Westward Expansion Essays (Examples)

Moreover, estward expansion also meant putting off the resolution of slavery. Slavery continued in the United States until the 1860s. In fact, estward expansion was one of the issues that gave rise to the deep rifts between north and south, between free and slave states. How to address slavery in newly acquired territories became one of the most poignant political and social issues in nineteenth century America. Yet another consequence of estward expansion was a population explosion due not just to rising birthrates among the population but also the increased room for immigrants. The first waves of Asian immigrants arrived to work on American railroads in the new estern territories and later waves of Eastern and Southern Europeans arrived to the land of opportunity. Like the Native American populations whose land had been stolen, the non-white residents of estern territories rarely had stakes in any wealth generated by the gold…

While Taylor believed that the Union was not threatened by this decision, it became alarmingly apparent that the North and South ideas would differ greatly. The conflict had escalated regarding the slavery laws and the newly added territories that some of the Southern senators at the time -- Jefferson Davis, John C. Calhoun, and William H. Seward -- would fight for "equal position in the territories," to protect the citizens of the Southern states "against abolitionists" ("Compromise").
This dispute became further aggravated by Henry Clay's proposition of a bill to the Senate, which would certainly admit California as a free state, with no mention of whether the New Mexico and Utah territories would be allowed slaves. The bill also proposed a prohibition of the slave trade in the capital District of Columbia, as well as a stricter set of fugitive slave law. Once more, slave and territory disputes came hand…

Mercifully, this period oversaw the end of the horrible Catch-22 known as debtor's prison, were people were imprisoned for debt, and then kept in the prisons for life because they had no way of earning money to free themselves from their financial obligations. Also, Dorothea Dix "compiled a comprehensive report on the state of the mentally ill in Massachusetts. The report claimed that hundreds of insane women were chained like beasts in stalls and cages. Dix's findings convinced state legislators to establish one of the first asylums devoted entirely to caring for the mentally ill. By the outbreak of the Civil ar, nearly thirty states had built similar institutions ("The Pre-Civil ar Era 1820-1850," 2007, Sparknotes).The appeal of Dix's movement and the end of debtor's prisons showed that America increasingly wished to see itself as a compassionate society, and also a fair society that treated its most vulnerable citizens with…

Although they reacted with sorrow, they also attempted to preserve their culture. For example, some even ground the bones of their ancestors and sewed them into their clothing (Watson 1999).
A similar story of Native American's peaceful reactions that were exploited by force is the history of Chief Joseph. This early recruit to Christianity was the chief mediator of peace between whites and his tribe, the Nez Perce, but when the tribe's land was taken, and the Native Americans were transferred to a reservation, the chief destroyed his symbols of American life and plunged his warriors into a miraculous series of battles ("Chief Joseph" 2001). Thus, Westward expansion was an opportunity for the white Americans, but a cause for sorrow for the Native Americans, who reacted with peace and accommodation until human rights violations forced them to react with sorrow and violence.

eferences

American Westward Movement," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia…

American History
he United States Expansion in 19th century

After the Age of Discovery (16th to 18th centuries) in European society that led to the discovery of the large land mass that will be called the Americas, the "New World" began expanding. New inhabitants arrived to occupy different parts of the region, particularly those that had the potential to be cultivated as agricultural lands. hus, when 19th century arrived, American inhabitants began building their political and economic institutions right after America had achieved its independence from British rule. his period of inhabitation between the years 1800-1850 was known as the United States Expansion.

he expansion involved was categorized into five stages. he first stage was the expansion towards the northwest territory, which included the states Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota. he move towards north was a logical thing to do at the time, for most of the inhabitants in the…

OMEN IN THE LATE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES
LAURA INGALLS ILDER

Laura Ingalls ilder gives some accurate depictions of women's lives when settling the est in the 19th Century but falls short of other key respects.

Brief description of essay: Laura Ingalls ilder's work is popular at least in part due to its ability to portray a glimpse of women settling in the western United States during the 19th Century. However, she either ignores or merely glosses over other aspects of women's contributions and challenges in the western expansion during that century.

A&E Television Networks, LLC. (2016). Bleeding Kansas. Retrieved from www.history.com: http://www.history.com/topics/bleeding-kansas

A&E Television Networks, LLC. (2016). The fight for women's suffrage. Retrieved from www.history.com: http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage

Bailey, F. S. (1891). Twenty years of gleaning: A historical sketch of the oman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society. Boston: oma's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society.

Boundless.com. (2016). omen in the est. Retrieved from www.boundless.com:…

African-Americans and Western Expansion
Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, very little was written about black participation in Western expansion from the colonial period to the 19th Century, much less about black and Native American cooperation against slavery. This history was not so much forbidden or censored as never written at all, or simply ignored when it was written. In reality, blacks participated in all facets of Western expansion, from the fur trade and cattle ranching to mining and agriculture. There were black cowboys and black participants in the Indian Wars -- on both sides, in fact. Indeed, the argument over slavery in the Western territories was one of the key factors in breaking up the Union in the 1850s and leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In the past thirty years, much of the previously unwritten and unrecorded history of the Americas since 1492 has been…

American Expansion
American Territorial Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase

American territorial expansion was the top priority of ashington DC for every decade of the 19th century, including the Civil ar years. The new territory all came to Americans through treaties or conquest, and thus promoted the isolationist "Manifest Destiny" prerogative of strengthening the American continent. The earliest and largest territorial expansion of the 19th century was the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the American states. The Louisiana Purchase was made with the short-term bolstering of Thomas Jefferson's government in the near-term, yet with deep concerns for the security of the new land and how and who should settle the land in the long-term.

