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Westward Expansion After Civil War

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In the years following the Revolutionary War the United States would begin to expand, although not popular among all citizens, it helped shape the country into what we know today. The first acquisition of territory would be as a result of the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain ending the Revolutionary War. This treaty marked the boundaries between the British colonies still located in North America and ceded the thirteen American colonies to a newly recognized country known as the United States of America. This would not be the only acquisition of territory that the United States would complete between the years of 1789 and 1815 but it would be the initial acquisition of territory that would develop this newly formed nation. In 1803 is when the United States would makes its next move toward expanding westward across North America. It would be in this year that the United States would purchase the land known as the Louisiana Territory from the French for less than three cents an acre. The total purchase price was $15,000,000, a combination of $11,250,000 and a cancellation of debts totaling $3,750,000, and at the same rate with inflation included would have cost $236,000,000 today . …show more content…

This expansion would not only demonstrate the ability that the United States had to control North America but also lead to a defining event in United States history, the Civil War. The westward expansion between the years 1789 and 1815 was some of the most influential expansion in American History because of what can be considered an identity crisis the United States was going through as such a young country. The expansion into these areas shed light onto the issues being faced by the people and states of the United States as they continued grow and define themselves. The impact would define a country set the United States on the path to become the world power it is

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The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803. The U.S. paid fifty million dollars and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million dollars which averages to less than three cents per acre. The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, portions of Minnesota, large portions of North Dakota; large portions of South Dakota, parts of New Mexico, the northern portion of Texas, the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Louisiana Purchase was smart move by the United States.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase was not even in the original plans of the United States. Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to buy the port of New Orleans from Napoleon. Monroe and Livingston offered him ten million dollars and Napoleon not only accepted, but offered the rest of the Louisiana Territory for just five million dollars more. The United States agreed to the offer and overnight doubled the size of the country. For fifteen million dollars they added five-hundred and thirty million acres of land to the country.

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He then ordered Congress to sort exactly two million dollars aside in case of unexpected raises in the price during the agreement. Even though the original plan was just to purchase West Florida and New Orleans, the moment that Monroe had arrived in France, First Consul Bonaparte had planned to sell all of the Louisiana area to the United States in attempt to get more than enough funds for his war to reconquer the land in Haiti. On April 12, 1803, the United States had purchased the entire Louisiana Territory (about 828,000 square miles) for fifteen million dollars. 3.5 million of which went to help settle the remaining of America’s claims and debt from the Quasi War with France. This purchase not only granted the United States more land to expand too, but also the citizenship rights to the inhabitants of the land, the right to more French trading rights, as well as the right to acknowledge the Indian rights, which the natives rightfully deserved.

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180 Words | 1 Pages

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers to buy land totaling 828,000 square miles and that was the Louisiana purchase on top of that. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired a large area of land from the French. It was the single largest purchase of land ever by the United States and doubled the size of the country. And, in 1803, Napoleon offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million.

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186 Words | 1 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana purchase was one of the biggest land purchases in history. In 1803, the United States paid around $15 million dollars for around 800,000 square miles of land. This was arguably the greatest achievement of thomas jefferson’s presidency. The louisiana territory was a wild card in the european game of imperialism.

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This ultimate expansion showed France and the globe how strong the United States became after the Seven Year's War and the value of victory. Of course the land has to be explored by the many anxious settlers who want to expand west and start a new life. Jefferson gave that opportunity to those brave people and Lewis and Clark will head out west and explore that wonderful purchase. But the many thousands of miles of land would have a concerning backlash as slavery expands west and the states fighting for slavery rights in those states leading to outbreak of

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340 Words | 2 Pages

The Louisiana Purchase territory has had the biggest impact on the United States because of profits, the Mississippi river, and the disadvantages. The land included in the purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. To most Americans, the Louisiana Purchase looked like the greatest land deal in history because it was nation’s first opportunity for expansion. Louisiana Purchase doubled the size at a bargain price for just 2 to 3 cents an acre. On April 30, 1803, Napoleon signed a treaty giving Louisiana to the United States in exchange for $15 million.

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Not until after William 's death, people started exploring and finding a lot of natural resources. It was just what the U.S. was looking for. The population was increased during the Klondike gold strike in 1896. Another piece of gained by the U.S. was Hawaii. One reason for the annexation of Hawaii was because America needed a place to stop along the way to Asia.

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First, America annexes Hawaii. They did this so they could build good naval bases and they wanted to protect the sugar planters in that area. An added bonus was that America got a stop in the journey across the pacific. Next they bought Alaska from Russia because they wanted to stop the expansion of trade and Alaska’s land was also rich in natural resources. America also took over Japan and China.

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646 Words | 3 Pages

The Louisiana Territory was a vast and diverse region that played a significant role in the history of the United States. The territory encompassed over 800,000 square miles and was located in the heart of North America. It was originally claimed by France in the 17th century, but it was later transferred to Spain in the 1760s. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, which doubled the size of the young nation and paved the way for westward expansion and manifest destiny.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased.

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718 Words | 3 Pages

At the start of the 19th century, America was already expanding its territory. In 1803, the United States of America had bought the Louisiana Territory, it was bought from France which had made the country two times larger. In 1819 Spain had given up their territory of Florida to the United States. President Monroe issued the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823, its main purpose was to warn the European countries to not enter the Western Hemisphere. In order for America to achieve its goal of becoming an imperialist nation they had conquered other countries economically, culturally, and with a strong military in the late 1800’s.

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801 Words | 4 Pages

How did the United States expand over the years and why? The expansion of the United States was a vital part of America’s history and greatly affects how we live today. America's early days only started in 13 states and then progressively grew to 50 states in total. The time throughout the 1800’s and what happened throughout that time greatly impacted how America expanded land, resources, opportunity, trade, and money. Two of many main causes that evoked American expansion was the amount of opportunity that America could take, the idea of Manifest destiny, and the amount of power that the US had on other countries.

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404 Words | 2 Pages

I am 35 years old and I have never been to the East side of America. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy, and up until this point the idea of traveling to the East was thought of as an impossible journey. When I found out that the idea was put out to make a railroad that extended from the West coast of America to the East coast of America I wanted to be a part of it. As I mentioned before, the idea of traveling to the East was thought of as an impossible journey and a crazy journey I do not care. With this railroad I have the chance to connect two sides of the country together, and I am prepared to work as hard as I need to to get the railroad finished.

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1093 Words | 5 Pages

This led to the American Revolution and the founding of the United States of America. In 1803, the United States nearly doubled in size when the government bought the vast plains between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains from the French. This land was known as the Louisiana purchase. Some years later Europeans started to settle in the northeast of North America where industrialization was beginning. When even more people started to settle in North America, their different culture, religion and so many more differences caused problems which led to political and economic tensions.

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