“Adventure is out there” is a common quote amongst Disney, and apparently, amongst Americans back in the 19th century as well. The westward expansion was a time of much strength, faith, determination, and will. By the year of 1840, 7 million had decided to pack their essentials, grab their families and set out in seek of finding new land and wealth. It gave the people hope, a sense of manifest destiny, and a want for adventure. So with their terror in hand, and their family in the other, they set out west, known as the Age of the Manifest Destiny.
While the idea seems interesting, the actual process is terrifying. People sold all that they had in hopes of earning enough money in order to survive throughout the travel. People traveled for weeks, in an attempt to make it across. They fed off of dried provisions, endured long boat rides with many others, making space limited and squeezed (Westward Expansion). Due to the long and tiring travel, many got sick, and some did not make the journey. People of all ages went, and some even sent their children with money in hopes of them making a better life for themselves. Some even sent their children so that they could be in search and start working, and then their parents would arrive later, just as Sarah Rice had done. She made her journey and learned to wove. According to her letters, she made the journey to Arlington, then to Cambridge and lastly to Union Village. In her letters to her father, she mentions how difficult it is to make a living. She also mentions thought that it is possible and that she can do so, with the help of her Lord (Sarah Rice). She goes on to compare her standings in her new life to those in where her father is currently residing. The nineteen year old adds that she, “[…] must of course have something of my own before many more years have passed over my head. And where is that something coming from if I go home and earn nothing. What can we get off that rocky farm only 2 or 3 cows (Sarah Rice). The journey was exhausting, but many went hoping that it would be worth it at the end. It brought much strife, difficulty, and strength to the people, while also giving them hope. It gave the people something to look forward to. Yet, without them even knowing, they brought along another item of matter: whether or not slavery would be permitted in these Westward states.
While many were leaving their loved ones and beginning their journey to their new homes, some would encounter viciousness that they have never seen before. While Rebecca Burlend and her family were moving from England, they were venturing to the new home of Illinois, but were currently moving through the Mississippi River. During their trip, they encountered something entirely horrid to them: slavery. She writes that, Slavery is here tolerated in its grossest forms,” (Is This America?). She then continues to say that, “[she] observed several groups of slaves linked together in chains, and driven about the streets like oxen under the yoke,” (Is This America?). Then, in another article, years after their move, her, her husband, and their family. They had moved due to the high payments they had to make on their Yorkshire farm and were hopeful of their chances being better in Illinois, but they were not (The Burlend Family…). They found many more struggles regarding Preemption. Preemption is the idea of not having to pay for renting the land for up to 4 years as long as they added or made it better in some way. Many landowners though took advantage of the idea, and the Burlend family was stuck in their own sticky situation when the owner, Mr. Paddock, does just that (The Burlend Family…). It seems as though slavery was not only occurring in the most common form, but in the solidarity form as well.
On December 2, 1823, the United States enacted the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was a law declaring that any further colonizations from the Europeans would be seen and treated as acts of aggression. It was disapproved by many, except the British (Huntington).
Meanwhile, the Missouri Compromise, in 1820 allowed for a one for one deal, giving one free slave for every slave state. Due to this, Missouri became a slave state by the Union and Maine was declared as a free state. Although these two states’ matters were resolved as much as possible, the rest of the states were not. Because of the Louisiana Purchase not regarding the other states, it was uncertain what their outcomes were, causing disruption amongst the people. It was a bigger issue, also because since many were migrating west, they were uncertain of the matters that they may encounter upon arriving to their new homeland. The South grew to be more and more predominantly slave-owners, while many of the slave activists seemed to reside in the North. Unfairness though, did not only occur because them and the African Americans, but also between them and the Native Americans. That unfairness, started with an idea called the Manifest Destiny..
The Manifest Destiny was an idea created by a journalist by the name of John O’ Sullivan (Manifest Destiny). It was an idea or coined phrase that had Americans believing themselves to be superior, thus having a right and a true duty to spread their beliefs, organizations, to those in the west in order to free them from their less qualified European habits, including their contact with the Native Americans and the Mexicans (Huntington). The Manifest Destiny was a belief amongst mostly the Democrats, who believed themselves to be higher than the rest, while the rest disagreed in fear that it would bring slavery along with it (Manifest Destiny). According to an article done by USHistory.orgentitled Manifest Destiny, “the heart of manifest destiny was the pervasive belief in American cultural and racial superiority”. Since the Americas were in a huge strive to be eliminated and moving the Indians out of their land, the idea of Manifest Destiny, made them feel entitled to do so. It only added to their idea of being superior than the rest. So superior in fact, that they believed themselves to be the true owners of America, thus being given the right to remove anyone they so wished.
On May 28, 1830, the Indian Removal Act was put into law by President Andrew Jackson. This action completely changed the way that the Native Americans lived for the rest of eternity. While most of their conflict had resolved, that all changed with this new law. It had immediate impact on the so-called Five Civilized Tribes: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminoles, who had been until then been allowed to reside in the land in the south (Huntington). Up until that act was put into effect, they were allowed to be residing in that land, and while it was made not to force them out, it did put an emphasis on them leaving. The Indian Chiefs refused to sign the treaties and be in agreement, making the Americas force them out (Huntington). Then, as if driving Indian tribes out of California (and other states) was not enough, digging for gold and prosperity was next.
In 1848, the Gold Rush began, sending millions more to reside in California and specifically to San Francisco, where they would be given the opportunity to find gold and make a fortune. According to an article by History.com entitled, “The Gold Rush of 1849”, “A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852.” Not only that but, “Miners extracted more than 750,000 pounds of gold during the California Gold Rush,” (The Gold Rush of 1849).
The life encountering the Westward Expansion was not an easy one, nor was it a fun one. While many enjoyed the curiosity and prosperity it could possibly bring to their family, the actual journey was brutal. Brutal in health, wealth, anxiety, but it was also eye-opening. During this time, the strife between the slave states and the free states was at an all time high. During this trip, many were awakened to the lives of those enslaved and were shocked. Not to mention that the Manifest Destiny had its own stance from those who believed themselves superior to the rest. Not only did they find themselves better than the slaves they had owned, but better than the Native Americans that they had learned from.
Works Cited
Burlend, Rebecca. “The Burlend Family Encounters America’s System for Populating the West, Pike Country, Illinois, 1830s.” The Burlend Family Encounters America’s System for Populating the West, Pike Country, Illinois, 1830s. History Matters, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Burlend, Rebecca. “”Is This America?”: An English Family Travels Up the Mississippi to Their New Home in Illinois, 1831.” “Is This America?”: An English Family Travels Up the Mississippi to Their New Home in Illinois, 1831. History Matters, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
History.com Staff. “The Gold Rush of 1849.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
History.com Staff. “Westward Expansion.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Hungtington, Tom. “Westward Expansion | HistoryNet.” HistoryNet. N.p., Aug. 1998. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
“Manifest Destiny.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2016. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Rice, Sally. “”I Must Of Course Have Something Of My Own Before Many More Years Have Passed Over My Head”: Sally Rice Leaves the Farm, 1838.” “I Must Of Course Have Something Of My Own Before Many More Years Have Passed Over My Head”: Sally Rice Leaves the Farm, 1838. History Matters, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Weiser, Kathy. “Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny – History and Information.” Legends of America. Apr. 2015. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.