Western Expansion Of Manifest Destiny

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When James K. Polk was elected as the 11th president of the United States, he promised to make American borders stretch from coast to coast. This quote from him was used to start the Western Expansion, also known as “Manifest Destiny”. Even though there was a certain desire to expand, it was not particularly allowed, referring back to the court case of Georgia vs. Worcester. Despite this, Americans justified this act by saying it was their destiny to extend towards the West Coast, and that God was the one to give them this right to do this. Because of this, many citizens of America eventually moved towards the west side of America. Whether it was to gain more land, new resources, and accordingly start a new life, they took the excuse of it being allowed and excursed towards California and other western states. However, while doing this, they drove off many of the other …show more content…
For instance, one example of the negative effects of “Manifest Destiny” was the extinction of the Native Americans. Before the expansion, they had a high population of around 150,000, which exponentially dropped to only about 58,000 members. These people were driven out of their promised territories, died from disease given by new settlers and killed by miners coming to find gold. This can be seen in many documents, pictures and maps written about the Native Americans. To illustrate, one painting known as “American Progress,” it can be seen as

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