For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222

WESTWARD MOVEMENT.
  Term Paper ID:28651 		Get This Paper Free! or
Essay Subject:
Discusses expansion of U.S., American politics, national economy. Issues of Indian land, slavery.... More...
4 Pages / 900 Words
3 sources, 8 Citations, MLA Format
$16.00

More Papers on This Topic


Paper Abstract:
Discusses expansion of U.S., American politics, national economy. Issues of Indian land, slavery.

Paper Introduction:
The expansion of the United States westward from 1763 to the Civil War was intimately intertwined in a number of ways with American politics and the national economy. Obviously, the massive expansion westward could not have been accomplished without the support of the political power of the government, and that expansion just as obviously and necessarily altered the economy of the nation. After all, economic gain was a major motivation for expansion, and it was inevitable that industry (railroads, towns, communication systems, etc.) would spring up as expansion took place. The year 1763 is significant because on February 10th of that year the Treaty of Paris was signed. With that signing the Seven Years' War concluded, "France surrendered all of Canada to the British, and everything east of the Mississippi except New

Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.


That is the myth and the dream" (Robertson 72). This proved to be only a truce, but it gave the North eleven years in which to extend its agricultural, industrial, and transportation superiority over the South and to save the Union in the Civil War (Merk 381). As Congressman Francis Baylies wrote in 1823, indismissing those who questioned the oppression of Indians and the stealingof their land: The swelling tide of our population must and will roll on until that mighty ocean interposes its waters, and limits our territorial empire. The political might which was exercised through laws favoring theAmericans and cheating the Indians, and through outright war against theIndians if necessary, was based on such "religious" rationale: The Indianswere savages who were not developing the land in an economic fashion, andthe Americans were as much as commanded by God to expand westward and takethe land to develop economically. New York:Hill & Wang, 1992.Wexler, Sanford. . After all, economic gain was a majormotivation for expansion, and it was inevitable that industry (railroads,towns, communication systems, etc.) would spring up as expansion tookplace. With a stroke of the penAmerica was cleared for uninterrupted westward expansion" (Wexler 2). Obviously, the massive expansion westward couldnot have been accomplished without the support of the political power ofthe government, and that expansion just as obviously and necessarilyaltered the economy of the nation. . The British and then the American governmentused a number of political and legal means to steal Indian land. To diffuse the arts of life, the light of science, and the blessings of the Gospel over a wilderness, is no violation of the laws of God; it is no invasion of the rights of man to occupy a territory over which the savage roams, but which he never cultivates. Most had come from Mexico, except for part of Oregon Country. The only solution to the crisis was a political compromise, whichtemporarily forestalled the civil war: The crisis of 185 was the price paid by the nation for overindulgence in territorial expansion. The expansion of the United States westward from 1763 to the CivilWar was intimately intertwined in a number of ways with American politicsand the national economy. One of the political aspects of expansion was the imposition ofEuropean political institutions themselves on the land westward, whatRobertson calls one of the myths of manifest destiny: "They filled a vastand 'empty' continent with the virtues and institutions of the freestpeople on earth. Ironically, the same Northerners who balked at the idea of slaveryspreading to the new territories did not have the sane "moral" problem whenit came to the oppression of Indians and political boundaries establishedto protect Indians's land: "Again and again the boundaries were violated bythe whites" (Robertson 1 7). . The War stopped the spread of slaverywestward, but it did not stop the oppression of the Indians. . Underlying all political and economic considerations in westwardexpansion was the conviction of Americans that such expansion was their God-given right, that, in fact, they would be defying God's will if they didnot expand westward. The calamity was averted by the Compromise of 185 . New York: Knopf, 1978.Robertson, James Oliver. Thus, the Indians became the next major obstacle after theelimination of the French. The nation's area, which for a quarter of a century had been 1,787,88 square miles, had been extended in the Polk administration by 1,2 4,47 square miles (Merk 381). New York: Facts On File, 1991.----------------------- 6 With that signing the Seven Years' Warconcluded, "France surrendered all of Canada to the British, and everythingeast of the Mississippi except New Orleans. Thereality was that the expanding economy and population of the new nationrequired new land, new markets, new towns, new industries, new states, andthere was nothing that would stand in the way of that combined politicaland economic expansion. Inevitably,as it turned out, expansion westward played a part in the conflicts whichled eventually to the Civil War. For example, the crisis of 185 involved expansion notonly of land area, but also of how much of the new land would be used forslavery. The reply of southern extremists was the movement for secession. History of the Westward Movement. Works CitedMerk, Frederick. Thequestion of this particular aspect of expansion was whether it would beopen or closed to slavery--i.e., what form of economics would accompanyannexation: The proviso [of the compromise] was the northern answer--to close to slavery whatever area would be annexed. Politics, then, and its military arm, served the westward expansionby eliminating the French as a major obstacle to such expansion: "After theFrench departed from North America . American Myth, American Reality. The year 1763 is significant because on February 1 th of that yearthe Treaty of Paris was signed. The stream of bounty which perpetually flows from the throne of the Almighty ought not to be obstructed in its course (Robertson 72). Forexample, land speculators found a number of ways to skirt political andregulatory limitations imposed by the government, such as land warrants.When such roundabout maneuvers proved unsuccessful, the settlers employedviolence, as in Lord Dunsmore's War in 1774, a provocation initiated bysettlers to use war to steal land from the Shawnees (Wexler 5). In fact, the question was one of economics,not morality, and the issue of politics was not one of spreading the idealsof democracy, but rather of using any legal (or illegal) means available tograb the land westward and develop it as the Americans saw fit. . Westward Expansion. , the English colonists found thevacant territories ripe for land speculation and settlement" (Wexler 2-3).Disputes between settlers and Indians led to increased political oversightfrom the British, specifically the British Board of Trade which "controlledland speculation through administrators who entered into purchaseagreements with the Indian tribes and then passed on to individual ownersthe land they acquired" (Wexler 4). Of course, expansion westward could not be analyzed withoutconsideration of slavery and the enmeshment of economics and politics whichslavery created. . .

If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:

Search for:

or

We can write a Custom Essay just for you.


Browse Essays by Subject