Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

At the time of the signing of Treaty of Paris (1783), which formally ended the American Revolutionary War, the United States of America consisted of thirteen former British colonies concentrated in the east of the North American continent and hemmed in by the rugged Appalachian region to the west. Within a relatively short period, however, the newly formed country started to expand westward and by mid nineteenth century encompassed a huge mass of territory extending from the Atlantic coast right down to the Pacific coast in the west -- transforming the United States of America into one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the world. This remarkable Westward Expansion is a fascinating story of adventurous 'mountain men,' pioneering farmers, diplomatic statesmanship, military conquest, and brutal subjugation of the Native Americans. It is also the subject of this research paper which takes a look at various phases in the westward movement including the initial forays in the west by fur-traders, land speculators and farmers; the Louisiana Purchase from the French in 1803 that added a huge mass of mid-western territory in the U.S.; the Texas Annexation of 1845; the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 that resulted in the Mexican Cession of 1849 and extension of the U.S. borders to the Californian coast, and the Treaty of 1846 with the British for the Oregon territory. The paper also discusses the reasons for the westward expansion, including the underlying philosophy behind the movement called Manifest Destiny.

Manifest Destiny

Although the phrase, 'Manifest Destiny' itself was coined much later in 1845 by an influential New York journalist named John O'Sullivan, the philosophy behind the term, i.e., the supposedly divine right, nay duty, of the American nation to extend its founding charter of liberty, democracy, and freedom (albeit, for the 'white men' only) across the North American continent, goes back much further. Benjamin Franklin, for example, had predicted in 1767 (even before the country had gained its independence) that "America, an immense territory, favored by nature...will...be able to shake off shackles that may be imposed on her and perhaps place them on the imposers"

The Americans, therefore, seemed to have believed from the beginning that they were not only different from the rest of the world but their form of government and the land they possessed was superior to others -- beliefs from which the theory of 'American Exceptionlism' evolved. The theory, in turn, had its roots in the philosophy of John Winthrop who wanted the Puritan community of New England to serve as a model community -- the metaphorical "City upon a Hill" -- for the rest of the world. When the idealism of the nations's revolutionary beginnings, romantic nationalism, and a sense of Anglo-Saxon superiority, were added to the feelings of 'American Exceptionalism' it gave rise to a heady mix that came to be called the Manifest Destiny. People like John O' Sullivan provided the moral justification for the expansion by arguing that it was God who had provided a unique opportunity for the American people for the development of "the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government" and urged the American people to reject any limitations that history or law may have placed in their nation's supposedly divine mission to possess the entire North American continent. Manifest Destiny thus became the torch that lit the way for American expansion in the west.

The expansion that was propogated by Manifest Destiny was not necessarily aimed to be achieved through the use of violence because most Americans were convinced that people inhabiting other areas of North America (including Canada) would ultimately prefer to join their Union. Moreover, the sole reason for the westward movement was not aimed at spreading the American 'virtue'; the prospect of economic gain was, arguably, a greater incentive that convinced the individual Americans as well as their government to look to the west.

The Initial Pioneers and Trail-blazers to the West

Most of the early immigrants to North America in the 16th century had come from England and other parts of Europe, settling on the east coast in settlements that were within 100 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The Appalachian mountains with its tortuous terrain and dense forests in the west provided a natural barrier that prevented westward expansion of the British colonies for over a century. The Indian tribes that inahabited the land beyond the Appalachian mountains were a further deterrent to settlements in the west since they defended such encroachments by attacking the white settlers who tried to move further west. Some enterprising individuals, however, lured by the promise of adventure and prospects of trade dared to cross the barrier -- mainly through the Cumberland Gap -- and became the trail-blazers for the westward movement that gathered pace after the American Independence. These early pioneers who ventured into the American west, also known as "mountain men," were mainly individual hunters and fur trappers. Unlike the permanent white settlers who followed later, these single, roving individuals did not upset the Native Indians too much and some even traded and learned survival techniques from them.