The Louisiana Purchase was not a decision taken lightly by then President Thomas Jefferson, who felt that it would be difficult for the young America to take full possession of the territory, and thus sign the country…

While unable to purchase land in their original locations, Europeans and Americans alike moved to the West as this region presented them with the ability to capitalize more on their money. Additionally, the decreased cost of transportation would have also contributed to the movement of the population. Last, it is also argued that the migration was generated by technological developments. All these in essence worked together to create a more appealing image of the West and it came to a situation in which the actual exodus led other people to also move to the West.
"Population growth and technological innovation worked in concert as the main driving factors of Western Expansion. Specifically, the decrease in transportation costs induced Western migration and the redistribution of the American population -- without it only 30% of the population would have been in the West in 1900, compared to an actual historical figure of…

Civil War and Reconstruction Question 2: What does the Civil War show that failed in the United States in this period?
The Civil War and its aftermath showed that the United States failed to create a cohesive national character and ethical identity. The nation was truly divided, symbolized by the fact that Abraham Lincoln received not a single Southern electoral vote, and less than half of the popular vote, but still became President (Slide 5). The majority of Southerners allied themselves with the Southern Democrat platform, and failed to align their outdated beliefs about race and economic exploitation with the more progressive norms evident in the North.

Yet slavery was only one of the meaningful points of divergence between different geographic and cultural segments of the nation. The economies of North and South were completely different from one another, with the North cornering the market on manufactured goods and the…

imperialism is necessary for cultures to progress. The United States is not often thought of as an imperialistic nation, because we like to think that we would not subjugate or take over other countries. However, that is just what we did when our forefathers came to this country and shoved aside the Native Americans. We subjugated and eradicated a culture and way of life, and that is the textbook definition of imperialism. Imperialism is wrong and shameful, but it seems that as much it may be hard to say, it is necessary for securing our way of life, and it is crucial in developing new trade and commerce.
First, it is necessary to define imperialism. Imperialism is the name for larger, more powerful nations to take over smaller, weaker nations, usually because of the promise of wealth or resources they can exploit. There is a long history of imperialism throughout…

He died in 1868, and he was buried in a cemetery near Taos (PS, 2001). After Carson's death, he was at first lionized as a great example of mountain man and leader in the Westward expansion of the United States. His accomplishments were told and retold and sometimes exaggerated. However, in modern times, the story of Kit Carson reveals both the good and the bad. While he played an important role in our country's expansion, he participated in important ways in subjugation and mistreatment of Native Americans. He was a product of his times, he was an army officer and he followed his orders, but today those actions are recognized as wrong. His story is remarkable because in his lifetime Carson played so many roles that aided in Westward expansion in addition to Indian fighter: mountain man, trapper, guide, and sheep rancher. His life is an example of those complex…

It was our land, and still they claimed it as if it were their own.
Not many years passed, and these Americans were everywhere among us - killing us, and driving us out of our ancient homes. They sent their soldiers to slaughter us, and later to collect us up to live beside their forts. They killed the buffalo on which so many of us depended for food, and so caused us to starve. And when we complain, when we tried to use their "laws" to help ourselves, they laughed at us, and told us that we had no rights. This land belonged to them. It was their "Manifest Destiny" to expand across the continent, and to take the land from the "savages" that lived there. They would bring God and civilization to all these places. They believed that only they were right, and that only their God was real.…

women in the American est during the estward movement. Specifically, it will discuss historic evidence to support the position that the westward movement did indeed transform the traditional roles of American women, just as it transformed the American est. omen traveling west during the estward movement created opportunities for themselves, became active in business and politics, and created new and exciting lives for themselves. These women transformed how America looked at women, and how women looked at themselves, which was probably the most important transformation of all.
The estward movement began in the early 1800s, after the explorers Lewis and Clark opened up the first trail from St. Louis Missouri to Oregon, and proved overland travel was possible, if not difficult. Migrants began heading for Oregon and other areas of the est as early as the 1830s - in fact, the first women to cross the Continental Divide were Eliza…

Healthcare Management
Did America justly fulfill its manifest destiny? Explain your opinion.

