Westward expansion is an integral part of the American story. It brought enormous economic output, and new political ideas. But not all were winners during the expansion, the First Nations Peoples were slaughtered and removed from their tribal homelands. The following will describe the expansion of the United States from before the Revolutionary war until the Civil War. The journey of explaining western expansion can only begin with the Revolutionary War and its conclusion. Before the Revolutionary War, the British American Colonies had only relatively expanded slowly westward. Most of the time the British wanted its colonists to refrain from going west, but the Americans kept going. British policy and attitude toward westward expansion
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America was slowly signing treaties with the Natives, but people wanted a faster answer to the removal of the tribes. The Indian Removal Act was passed to hasten the process of removal, and many nations ceded their lands . (Indian Removal Act) Mr. Jackson claimed that separating the Natives and putting them on reservations actually helped them from the whites. The Cherokees tried stopping the removal process by pointing at Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia, but Jackson remarked “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” (Kurtz) In 1838 and 1839 as a part of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee Nation was forced to give up their tribal lands east of the Mississippi River, and were relocated in what is now Oklahoma. The journey made was called the Trail of Tears because of the hunger, disease, and suffering that resulted from the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 died. ("A Brief History of the Trail of Tears") The American victory of the Mexican-American War also aided the United States in territorial growth. Signed February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War with an American victory. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the including the land that makes up all or parts of what is now Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and now saw the Rio Grande River as America’s southern Border for a cost of $15,000,000. The idea of manifest destiny and religious backed political agendas was significant in the growth of
America was slowly signing treaties with the Natives, but people wanted a faster answer to the removal of the tribes. The Indian Removal Act was passed to hasten the process of removal, and many nations ceded their lands . (Indian Removal Act) Mr. Jackson claimed that separating the Natives and putting them on reservations actually helped them from the whites. The Cherokees tried stopping the removal process by pointing at Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia, but Jackson remarked “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” (Kurtz) In 1838 and 1839 as a part of President Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policy, the Cherokee Nation was forced to give up their tribal lands east of the Mississippi River, and were relocated in what is now Oklahoma. The journey made was called the Trail of Tears because of the hunger, disease, and suffering that resulted from the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 died. ("A Brief History of the Trail of Tears") The American victory of the Mexican-American War also aided the United States in territorial growth. Signed February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War with an American victory. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the including the land that makes up all or parts of what is now Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and now saw the Rio Grande River as America’s southern Border for a cost of $15,000,000. The idea of manifest destiny and religious backed political agendas was significant in the growth of