One of the famous early pioneers who blazed the "wilderness trail" into the west was the legendary figure, Daniel Boone. Born into a large Quaker family that had immigrated to Pennsylvannia from England, Boone had learned to hunt and became familiar with the ways of the Indians at an early age since several Indian tribes lived near the Boones homestead in Oley Valley at the edge of the Pennsylvannia frontier. Having heard stories of the fertile land and abundant game in Kentucky that lay beyond the forbidding Appalachian Mountains, Daniel Boone often set out in the wilderness to explore the land and to hunt for beaver-skin that was much in demand in Europe. His familiarity with the region prompted Judge Richard Henderson of North Carolina, who had purchased land from the Cherokee Indians in Kentucky and formed the Transylvania Company in 1774, to hire him for widening the 'wilderness road' through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. Daniel Boone employed 35 axmen to cut through the thick forest and widen the path and made it usable for wagons. Although the path remained treacherous for travel due to attacks by Indians, rough terrain and mud, thousands of pioneers braved the journey to reach the frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. One of the reasons for the unrelenting western movement of the pioneers and settlers despite the hazardous journey was that after 1770, there had been a surge of over 400,000 Scots-Irish immigrants into North America to escape the poor harvests, high rents and religious prosecution in their own country; significant number of immigrants from Germany and Denmarks also followed. Since the better lands had already been taken by early European settlers, these new immigrants had little choice but to press westwards looking for new farm and grazing lands and a better life. The rate of immigration to the West picked up pace so rapidly after the establishment of the 'Wilderness Road' that from a population of virtually zero in 1774, the number of permenant white settlers in Kentucky swelled to over 200,000 by 1800.

The pioneer farmers who moved west for economic reasons, lived a vastly different life than the 'mountain men' -- the fur-traders and the animal trappers. They had brought along their families and livestock; cleared the land for farming and cut down trees for building houses. These activities annoyed the Indians, who themselves lived in harmony with nature, disliked such activities, and became hostile to the white settlers leading to Indian Wars on the frontier. The pioneering farmers were inevitably followed by a support group: the storekeepers, preachers, blacksmiths, carpenters, lawyers, and doctors who came to provide services for the farming community and settled permanently in towns and villages. In time, these settlers built other necessities required in a permanent community such as schools, churches, and roads, and some of the towns grew into cities.

As the population of the areas in the west where these new communities were coming up grew, new states were added to the Union; the rule being that when a particular area reached 60,000, it officially became a state. Hence, Kentucky became a state in 1792, followed by Tennessee in 1796, and Ohio in 1803.

The Louisiana Purchase

Simultaneous to the exploration and settlement of the western frontier in the late eighteenth century by the 'mountain men' and pioneering farmers, other political developments were taking place at the governmental level that would have even greater ramifications for the Westward Expansion. Not all American politicians were convinced about the virtues of following an expansionist policy in the early days of the country's independence. Some were of the opinion that the newly formed country already had enough land and further acquisitions would weaken rather than strengthen a fragile republican federation. The accepted theory of political science at the time formulated by the French philosopher Montesquieu (1748) taught that "the republican form of government could survive only in small states, where a virtuous and vigilant citizenry could effectively monitor the exercise of power" and that "a large state could be sustained only if power were concentrated in a more energetic central government." In other words, republicanism in an expanding state would inevitably lead to more despotic, aristocratic, and monarchical regimes. Hence, if the U.S. were to follow a policy of expansion, it would, at least, theoretically conflict with its republican origins.

Interestingly, one of the leading proponents of republicanism, Thomas Jefferson had become the third U.S. President after an unexpected electoral crisis in the elections of 1800. He was a great champion of the rights of the individuals and the states rather than a strong central government. At the same time, the international political situation at the time -- with several European powers vying to consolidate their colonial presence in the Americas -- dictated an opposite direction for the U.S. foreign policy to safe-guard its national interests, i.e., a policy of Westward Expansion and the fulfillment of the Manifest Destiny to make the U.S. A dominant power in North America. The way in which Jefferson dealt with the dilemma, determined to a large extent the future course of American history in the west.