America did fulfill its destiny. This occurred with the country uniting as one nation embracing these ideas of personal freedom and equality. While at the same time, it went from a series of small backward colonies to becoming a world power. These objectives were realized over the course of American history. (Kennedy, 2012)

The biggest reasons for the westward expansion were based upon the desire to obtain land and have access to various natural resources (i.e. gold, silver, coal and oil). This was a part of America's expansion into becoming a new nation that embraced the ideas of personal freedom. A classic example of this peaceful expansion occurred with the purchase of Alaska from ussia in 1867. To this day, it is continuing to contribute economically and militarily. (Kennedy, 2012)

However, the westward expansion often involved the use…

These impulses may result in compulsive behavior ultimately leading to financial ruin and family devastation; partly for this reason, most American states had prohibited games of chance and other forms of gambling under a paternalistic attempt to protect people from their own compulsions (Lears p. 193). Las Vegas benefited from a confluence of circumstances that brought in workers and tourists to partake of something other states outlawed, and in time, gambling became the most lucrative industry in the region, employing more local residents and generating more revenue from non-residents than any other industry. Later, the connection between legalized gambling and its revenue-generating potential attracted criminal influences that shaped much of Las Vegas politics for decades.
Partly because of the long-term association between gambling and criminal activity and partly because of age-old religious principles defining concepts like work, virtue, and sin, gambling was widely considered a blemish on society. The additional…

Captain Smith by Pocahontas
Antonio Capellano's sculpture The Preservation of Captain Smith by Pocahontas (1825) is still in the Capitol Rotunda along with other works of the same period such as illiam Penn's Treaty with the Indians and The Landing of the Pilgrims, although they no longer resonate with audiences in the same way as they did in the 19th Century. In the 20th and 21st Centuries, more sophisticated and educated viewers at least would realize that these are all the product of an era of estern expansion and a highly romanticized view of history that is heavily tinged with racism and white nationalism. hen these sculptures were first commissioned by the U.S. government, the early republic was engaged in westward expansion that would result in the destruction, displacement or removal of most Native Americans, a process that most white Americans of the era regarded as necessary and beneficial. All…

California was particularly problematic. Taken from Mexico after the war, California was geographically cut in half along the 36°30, and was therefore legally and politically cut in half. However, residents applied for statehood as a free state in 1850. Congress responded with a set of complicated compromises: California would be admitted as a free state in exchange for the Fugitive Slave Law, which required that citizens residing in free states hand over runaway slaves, who would not be afforded any legal rights. Additionally, the District of Columbia would cease trading slaves, but the institution itself would not be abolished; slaves would not be emancipated. The admission of California as a free state upset the balance of power in Congress. The Fugitive Slave Law fueled the Underground Railroad and underscored the deepening divisions between North and South.
The Missouri Compromise was shot to pieces in 1854, when Kansas and Nebraska were…

sentiment, enhanced by analysis and critical thinking from a variety of sources.
Frederick Jackson Turner's essay discusses the closing of the American western frontier, and what it means for the American people. The historical significance of the frontier movement cannot be denied, and Turner's question lingers, what will forge American history now that the dominance and dominion of the frontier has vanished? He eloquently writes, "American social development has been continually beginning over again on the frontier."

He notes many areas of the frontier movement have been studied, but economic and historic significance remains open to scrutiny. Thus, he sets up his thesis, that the frontier offers a "fertile field for investigation" and that there will certainly be problems and questions resulting from the ongoing investigation.

Turner gains the readers attention in the first few paragraphs, when he compares the American frontier to the European frontier and notes the differences…

America Moves West
econstruction is the name for the period in United States history that covers the post-Civil War era, roughly 1865-1877. Technically, it refers to the policies that focused on the aftermath of the war; abolishing slavery, defeating the Confederacy, and putting legislation in effect to restore the nation -- per the Constitution. Most contemporary historians view econstruction as a failure with ramifications that lasted at least 100 years later: issues surrounding the Civil ights were still being debated in the 1970s, corrupt northern businessmen "carpetbaggers" brought scandal and economic corruption, monetary and tariff policies were retributive and had legal results in the north as well. Despite the failure of this period as an equalizer or integrator of races in the Old South, there was an equally robust push westward that not only encouraged individuals of all ethnicities to move, but changed the political and economic texture of the…

From Patricia Limerick's approach, this paper can derive its own thesis as to how the frontier phenomenon truly influenced the development and values of the American society. In my opinion, the truth is that the United States is such a large country that a phenomenon such as the frontier and Westward expansion could not have influenced to the degree to which Turner believes it had the development of the American society. There are several reasons for this, all discussed below.

First, many of the values, especially the institutional and democratic values, have, in fact, been unchanged for the best 250 years. The Constitution itself has barely been modified, with the exception of a limited number of amendments. The main institutional powers, the executive, the legislative and the judicial powers are all based on the same principles and format from 1776 and the first years thereafter. The political system, with minor…

American est
United States became one of the most industrialized nations and sought to grow its industries at an alarming rate. For this purpose, the western part of United States, which had not yet been discovered, was subjected to massive development, economic growth, formation of industries and allowing settlers to move towards the west. Railroads played a significant role in contributing towards the development and urbanization of America's est. The goal of this paper is to analyze the impact of railroads on America's est in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources.

Railroads in America est

Railroads had been developed in United States during the nineteenth century and start of twentieth century. They owe their existence to Industrial Revolution. During the nineteenth century, Industrial Revolution promoted technological and industrial development and thus, laid down the foundations of railroads in United States. During this time, United States became one of…

Inclusion Exclusion
Blassingame, John W. 1979. The slave community: plantation life in the antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press.

The most overt explanation of the author's research problem is when he states: "To argue, as some scholars have, that the first slaves suffered greatly from the enslavement process because it contradicted their 'heroic' warrior tradition, or that it was easier for them because Africans were docile in nature and submissive, is to substitute mythology for history," (p. 4).

