Westward Expansion Thesis

Westward expansion was the key to the nation’s wellbeing and prosperity, it was believed by Jefferson that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous community for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership. In order to provide enough land to the commoners we would have to expand. The Westward expansion of the United States was a crucial moment in American history. Although the federal government used smart tactical methods to gain land in the 1800’s, it ultimately dishonored and destroyed both people and their causes, which didn’t unite us, it ultimately ended up being a beneficiary to us as a nation. Westward expansion began with the Louisiana Purchase on 1803. We see slowly that transportation starts to become more advance and develop. Waterways were built, such as the Erie Canal. Also goods were able to be shipped easily so mercantilism would become more important. This helped our economy grown and made the Americas more appealing to come to despite the …show more content…
We see America’s economy grown mostly through the California gold rush, On January 24, 1848 James W. Marshall discovered gold in the America River at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. The first people to rush to the gold fields were those already living in California but the word spread and got out overland and via the port city, which allowed for US expansion through a growth in population making our economy strive with the constant rise in merchandise purchases. The port town of San Francisco went from a population of 1,000 in 1848 to 300,000 in 1890 becoming the eighth largest city in the U.S. The California Gold Rush helped our population grow and when our population grew our economy grew allowing for a good word to spread about the US, making more people want to