The huge territory of Louisiana, covering almost 800,000 square miles, stretching from the Canadian border to the mouth of the Mississippi, and from the western bank of the river to the Rockies, was the key to future power play in the region. It had been nominally under Spanish control at the time of United States' independence but Spain was a declining colonial power in the 18th century and France, under Napoleon Bonaparte, was now displaying ambitions for re-establishing its colonial empire in North America, which it had lost in the Seven Years' War (1754-1761) with England and her continental allies. The first step in the French plan was its desire to re-conquer the island of Santa Domingo Island (present day Haiti and Dominican Republic) which had been lost due to a civil war and the emergence of its black leader, Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had taken control and declared independence. The main obstacle to the French plans was the opposition of the U.S. government towards such a move by France in its backyard. When Jefferson -- a known friend of the French -- became the U.S. President, he reversed the hostile U.S. policy towards France and gave his tacit consent to a French invasion to retake the Santa Domingo island.

Buoyed by the change in the American policy, Napoleon set in motion his more ambitious plans for colonial expansion in North America. He signed a treaty of friendship with the U.S. while secretly making a secret deal with Spain for returning the territory of Louisiana, which France had earlier given to Spain in 1763 as compensation for its losses as an ally in the Seven-Year War with England. Jefferson, who until then had trusted the French, was shocked when he learnt of the secret Franco-Spanish deal over Louisiana. French control of the Mississippi river system and the important port city of New Orleans was simply unacceptable to the U.S.; it would have exposed the still shaky Union to a powerful neighbor in the west with the ability to de-stabilize its southern states by fermenting trouble among their large slave populations. It would also have undermined its economic well-being by controlling the important trade outlet of the Mississippi Valley at New Orleans. The U.S. Federalists who were already hostile to France, pressed the government for a pre-emptive strike on New Orleans before the French could take physical control of the city. Jefferson, however, was aware of the weakness of his country's military and the problems it would have to face by entering into a war with France at that stage. In desperation, he sent Robert R. Livingston as his ambassador to France to convince them to sell New Orleans and the Floridas to the United States. Left with few cards to play with, Jefferson let it be known to the French that he was prepared to enter into a military alliance with Britain against France if the latter did not play ball.

Just when it seemed unlikely that the French would agree to such a proposal, providence intervened in the shape of unexpectedly stiff resistance by the rebels to the invading French forces in Santa Domingo. With the help of 'extraneous' factors such as a raging yellow fever epidemic and other devastating tropical diseases among the French, the rebels fought a French expeditionary force of more than 20,000 to a standstill. Napoleon was now faced with the choice of committing much larger forces to the island and the American mainland or to abandon his imperialistic ambitions in the west. Faced with the imminent resumption of war in Europe with his arch-enemy -- the British, Napoleon decided to cut his losses. In April 1803, his representative offered the entire Louisiana Territory to the surprised American negotiators who were at best hoping to persuade the French to sell just New Orleans and the Floridas. What is more, the French were willing to sell the entire 828,000 square miles of territory for just $15 million (with $5 million included for U.S. claims on the French). The price was dirt cheap and far below the U.S. expectations as, unknown to the French, the American negotiators had been authorized to pay $10 million for just New Orleans and the Floridas.

The Louisiana Purchase was a momentous event in the country's history: it more than doubled the existing territory of the United States; opened the mid-west to white American settlers, and most of all, guaranteed the survival of the Union at a crucial stage by eliminating the danger of a powerful French presence at the mouth of the Mississippi.

Moving Further West

The successful acquisition of such vast territories through the Louisiana Purchase only whetted the appetite of the Americans to extend their borders further west right down to the Pacific. The U.S. government had gathered useful information about the western territory through the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-06) and the reports had been encouraging. There were three major areas in the west on which the Americans set their eyes to complete their dream of an 'ocean to ocean' nation: Texas to the south and south-west of the newly acquired Louisiana, which was part of Mexico; Oregon country (consisting of the present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho states) that was claimed by the British; and territory up to the Pacific coast west of Louisiana including California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona that was still under the control of Mexico.

