Manifest Destiny's Contribution Towards Westward Expansion Of The United States

Introduction When the United States began as the 13 colonies, the idea of Manifest Destiny began to spread rapidly throughout the country. The term Manifest Destiny refers to the nineteenth century idea that God had chosen the American people to expand westward across North America towards the Pacific Ocean. This idea was heavily favored by Americans and was desperate to be achieved. Many events that occurred throughout the nineteenth century in the United States helped shape Western America and contributed towards westward expansion. Some of these events include the debate over the institution of American slavery, the US-Mexico War, and the US Civil War.

American Slavery

The debate over the institution of American slavery shaped the West

This bill was introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas. He argued for popular sovereignty, which would allow the settlers of the new territories to decide if slavery would be legal there. Soon enough, on May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed. This repealed the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery north of the 36-degree parallel line. This immediately resulted in pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushing into Kansas because they were hoping that their vote would influence the future of the state. While this influenced the establishment of the Republican Party and created more tensions between the North and the South, this also heavily influence the newly established Western states that would come in the future. By settling in western territories, Douglas hoped to facilitate construction of a transcontinental railroad throughout the west rather than go south. This Act influenced both anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers to expand westward with the goal to gain more slave states or free

The US-Mexican War first began when the United States annexed Texas in 1845. Before this occurred, Antonio López de Santa Anna warned that a US annexation of Texas, which Is a province over which Mexico still claimed sovereignty, would be equivalent to declaring war. When President John Tyler signed the resolution on March 1, 1945, Mexico broke off all relations with the United States. Texas was still left with the unanswered question of what would be their southern border. Texas claimed that their southern border was the Rio Grande over the Nueces River, which was further north. When the United States and Mexico met to discuss an agreement, the United States came with more requests. This included the purchase of California, the purchase of New Mexico, and the payment of damages to US nationals for losses incurred in Mexican revolutions. When Mexica refused the requests, the United States began to push south towards the Rio Grande. Through a series of battles within the span of two years, the United States came out successful. The Mexican government surrendered to the United States and began negotiations when Mexico City fell in September of 1847. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848, which granted the United States half of the Mexican territory, which would extend to the Pacific Ocean. Overall, the US-Mexico War provided the United States with the