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Manifest Destiny: Westward Expansion In The United States

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The 1840s saw the start of the ideas of Manifest Destiny and eventually expansion in the United States. Many people wanted to move out West in order to find new resources, find new liberties, and hopefully be able to create a better life. These lands were populated with natural resources and opportunities that made it irresistible to the American people. Although there were inhabitants and that other countries already had a stake in this land, it did not stop the people from finding a way to make it theirs. However, this idea of Manifest Destiny would prove to cause many problems between Americans that would only make westward expansion difficult. There was no justified way of clearing the land and the rights of this land seemed to be up in the air between the classes. This would be the start of intense conflict between citizens of the United States …show more content…

The North was heavily invested in industry and had many of the major ports where they controlled imports and exports. The South was mostly consisting of plantations and produced many of the items that were traded. Both of these areas worked hard yet “...the North grows rich, and powerful, and grand” while the South struggled to find its power. The South did not have much to influence society because they mostly relied on the North both economically and politically. The Middle and lower classes did not want to “keep up this unnatural inequality in wealth” and wanted the right to “give to each man his original right to property”. By not equally letting everyone have a chance at the land, it somewhat impended on the individual rights of these citizens and forced them out. They wanted the chance to get land and obtain some right to this country that they contribute to greatly plentifully. Manifest Destiny would present itself as “destructive to the dignity and independence of all who work and to labor itself”.

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