The Texas Annexation: The Louisiana Purchase led to a border dispute between the U.S. And Spain over Texas. The U.S. insisted that the purchase included land to the east of Rocky Mountains and to the north of Rio Grande; Spain disputed the validity of the Louisiana Purchase since France had categorically agreed not to sell the territory to a third party while acquiring it from Spain. The dispute was settled to an extent by the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 in which Sabine River was recognized as Texas's eastern boundary. Texas, however, did not remain under Spanish control for long and became a part of Mexico in 1821 at the end of the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. It also signaled the end of a Spanish law that only settlers of full-blooded Spanish descent could settle in Texas. Anglo-American families started to settle in Texas and by 1830 their number had grown to 30,000 -- far outnumbering the Tejanos (settlers of Latin-American descent). The new settlers resented the ham-handed central rule from Mexico City and were apprehensive that slavery may soon be abolished in the state by the Mexican government since their economy depended on slave labor to a large extent; they proceded to declare the independence of Texas in 1836 making it the Republic of Texas. Most Anglo-American settlers wanted to join the United States but its absorption into the Union was opposed by the Northern states as it would increase the number of slave-owning states. However, when James Polk won the 1944 U.S. President on a Texas-annexation platform, the U.S. Congress promptly passed a resolution for annexing Texas, making it a part of the Union. Mexico had never recognized the independence of Texas and had warned that its annexation by the U.S. would mean war. War with Mexico was more than welcome for the Polk administration since it afforded the U.S. its long-held opportunity of gaining access to the Pacific by acquiring more Mexican territory in the West, i.e., the territories of present day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.

The Mexican-American War: Even as Mexico delayed its declaration of war in the aftermath of the U.S. annexation of Texas, the Polk administration further pushed it against the wall by claiming that the southern border of Texas lay at the River Rio Grande rather than at the Nueces River as claimed by the Mexicans. The U.S. troops occupied the territory between the two rivers and open hostilities began in April 1846 when Mexican troops attacked the American across the River; the U.S. declared war on Mexico on May 11, 1846. Although the Mexicans had a large army at the time, they were no match for the far more disciplined and better equipped Americans. The result was a crushing defeat for Mexico as the U.S. troops achieved a succession of victories on the Western fronts of New Mexico and California as well as Southern Mexico. Eventually, the capital, Mexico City, itself fell to the American forces in September 1847 and the Mexicans were forced to sign a peace treaty on the victors' terms.

The War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848 between the two countries. The treaty gave the United States undisputed control of Texas, established the U.S. Mexican border at Rio Grande River, and gave the territories of California, most of New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Arizona to the U.S. Altogether, the territory of 525,000 square miles ceded to the U.S. (known in history as Mexican Cession) was more than half of the total area of pre-war Mexico and is approximately 12% of the total area of the current United States territory. In return Mexico was paid a paltry $15 million by the U.S. The American dream of a coast to coast country was now almost complete and the country was now well on its way to becoming the foremost power in the region and a leading world power.

Acquiring Oregon Country from the British: At the time of American Independence, the territory in the north-west America comprising the present-day U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia was called 'Oregon Country.' Several countries including Britain, France, Russia, and Spain laid claim to the area, with Britain being the leading contender as it gradually increased its presence mainly through the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company in fur trade. France's claim on the territory weakened after its defeat in the Seven-Year War; Spain withdrew its claim after the Adams-Onis Treaty with the U.S. settling its border disputes, Russia's claims faded away with time. United States' claims in the area, however, strengthened not only as successor to Spain but also as a growing political power in North America following the Louisiana Purchase.

The boundaries of the 13 original colonies of the United States defined in the Treaty of Paris (1783) were far from accurate mainly due to lack of geographical knowledge of the remote areas. This led to the need for defining the boundary between British controlled areas and the U.S. In North America. These border issues were tackled in the Treaty of 1818, which among other provisions, set the U.S.-Canadian boundary along a line drawn from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods along the 49th parallel of north latitude to the Rocky Mountains (then known as Stony Mountains). The Treaty also provided for joint control of land in the Oregon Country by Britain and the U.S. For a period of ten years and allowed both parties to lay claim to the land. This resulted in a fierce struggle for the control of the area as fur traders, missionaries, and military expeditions used the 'Oregon Trail' during the 1820s and the 1830s. The offer of free land (married settlers could claim 640 acres of land at no cost), good farmland, vast forests, and a healthy climate proved to be an attractive magnet for settlers and migration from the eastern states reached a torrent in the 1940s. The 'joint control' provision in the Treaty of 1818 led to conflict of interest between the American settlers and the British Hudson's Bay Company that was engaged in the lucrative fur-trade in the region. The arrival of the American settlers in such large numbers tilted the odds in favor of the Americans and the British were forced to abandon their claims over most of the Oregon Country in the Oregon Treaty of 1846.