Westward Expansion After Civil War

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 .

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