Major Factors For Westward Expansion

In the early stages of America’s expansion a few major factors motivated the expansion towards the west. America is a new country at this time, and is dealing with its new power and responsibility. People in America at the time looked towards the future wealth they could obtain by expanding west. With the new unknown land to the west, the American people needed motivation to expand westward. The politics that motivated westward expansion revolved around the indigenous people on the land, a big ideology which spurred westward expansion was Manifest Destiny, and the economic factor for this expansion was slavery and its role in the industrialization of America. These factors can be connected to the rapid rate of westward expansion the United …show more content…
Manifest Destiny is the ideology that the United States had the right to expand west by permission by God. This concept was the justification for westward expansion and was the cause of multiple conflicts between indigenous people and other countries. Most notable of these conflicts was the Mexican-American war. American settlers in Texas did not feel they had to abide by Mexican laws and ideas because God said they did not have to because the rules given to them are not from the United States, and thus not from God. The conflict between the Americans and Mexicans led to war. A quick war was fought and Mexico lost, as terms of their surrender Mexico essentially gave the United States the West Coast, which includes California, New Mexico, and Arizona. The war between the Mexico and United States could be connected to Manifest Destiny because people in Texas did not want to abide by the Mexican laws because they felt they did not have to follow because it was not in God’s will. For Manifest Destiny gave them the right to settle as far west as they want and not follow any other rules except for America, because America was permitted by God to settle west. Manifest Destiny and westward expansion was also a political factor because it allowed for President James Polk to come to power, and spur on westward expansion. Under James Polk, the victory of …show more content…
Westward expansion allowed people in politics to obtain power on their policies about westward expansion and how they dealt with the obstacle at the time, whether it be Native Americans or Mexico, most notable was James Polk addition of tons of land from the victory of the United States over Mexico. The reason the people of the United States felt they were allowed to expand west was due to Manifest Destiny. Then, industrialization came into play and allowed for the rapid expansion of the United States. Industrialization 's role in westward expansion is what physically allowed for the United States to expand West, and all the others were simple ideologies that allowed for westward expansion. Westward expansion in America is important because the without the overarching goal of providing for the United States to expand west its industry would not have been as powerful as it needed to have been in the coming century. Lastly, America was a new country and needed to expand to show its power. Perhaps a connection to the United States’s global presence could be tied back to westward expansion in the industrial United