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19th Century Westward Expansion

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Any government decision always seemed to be controversial among the new American nation, but during the 19th century westward expansion seemed to have a stirring effect, as it was seen as unconstitutional and a mistake to the half the people, particularly the federalists. Moreover, Americans believed that buying more land would entangle the U.S. in foreign affairs, a warning given by George Washington in his farewell address, and cause strain on the original 13 eastern states. However, government officials saw land as a power source and a way to expand the empire and economy. Both supporting and opposing sides influenced the ideas of territorial expansion and caused a changed in federal policy resulting in a new nation stretching from [present …show more content…
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to purchase the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million, a real steal in the actual value of the land. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains (wide) and from New Orleans to Canada (long), and it almost doubled the size of the former United States. To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation’s future, even if the action of purchasing this land went against his beliefs. However the Louisiana Purchase did not go undisputed. In October of 1803, a congressional debate was held. The Federalist delegates from New England territory greatly opposed the expansion. The party believed in strict interpretation of the constitution so they argued that the acquisition of territory by treaty was unconstitutional. Their concerned also touched on the fear they had for potential repercussions from other nations, such as Britain and Spain. Federalists argued that their defenses would not hold, and that the new frontier required militia presence. Overall they feared that the eastern states would loose influence in Congress and would suffer economically and politically (Doc A). Despite the dispute, Jefferson was reelected in …show more content…
Secretary of War, Lewis Cass, claimed that since the arrival of the Americans in 15th century, the Indian people had made no progress in becoming civilized like the Europeans. He spoke of the Indians as inferior to the Americans and insisted expansion would “help” them. (Doc C) Resulting from his words, actions of Indian removal began. Six existing tribes in the southern states were moved westward over land and sea to west of the Missouri and Arkansas Territory, moving them out into the Louisiana area. (Doc D) A common tale that came away from this was the Trail of Tears. The Indians experienced terrible conditions on their journey, many of which died from disease, starvation, and injury. Andrew Jackson has a wrap for being heartless towards the Indians, but in truth he just wanted to

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