budge. I had to do extra chores to raise the money. Eventually, I paid her back and recieved my clothes. I was so desperate to finally wear my clothes that I worked extra hard, just like Mexico who badly needed money, so settled for $10