The struggles of African slaves are the topic for Blassingame's entire book, and it is impossible to indicate one page number describing all the travails that are detailed in the tome. However, the first chapter of the book does provide examples of the suffering of slaves in Africa, during the transatlantic voyages, and in the New World. Pages 6 and 7 describe in some detail the brutality of the slave boat…

America at War 1865-Present
A Survey of America at War from 1865 to Present

Since the Civil War, America has seldom seen a generation of peace. In fact, a nonstop succession of wars has kept what Eisenhower termed "the military industrial complex" in lucrative business. From the Indian Wars to the World Wars to the Cold War to the war on Terror, Americana has expanded its foothold as an imperial power every step of the way -- even when isolationism appeared to be momentarily in vogue following World War I. This paper will look at the history of the progression of war in America from 1865 to present, showing how that history -- through social, economic, literary, political, and religious changes -- has both shaped and been shaped by American foreign and domestic policy.

Unit Once: 1865-1876

The Civil War had just ended on the home front, but that did…

The relationship they had with one another included a fair division of land, and a good balance of trade. Unfortunately, after the settlers learned what they needed from the Native Americans and took what they could from them, they no longer had any use for the proud people whose land they had invaded.
The relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans began to change as settlers learned to do things for themselves, grow their own crops and breed their own animals for food. With the settlers being able to survive on their own, there was no longer any need for the Native Americans to help. The population of settlers was also growing, and new villages were being built on land that used to belong to the Native Americans.

The settlers kept expanding the areas that belonged to them, and this made the areas belonging to the Native Americans smaller…

The presidents that served between 1789 and 1840 helped shape the nation during its formative years. During this critical period in American history, statesmen laid the foundations for political culture, philosophy, and institutions. Although all the presidents during this fifty-year period had some influence on the early republic, several left a more outstanding mark and legacy. As a Founding Father and author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson undoubtedly deserves recognition as one of the most important presidents in the entire history of the country. As a slave owner who believed in a small central government, Jefferson also set a precedent for what would become a series of contentious compromises between Americans who supported racism and the slave trade and those who recognized the ways slavery contradicted the underlying principles of the democracy. Likewise, James Monroe carried on the American legacy of compromise, and is remembered most by the…

Natalie Merchant’s song “Gold Rush Brides” offers an impression of history, and also reflects on the one-sided nature of historiography. The song simultaneously evokes the myth and mystique of the wild west, of the days of frontier settlement when men and women ventured west seeking their fortunes and in the process encountered the native people who they would kill. Merchant draws interesting parallels between the frontier mentality and patriarchy, too, showing that the stories of women have vanished (“who were the homestead wives? Who were the gold rush brides?”) just as Native American stories and whole cultures were being obliterated, driven by nothing but a “lust for gold.” In fact, Merchant makes the connection between women and Native Americans even more direct in the line, “Dakota on the wall is a white-robed woman.” As Foner discusses the start of the gold rush in the Dakotas, Merchant mentions this lesser-known start…

Northerners saw this as a deliberate effort to bring more slave states into the Union, while Southerners felt it did not go far enough in stating what states would enter free and what would enter as slave states. The debate in the House and Senate was so emotional, that fights broke out on the floors. Eventually, the bill, with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise passed, and the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska came into the Union. It forced an even deeper wedge between Northern and Southern legislators, and many people were so disgusted with the agreement that they split off from both parties. They began to form a new political party, the epublican Party, which would come together to nominate Abraham Lincoln, who had spoken out against slavery during his campaign, but as McPherson notes, "He had condemned slavery as a moral evil but deprecated radical action against…

.." And with that that party "controls the spoils of office" by appointing people friendly to the president's election to positions of influence and by keeping the party's masses happy by giving them what they asked for.
In defining HO and HY, and UNDER HAT CONDITIONS the CHANGE CAME on the national political scene that vaulted Andrew Jackson (a roughneck frontier and war hero with little sophistication vis-a-vis national politics and diplomatic elitism) - i.e., Jacksonian Democracy - into the hite House, University of Chicago social science professor Marvin Meyers writes in American Quarterly (Meyers 1953) that there are three distinct phases to examine. Put in the context of published volumes that would cover these three phases, Meyers lays it out: one, "the revolt of the urban masses against a business aristocracy"; two, "simple farming folk rise against the chicanery of capitalist slickers"; and three, "...tense with the struggle of…

There were a lot of white people around, and many of them were angry that the blacks had been freed. Some of them were actually hostile toward the blacks and their newfound freedom, so the blacks learned quickly that they had to be careful. They needed to settle a little bit away from the hostile whites and do their best not to make waves or cause trouble, in the hopes that they might one day be accepted (Reconstruction, 2002).
During the first few years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent freedom of all blacks in the United States, many blacks began working very hard to educate themselves. In there minds, education meant the ability to negotiate with whites over land, earn a fair wage to pay for it, and take care of their families. lack families were often large, so many of the members could work to help support…

DUAL FEDEALISM PHASE

The Dual Federalism is the reflection of the ideology that stressed over the balance of powers between the national and state governments, and considers both the governments as 'equal partners with separate and distinct spheres of authority' (Sergio, 2005). Previously, the 'federal or national government was limited in its authority to those powers enumerated in the Constitution', and it was evident that there was partial understanding and correspondence between the national and stat. There existed little collaboration between the national and state governments, which resulted in the 'occasional tensions over the nature of the union and the doctrine of nullification and state sovereignty'.

