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Manifest Destiny Problems

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The North and South were already divided prior to the surge of exploration and conquering known as Manifest Destiny, which was largely fueled by new inventions, such as trains and the telegraph. The North had an economy quite contrary to that of the South. The North was industrializing, and the industry was quickly booming, producing many goods and boosting the North’s’ economy. The South, on the other hand, depended on its constant, slow, agricultural growth. This divide was dwarfed by the main problem that was always a challenge for the United States to deal with. Manifest Destiny caused the United States to expand beyond its current borders, causing new problems and sectionalism that ultimately set the United States up for war. As Manifest Destiny did God’s work, spreading through the entire western half of the United States, many problems were created. Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, fighting with Mexico for its true independence. Nine years later, Texas …show more content…

The Fugitive Slave Act was brought to question later on, when a fugitive slave, Dred Scott, sued to try to acquire his freedom. (Martin)3 His attempts were futile, however, and many controversial rulings were made from this case. Slaves and free blacks were not citizens, non-citizens cannot sue in court, Congress lacks the power to control slavery in territories, excluding slavery violates the Fifth Amendment, and popular sovereignty and the Missouri Compromise were declared unconstitutional. (Martin)3 This ruling hurt the chance any other fugitive slaves had of getting free, or if any other free blacks had a court matter to solve, they no longer would be able to do so. This was a big step in the wrong direction for those against slavery, and may have even prevented a split in the Union for a little bit, but not for overly long, as slavery would always be a prominent problem for the

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1622 Words | 7 Pages

Whatever its true purpose, Manifest Destiny has indeed stretched the U.S territory and seized half of Mexico’s land. On the contrary, Manifest Destiny resulted in a conflict with

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200 Words | 1 Pages

The Manifest Destiny contributed to the Civil War because the expansion of new territories and states added into the United States. If the new territories were to vote in Congress for slavery and no slavery, it could be a threat for slavery in the South. ‘’many Southerners and some Northerners wanted slavery to exist everywhere in the United States, including in the new territories added to the country. Many other Americans did not want slavery to expand at all, and some people wanted slavery to be prohibited across the entire nation. Eventually these tensions would lead to the American Civil War’’ (Manifest Destiny, N/d).

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541 Words | 3 Pages

Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

The manifest destiny was the American conviction that Americans had the right to expand U.S. territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Among the Americans who strongly supported this belief was President James K. Polk and as a strong advocate of manifest destiny, he pushed for the annexation of Texas and additional territories from Mexico, and Oregon territory to appease Northerners. The Democratic party, the party from which Polk was from, remained adamant about increasing territory to uphold southern needs. Because of manifest destiny, presidents such as Polk (Texas and parts of Mexico) and Pierce (Cuba) strived to expand territory despite large opposition, and military filibustering that later arose contributed to opposing political

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466 Words | 2 Pages

The Mexican-America war was often viewed as an impactful event of the annexation of Texas. However, events during the Mexican-American war such as a disagreement over where the Mexican-American border should be located at, declining the unions incorporate, and the northern political were against of having a new slave state. Therefore, the actions during the Mexican-American war prove that Texas gained independence from Mexico, which was a positive effect for the United States because it gained land by winning the war. The Mexican-American war began of the idea if Manifest Destiny because they believe that god gave the United States the right to spread through the Pacific Ocean.

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1299 Words | 6 Pages

The passing of the Fugitive Slave Act brought major lifestyle changes in the North and the South, and changed the way civilians lived forever. This act being put into place meant that African Americans who were never in the slave industry to begin with lives were changed. They were wrongfully accused of being slaves, denied right to trial, and were forced to flee out of fear of the southern states. It also made lifestyle changes to slaves who were trying to escape. The Fugitive Slave Act was made to enforce that the slave industry was not to be taken down.

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577 Words | 3 Pages

The belief of manifest destiny spread and took hold of the country incredibly fast. The common definition of Manifest Destiny is the “god given right to expand westward”. People wanted to expand west for new opportunities. This mass movement of people from east to west started in 1812 and ended in 1867. Although the US hadn’t been granted the land west of them specifically or bought it, because of their military power and belief in expanding patriotism and influence, they were justified in expanding west.

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1069 Words | 5 Pages

This law prevented runaway slaves from going and settling in free states legally. The law also opened the doors wide open for more slaves to follow the Underground Railroad which lead to free states such as Ohio. The northern states weren't in complete agreement with this law so they rarely enforced it, which made the southern slave owners enraged. During this time, continuous, unsuccessful slave rebellions were taking place, which increased the number of slaves escaping to the north. This caused friction to occur between the north and south.

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469 Words | 2 Pages

Americans were desperate for land, and were always seeking new places to discover. Texas had great land for farming and cattle which was very appealing to Americans. Many Americans believed that Texas should belong to the U.S. According to the Manifest Destiny, they believed the U.S should extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and that any Mexicans or Indians they encountered should be kicked out.

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1422 Words | 6 Pages

The Southern and Northern states differentiate on many issues, which ultimately led them towards a Civil War. There stood deep social, economic, and political disparities between the North and the South. These modifications stemmed from the understanding of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, most of these disputes about the rights of states directed to the Civil War. There existed reasons other than slavery on behalf of the South 's breakaway.

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1108 Words | 5 Pages

The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.

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785 Words | 4 Pages

Westward expansion had an economical impact on the North and South’s separation in many ways. For every set of land gained, one would be a free state and the other a slave state. The South used its gained land for agricultural improvement, while the North constructed factories and manufacturing buildings to strengthen its industrial economy. Although expansion gave America more opportunities and potential economic growth, expansion also affected the relationship between the North and the South: both groups disputed over several U.S.

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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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2016 Words | 9 Pages

The time of Manifest Destiny was a time of true American brotherhood and comradeship. With Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk being the leading presidents of the cause during this time, it not only led to continental expansion but homicide as well. While the Americans believed they were expanding into free land, Native Americans had already settled the land centuries earlier. This led to the dark side of Manifest Destiny. Native Americans were forced to pick up their homes and resettle in areas that were less than sufficient to meet their basic needs.

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568 Words | 3 Pages

In 1836 Texas declared its independence.(O’Sullivan 323) The war with Mexico happened in Mexico and the US. It started in 1846.(Roden 315) To start the war, Mexicans fired on Americans. People who believed Manifest Destiny believed that it is God’s plan to expand America to the Pacific Ocean.

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