TEXAS’S ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CPONTIRBUTION TOTHE SOUTHERN STATES
Introduction
The conquest of Western America shapes the present as thoroughly as it tested the ideals of the United States. The significance of Western history for the American nation cannot be understated. The American West was a meeting ground of different cultures consisting of the American Indians, Anglo Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans. All these contributed immensely to the history of the West given that they occupied a common ground (Limerick, 1987). For most Americans living at the time, Westward expansion was seen as Manifest Destiny. Limerick observes that progress and the quest of economic opportunity drove most of the Americans West. Most of them felt that “God had chosen Americans to control the Western hemisphere” (p. 619). They therefore expected that if anyone was against this God-given dream, then they would have to be subordinated into following it.
Westward expansion was attributed to demographic, social, economic and political pressures. This expansion was perceived as inevitable and Texas would be part of the movement. The following sections expand on the above.
Economic
There are several reasons …show more content…
This was in the hope of naturalizing the immigrants to Mexican society. Slavery was an institution that had been abolished in Mexico in the 1700s and it was not seen as economically beneficial. The land being sold by the Mexican government was cheap thus drawing many Americans in. Immigrants would pay 10 cents an acre for land as compared to land which was being sold in the US at $1.25. Male colonists were allowed to purchase 640 acres for themselves, 320 additional acres for the wife, 160 acres for each child they had and up to 80 acres for each slave that they brought with them (Locks et al.,
Introduction
The conquest of Western America shapes the present as thoroughly as it tested the ideals of the United States. The significance of Western history for the American nation cannot be understated. The American West was a meeting ground of different cultures consisting of the American Indians, Anglo Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans. All these contributed immensely to the history of the West given that they occupied a common ground (Limerick, 1987). For most Americans living at the time, Westward expansion was seen as Manifest Destiny. Limerick observes that progress and the quest of economic opportunity drove most of the Americans West. Most of them felt that “God had chosen Americans to control the Western hemisphere” (p. 619). They therefore expected that if anyone was against this God-given dream, then they would have to be subordinated into following it.
Westward expansion was attributed to demographic, social, economic and political pressures. This expansion was perceived as inevitable and Texas would be part of the movement. The following sections expand on the above.
Economic
There are several reasons …show more content…
This was in the hope of naturalizing the immigrants to Mexican society. Slavery was an institution that had been abolished in Mexico in the 1700s and it was not seen as economically beneficial. The land being sold by the Mexican government was cheap thus drawing many Americans in. Immigrants would pay 10 cents an acre for land as compared to land which was being sold in the US at $1.25. Male colonists were allowed to purchase 640 acres for themselves, 320 additional acres for the wife, 160 acres for each child they had and up to 80 acres for each slave that they brought with them (Locks et al.,