In 1789, the Constitution was approved by the States; ratification of the conventions convened took place. The period from 1789 to 1801 has been regarded as the Federalist Perios, 'the period takes its name from the dominant political party of the time, which believed…

Native Americans also experienced significant changes to their way of life during this era. The railroads brought more settlers to their land, and cities began to arise in the West. The result was increasing conflict -- and many massacres orchestrated by government forces, as Western Native Americans, who had limited contact with settlers to this point, saw their lands inundated and their way of life threatened, so say nothing of the disease. The conflict, disease and loss of this way of life permanently gutted Native American societies -- they might have been the biggest losers of the industrialization age their way of life all but wiped out.

Working Americans

Working Americans were more likely to work in a factory under dangerous conditions. They lost the dignity in their work -- they were not longer artisans but merely cogs in somebody else's machine. They were more likely to live in tenements…

War of 1812, the nation settled into a sense of smugness that would be known as the Era of Good Feelings. The Era of Good Feelings was a term coined by a Boston-area newspaper in 1817, during newly elected President James Monroe's fifteen-state tour (Miller Center, n.d.). In its post-war intoxication, America would overlook some of its most pressing problems during the Era of Good Feelings. Monroe capitalized on the public's perception that all was well in the United States. Even more important for the strength of the Monroe presidency was the fact that the President's party became the only viable one after the demise of the Federalists. This meant that Monroe felt well empowered as president during the Era of Good feelings, which lasted until about 1825. Whether the period between the end of the War of 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine elicited "good feelings" depended largely on one's…

History Questions/Chap14
Senator Douglas created the Kansas and Nebraska territories as a way to appease both sides of the slavery issue, but this action resulted in increased tensions and hostility. Do you think the problems that resulted from creating these territories could have been prevented? If so, how? If not, why not?

The problems that resulted from the creation of the Kansas and Nebraska territories could not have been prevented because by 1854, the nation was already divided by the slavery question and tensions were high. There was more at stake than merely the question of whether or not blacks should be free and in fact for most people, on either side of the debate, personal and business interests were what really mattered, not the morality of making slaves out of fellow human beings.

As the United States expanded westward, controversy swirled as citizens debated whether new territories should be…

This reveals the more liberated ideals of the west and of the pioneer culture. First, Alexandra envisions herself "being lifted and carried lightly by some one very strong. He was with her a long while this time, and carried her very far, and in his arms she felt free from pain." The masculine figure takes the place of the gossamer female angel. She is about to be subsumed by the ethereal lover. "hen he laid her down on her bed again, she opened her eyes, and, for the first time in her life, she saw him, saw him clearly, though the room was dark, and his face was covered." Here, gender roles are again reversed as they are in the previous passage when the man is the angel. The man is now being veiled, his "face was covered." Veil is usually used to conceal the woman's but not the man's…

OMEN IN THE LATE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES
LAURA INGALLS ILDER

Laura Ingalls ilder is famous for writing extensively about the lives of a family that moved westward in the late 19th century. In some respects, her work is quite accurate and enhances an accurate picture of the Great Prairie during those times. However, in other respects her work is inaccurate, particularly in the way it glosses over the presence and lives of Native Americans, as well as the hostility and brutality of pioneers toward Native Americans, very nearly resulting in the extinction of Native Americans.

In some respects, ilder's work exemplifies life on the Great Prairie during the late 19th Century; however, it also falls far short of explaining that life in other respects. The ilder family lived in isconsin, Kansas and Minnesota during Laura Ingalls ilder's early life but moved to De Smet, South Dakota, when Laura was…

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Slavery was one, but not the only, cause of the Civil War. In fact, the institution of slavery represents a combination of social, political, and economic forces at play throughout the United States. For one, Westward expansion and the principle of Manifest Destiny gave rise to the important issue of whether to allow slavery in new territories or to leave the question of slavery up to the residents in the new territory or state. he Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, the formation of the new Republican party and the election of Lincoln, the Nat urner rebellion, the introduction of Uncle om's Cabin into popular culture, and especially Westward expansion were among the most important events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.

he Compromise of 1850 was disastrous in that it accomplished nothing to promote human rights…

This test, embodied in Article 10 of the treaty, said that land grants would be considered valid to the extent that they were valid under Mexican law" (Ebright 29). According to Montoya (2002), although the treaty was ratified, the subsequent years were clouded by legal battles over quiet title to the lands involved because of the absence of Article X: "The process of defining property rights and ushering in market capitalism that had begun by issuing such a large land grant would continue under the U.S. legal and economic system. But for the next fifty years, charges of patronage, absentee landlordism, and unjust claims would cloud title to the land" (36).
Conclusion

The research showed that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo concluded the U.S.-Mexican ar and gained the United States Upper California, Texas and New Mexico in exchange for a paltry $15,000,000 and some nebulous assurances that the U.S. would…

Railroad Maps
Describe the economic opportunities beckoning newcomers in all regions of the country as a result of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration.

