James Polk was elected in 1845 and considered an expansionist, meaning a person who wants to expand territories beyond their set bounds. In America’s case they wanted to expand western. In addition, Polk began a period of Manifest Destiny. This was a phrase used to explain settlers who were moving westward to expand as Polk remarked from “sea to shining sea”. Also, the Mexican-American War in 1846 allowed Americans the ability to acquire new land in the southwest from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The gaining of this new land and the contributing factor of Manifest Destiny resulted in America asking whether slavery should be allowed to expand westward. The debate over the expansion of slavery into acquired territories during the period of Manifest Destiny to Abraham Lincoln's election contributed to the Civil War because of the growing conflict between the pro-slavery South and abolitionist North. Some of the contributing factors that led to the Civil War were the foreign relations, supreme court cases, and presidential elections. One cause of the Civil War is the Mexican-American War. The new territories gained from this war pushed America to answer the question about the expansion of slavery. America asked this question because they had gained land from the Mexican-American War and people wanted to expand thus resulting in having to figuring out how to solve the slavery issue. Pro-slavery Southerners would inhabit the land if it allowed slavery because slavery is what
Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was America’s destiny to spread across the entire continent of North America. It was started by a group of expansionist called the Young American Movement and they were affiliated with the Democratic Party. By their idea, America was able to double its size and obtain new land from Mexico and Britain. However, this also caused pain to the Native Americans. In the end, America obtained new land, and its people achieved what they believed to be their God given right to expand and move west.
One could argue that the true causes of the Civil War were states’ rights and taxations. Although this played a large part in the start of the Civil War, slavery was the ultimate factor that led to this event in history. Economic and social differences between the north and the south, fights between slave and non-slave proponents, the growth of the abolition movement, and the election of Abraham Lincoln are all events having to do with slavery in the United States that led to the start of the Civil War.
Manifest Destiny is a term coined by John L. Sullivan in 1845 when talking about the annexation of Texas. He believed, along with other expansionists, that it’s inevitable that the US population would spread across North America because the land is given by Providence to the United States and that it’s natural that the land should be part of the country [Doc 1]. The idea of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny had positive and negative effects on the politics, society and the economics of the United States and
While Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion created conflict with foreign nations, including the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and within the United States, it worked to unify the United States from 1830 to 1860 by strengthening the nation as a whole, creating economic opportunities for people from all different walks of life, and expanding the United States through the annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California from Mexico.
Manifest destiny and territorial expansion greatly united the United States from 1830 to 1860. During this time period, America was still developing and growing in many ways. America’s geographical growth, formerly known as Manifest Destiny, or westward expansion, was the beginning of many changes for the nation. Manifest destiny and territorial expansion united the United States socially, politically, and economically.
There were many things that led to the Civil War. They were slavery, politics, and state right versus the federal government, expansionism, sectionalism, and economics. Historians argue over what the main cause really was that led to the Civil War since no one can really say for sure what it was. Slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.
There were several factors that led to the American Civil War. The key issues were slavery, political unrest, equality, and economic pressures. However, the key reasons that lead to the Civil War was slavery. Slavery is touted as the main cause of the conflict between the states in the northern part and those in the south. Although the war did not
Define and discuss the phrase "Manifest Destiny." Explain how this belief came to divide the nation. Manifest destiny was based on a belief presented by John O'Sullivan. He was a newspaper editor and publisher. In 1845, he said that the aggressive westward expansion of the nation was vital to the prosperity of the country. He believed that it was every American's right to bring the ideas of freedom, democracy and Christianity to the Indians as well as Mexicans. In his view, these groups were nothing more than savages who needed to be taught the most civilized ways to live. (Faragher, 2009)
The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the country began. Some causes include; states’ rights, economics, and slavery. The most recognizable and popular cause is slavery. The freeing of the slaves was an important moral issue at the time and one of the greatest causes of the civil war. "It was only by carefully avoiding the moral issue involved in slavery that Northerners and Southerners could meet on any common ground." (Goldston, 79). The time came in which our great country would finally address the moral issue of slavery. Although there are many different causes to the American Civil War, the main cause was slavery because other causes are rooted in the issue of slavery.
By the time James Polk became president in 1845, an idea called Manifest Destiny had taken root among the American people. The belief that the U.S. had a God-given right to occupy and expand gained favor as more Americans settled to the west. Manifest Destiny was
The Annexation of Texas is an example of how manifest destiny played a decisive role in the United States politics and policies in the 1840’s. The Annexation of Texas is where Texas won its independence against Mexico that results from Texas becoming admitted to the United States. This shows how they wanted the United States to become a global power by American expansion. It was President’s Polk’s idea to expand their territory. This relates to the slogan President Polk made “Fifty-four forty or fight!” this represents the victory of claiming the Oregon territory.
Manifest Destiny was the future of the United States. Which was the expansion from the East to the West part of the United States. The idea was to try and take over the land regardless of who was already settled there. This was the belief that Americans were sent by God to take over all of the land to the West. James K. Polk was the winner of the 1844 election. During this time he made three promises in which would be to annex Texas and acquire Oregon and California. This would then lead to issues with his promises. These issues were that Mexico and Texas had issues with slavery, Oregon was shared by Great Britain and Mexico did not want to give up California because it was their richest province. Due to Polk winning the election from Clay,
The expansion of the United States from its thirteen original colonies to the nation it is today was a very extensive process, involving numerous wars and treaties. The greatest one of these expansion periods occurred from the 1830s to the 1860s, largely due to the idea of Manifest Destiny, the belief that American settlers were destined to expand across the continent to the Pacific coast. This development played a major role in dividing the North and the South by contributing to contrasting ideologies of the two regions towards social and economic foundations of the new territory, and would eventually lead up to the Civil War, literally dividing the nation into two. Territorial expansion fashioned racial and social
The Cause of the Civil War are the economy of the Northern states was driven by industries, the same was driven by agriculture in the Southern states. The southern States favor were slaves and they needed the slaves to work for them and in their fields. The federal government decided to end the unethical practice it was strongly opposed by the politicians from the Southern states. Northern States are free states they don’t have slaves and Southern States are not free states and they do have slaves. When the first seven states declared the secession on march 4 1861 which prompted four more states to join them.
In the 19th century, manifest destiny was a widely held belief in the United States that settlers were destined to expand across North America. After the Civil War faded into history, the term manifest destiny experienced a revival, as republican President William Mckinley used it to promote overseas expansion. When McKinley rallied for the annexation of Hawaii in 1898, he stated, "We need Hawaii as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is manifest destiny." Protestant missionary Josiah Strong, in Our Country of 1885, issued that the future of the world was devolved upon America since it had perfected the ideals of civil liberty. The fast growing industrialization and rising productivity of the national economy, which made the United States the leading industrial power prompted americans to believe that The United States was the strongest nation, and thus had the right to expand its borders in order to maintain this power. Those opposed to overseas expansion considered it to result in the destruction of peace and argued that it brought loss rather than profit, while advocates claimed it was the United States destiny to protect and civilize others. The national identity of freedom and equality shaped by constitutional morality during this time period shaped these varying views.