The expansion of the nation's railroads by 1870, helped to fuel a tremendous amount of economic growth westward. as, the nation was rapidly developing regions that were considered to be difficult due to: adverse weather conditions, vast distances and the possibility of violence from Indian attacks. Once the railroad was established in the West, a shift occurred in how the nation was able to deal with these challenges. Where, many of these problems became non-existent and an increasing number of people began to move to these regions of the country. (illington, 2001, pp. 357 -- 375)

At the same time, the nation had developed a vast network of railroads throughout the entire Eastern half of the nation. This meant that many different natural resources in the West could…

The differences between the Northern and Southern states regarding states' rights issues and industrialization also affected federal policies toward new territories acquired during Westward Expansion. Before the Civil War, the federal government had issued a series of "compromises" designed to appease both northern and southern interests. The Fugitive Slave Law and the Kansas-Nebraska Bill were both issued in response to Southern interests but they reflected weakness in the federal government. The Compromise of 1850, for instance, sparked controversy over admitting California to the nation as a free state. Southerners had hoped that new states would at least be able to choose their own policies regarding slavery: to have "the power to choose whether it entered the United States as a slave or free state," ("Causes of the Civil War").

Finally, the issue of slavery itself became a major cause of the Civil War. Southern states prospered as a result of…

Domestic Uniformity in the U.S. Between 1815-1830
In the glorious aftermath of a triumphant revolution newly independent Americans were intent on freeing themselves fully from the control of European interests. To attain this liberation, the first Americans were charged with a task of enormous difficulty: harnessing the tremendous natural resources of their new land and using them to construct a great nation. Immense forests filled with raw timber stood waiting to be transformed into homes and vast tracts of open land lay ready for the farmer's plow. For decades after independence was wrested from British hands the first Americans worked to transform potential into reality, and soon a rising player on the international stage had emerged. hereas centuries of autocratic oppression had dulled the creative sensibilities of European designers and manufacturers, their American counterparts were now free to explore their creative whims and soon they began producing works of skilled…

What he found, in contrast to Europe, was that the American social ethic was not based on aristocracy, and in fact Americans seemed to have a deep-seated fear and loathing of European titles (at least the middle and common classes). Instead, Americanism was based on a system in which hard work and money-making (e.g. aggressive capitalism) was the dominant ethic of the time. In this period of radical change and development, he perceived that the common (free) person never deferred to elites and where one was rewarded for being a greedy individualist. He writes: "Among a democratic people, where there is no hereditary wealth, every man works to earn a living… Labor is held in honor; the prejudice is not against but in its favor" (Ibid., 398).

What is also interesting is that, at times, no matter how unbiased a historical or sociological account portends, what is excluded is often…

Brigham Young
At first, Young was ambivalent towards the Methodist -- or any other -- Church. He "held back from joining the Methodists" like his brothers had because of an "independent, deliberate personality" that rejected belief under pressure (8). Methodist revival meetings also turned Young off because of their "loud, crowded, and hyperactive" qualities," (8). Yet while living in the Auburn-Port Byron area, during an economic depression, he was "swept up by religious enthusiasm" and joined the Methodist Church in 1824 (13). The conversion turned out to be integral to Young's "program of self-improvement," (14). The Church prompted Young to give up swearing, one of his self-admitted habits. He experimented with vegetarianism, too, in an attempt to live an overall cleaner and healthier lifestyle. The religion also helped him to overcome his shyness and fear of public speaking (14). In addition to helping him on his personal path, the Methodist…

This view, however, fails in Limerick's mind, to adequately show how we can directly trace our current social, economic, and political order to Jamestown, Salem, and the Louisiana Purchase. "White Americans saw the acquisition of property as a cultural imperative" (Limerick, 55). How has that changed either before or after? Isn't that the justification used by the Virginia Company when establishing Jamestown? Isn't that the same as Sam Houston's justification for the subjugation and annexation of Texas? Isn't that the same as our ongoing destruction of the environment to create homes, shopping malls, and warehouses? Manifest Destiny existed in the European mindset even before the phrase was coined. Thus, Limerick observes that we have to see our history as part of that same kind of continuity of intent.
Indeed, Limerick promotes a moral significance on the history of the American West rather than a focus on specific dates and specific…

He carefully dismantled the story through diligent research into declassified court proceedings as well as many first person narratives. This level of research successfully captures the tension and emotions of the POWs' experience, which is the primary narrative storyline that drives the overall progression. Although Bradley professes a completely unbiased perspective in looking at this narrative, this was not completely the case within the structure of the narrative. Bradley appears to be heavily sympathetic to the Japanese, who he portrays in many cases as the victims of the second World War. The actions committed by the Japanese are attributed to their allegiance to tradition and reactionary measures taken in the wake of U.S. committed atrocities such as the Doolittle bombings. Overall however this book is an extremely worthwhile read. The actual book is a very "tough read," because Bradley chooses not to hold back on the details of the POWs…

Legendary figure, he is one of the charismatic characters of the account. So, in this sense, the author attempts to draw brief characterization of the main characters he is referring to.
One of the tragedies that have happened on the Oregon Trail is the notorious Donner Party incident, when 89 travelers passing through Sierra Nevada in late October were forced to resort to cannibalism until they were saved by rescuers from Sacramento. Tragically, only half of them had survived. The way David Dary describes this in his book seems to bring about, besides a certain eeriness, an appalling perspective that something like this can actually happen between people. Extrapolating this, the author manifests a dislike towards the fact that the Oregon Trail adventure could come along with something quite different and tragic than the profits that the gold and fur brought about.

However, the author manifests his strong admiration for…

Bad Girls
It is evident that the things that are historically accurate about the film Bad Girls are few and far between. Also, given the plot line and theme of the film, Bad Girls is clearly directed at women who sought to be entertained by tales of female empowerment. In the film, four prostitutes -- Cody Zamora, Anita Crown, Eileen Spenser, and Lily Laronette -- leave their former lives behind after Zamora commits a justifiable homicide and escapes from police custody. After Zamora and her cohorts escape, a duo of Pinkerton detectives is hired to apprehend Zamora and bring her back to Colorado, where the homicide took place. hile on the lam, Zamora and company are faced with bank robberies, kidnapping, and a seemingly unattainable dream of owning a sawmill, which they hope will provide them peace and stability.

Bad Girls focuses on four women and the social conventions and…

President Thomas Jefferson offered Napoleon the emperor of France $2 million dollars for the region around the mouth of the Mississippi River, which included the port of and city of New Orleans. Ohio Valley farmers relied heavily on admittance to New Orleans, and President Thomas Jefferson wanted to guard these farmers, because they sent their crops down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, from which ships took the products to cities along the Atlantic coast of the United States (Landy & Milikas, 159). However, this brought about horror in the Americans that the French might obstruct with their trade by imposing elevated taxes on products and ships moving through New Orleans. Even worse, "the Americans feared the French might shut down the ports to the Americans" ( Morris). If the port where shut down, this would bring to an end all shipping in and out of the United States.
President…

Robert Fulton
"the Most Lucrative Patent": Robert Fulton's Idea

In an 1807 letter, Robert Fulton wrote about his new invention and stated "the patent in contemplation will be the most lucrative that was ever obtained" (Sylla 44). He was referring to his steam engine, which not only revolutionized transportation but forever changed commerce in the United States and all over the world. Fulton wrote the letter to Robert R. Livingston, a wealthy New Yorker who was interested in Fulton's work and who became his partner and financier.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Fulton originally intended to become a painter. He went to London as a young man and actually had a showing of his work at the Royal Academy. He found it difficult to support himself on an artist's salary and so became a canal engineer. He went to Paris in 1797 and built a submarine called the Nautilis, he…

Fort Pitt
The For Pitt Museum, along with the Bushy Run Battlefield site, provide a visual way to understand Pennsylvania's participation in the French and Indian War, other history of the area, and how the city of Pittsburgh was founded. The visual displays really bring the era to light. The model of Fort Pitt, which is over 15 feet wide, is remarkable and gives the visitor a real understanding of what the fort looked like. The displays and information gave lots of information not only about the American soldiers who manned the fort, but the other groups of people involved in its history including the French who joined with the Native Americans for the French and Indian War, and the use of the fort after the revolutionary war ended.

The museum also demonstrates the strategic importance of the location of Pittsburgh. Three rivers come together in Pittsburgh, and during colonial…

American Enduring Vision
American History 1820-1840 Enduring Vision

How did the changes experienced by Americans after 1820 incorporate elements of the 'Enduring Vision' to preserve a common national identity?

Political Developments

During this early period of American identity formation between 1820-1830, one of the most profound developments was the removal of Indian peoples from their native territories. Increasingly, the common American, the common American White man sought political enfranchisement and territory to farm on his own. These two desires, of political power and land, conjoined to make Indian removal politically popular and expedient for those in authority.

During this time, the ideal of the genteel American farmer in government began to recede. The Jeffersonian ideal was replaced by what became the Jacksonian ideal of the common man voicing his will in politics. Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828 on a promise of full enfranchisement for all men, without former…

1893, when Frederick Jackson urner gave his landmark speech "he Significance of the Frontier in American History," it laid the foundation for future discussion relative to the American frontier. After more than one hundred years later, it is still a piece of comparison for new theories. urner's work was followed by different other famous frontier theories throughout the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. Although few historians would call this thesis pertinent, it still remains the most widely discussed interpretation of the American past. Invoking fascination, criticism and heaps of speculation from viewers, the thesis sheds light on a topic that has, notably in the last decade, stirred flaming controversy. he thesis is a comparison amongst those who view the West's development as a natural outgrowth of the pioneering spirit, and the New Western historians, who see a sad legacy of racism, greed and violence in the horizons of extended…

Industrialization After the Civil War
The United States economy grew to unprecedented levels and very quickly, after the American Civil War. This economic and industrial growth comprised of a number of causative factors such as technological innovation, westward expansion, and immigration to the United States that have witnessed tremendous development over the years. American economic and industrial growth was a kind of mixed blessing; but at the same time, it raised the living standard of some Americans, made certain goods easily accessible, and equally helped the United States become world military and economic power. These same forces, on the other hand and at the same time, increased the gap between the rich and the poor, enhanced and reduced political corruption at different levels of government, and also created some lasting legacy for environmental destruction (Shultz, 2014).

This paper contends to most effect, that industrialization was nothing more than a mere…

19th century, the federalist/anti-federalist schism dominated political discourse in the United States. The so-called "first party system" became less relevant as increasing numbers of citizens became politically active, leading to a greater plurality of voices and opinions. Even then, political parties had not yet become fully formed. Most elections had candidates running independently. However, the anti-federalists had become the Democratic-Republicans and they emerged as a dominant presence in the controversial 1824 presidential election. When he was defeated in that election by John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and his supporters started the Democratic Party as an opposition group. In response, John Quincy Adams and his Secretary of State Henry Clay rebranded the Democratic-Republican Party the National Republicans.
Jackson's Democratic party grew in popularity during his presidency. An opposition party, the Whig party, emerged in response in the 1830s. For the next several decades, the Democrats and the Whigs were the primary…

..that the rebellion, if crushed out tomorrow, would be renewed within a year if Slavery were left in full vigor (Greeley 1862).
If the North eventually won the war, and slavery was not abolished as an institution, war would be again inevitable. However, Lincoln's primary duty, as he saw it, was not to save or destroy slavery, regardless of his personal views, but to preserve the idea of the Union. Lincoln believed that it was unlawful for any State to succeed, it simply could not be done -- the Union was the Union, and his role was to bring the errant South back into the fold. Lincoln personally found slavery abhorrent, but his duty was not to destroy it, but to unite the North and South as one nation once again. If letting slavery exist helped united the country, Lincoln would let it be so, or vice versa. "What I…

Even European immigrants experienced discrimination in the 19th century. As Vellos (1997) points out, "American society did not accept the Irish Catholics and Germans, and movements to limit immigration began to form." The Chinese Exclusion Act established anti-Asian sentiments and was not repealed until as late as 1943. For the first time in American history, immigration was "seen as a threat to the United States economy, and Congress began expanding the list of 'undesirable classes' hoping to upgrade the quality of immigrants and to limit overall entry," (Vellos 1997).
In spite of having to live in squalid inner city tenement buildings, new waves of immigrants relished the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream provides the ideological and psychological incentive for new immigrants to a pursue a path of upward social mobility. Upward social mobility was most likely unavailable in the home country, whereas the United States has been…

Source: Hockett 1940:264

This land surveying method proved to be highly accurate, a feature that was in sharp contrast to the methods that had been used in some American colonies such as Virginia that allowed the use of so-called "indiscriminate locations," a practice that caused an enormous amount of land boundary disputes (Hockett 1940). hile the land surveying method used pursuant to the Land Survey Ordinance of 1785 was partially based on techniques that had evolved in New England, the origins of some of the features included in the legislation remain unclear (Hockett 1940). Notwithstanding this lack of historical precision concerning the origins of the features contained in the Land Survey Ordinance of 1785, the land surveying methods it set forth were so efficient and effective that the same techniques were applied to the rest of the country as westward expansion continued, eventually dividing all of the public lands in…

For instance, Bruegmann notes that, "Despite a common belief that suburban sprawl is accelerating and that the most affluent people are moving constantly outward to areas of ever-lower density, in fact the suburbs of American cities are, if anything, becoming denser."
Indeed, the recent trend to build more and more "McMansions" in the suburbs is reflective of how American suburbs are becoming more densely packed while seeking to maximize actual available living space. For instance, Bruegmann adds that, "Suburban lot sizes, after peaking in the 1950s, have been declining, and the number of square feet of land used by the average house in new developments at the suburban edge has fallen sharply in the past 10 years even as the houses themselves have grown in size." In sum, this author maintains that, "Sprawl cannot be adequately explained as a simple result of specific government policies, economic systems, or technological advances.…

Advocacy groups, whether private or government-sponsored, ease transition from home to America but being uprooted poses severe psychological and sociological problems that are not easy to fix.
The United States remains one of the only nations to openly welcome immigrants as a national policy; Canada is another. For centuries the United States has relied on immigrant labor to fuel industry and add nuance to the nation's cultural fabric. The United States is no longer viewed as a melting pot because of the increased pride among immigrants in their native cultures and languages. Balancing assimilation with preservation of culture is still the most difficult task for immigrants, many of whom hope for a more stable life in the new world while still retaining the values and lifestyles of their ancestors.

Refugees continue to hold a unique social, economic and political status in the United States. As Tumulty notes, the Hmong assimilated…

The author mentions deadly accidents from new machinery that workers are unfamiliar with. Moreover, the author discusses issues related to ergonomics, exhaustion, and pollution. Writing as a doctor, Whitaker makes a strong case for forming labor unions.
Croffut describes John Gast's painting "American Progress." The painting conveys the essence of manifest destiny. Using visual imagery, Gast visualize the mythos that underlies American culture. Gaft juxtaposes imagery of the West and its wold frontier with the new and sometimes unsightly urban and industrial developments. Gast's painting provides visual commentary on the ways the United States was changing during the late nineteenth century.

Harper's Weekly editorial describes the event known as Custer's Last Stand with an obvious pro-Custer mentality. Referring to the Native Americans as "savages," the author underscores the popular sentiments of the nineteenth century that the European settlers had a right to Westward expansion. Indian revolts like the Battle of…