Essay: Social Transformations and American Territorial Expansion of the Nineteenth Century

28 October 2018
Approaching the 1830s, the appeal of the westward expansion began to resonate with early American people. What was originally a docile outlook on increasing land ownership quickly resulted into the upheaval of many Native Americans and European neighbors. This transformation in mentality was believed to be “necessary and appropriate means for the nation to expand.”  Early American Protestants propelled the territorial expansion under numerous factors including being self-driven by the belief of spreading the work of God. To many early Americans, however, the ideology of Manifest Destiny appeared as common sense at the time. The expansion in the early 1800s solidified the opportunity for fertile land and for the United States to become an empire. Many people supported this idea and were willing to go barbaric lengths to reserve their right to the territory. The aggressive expansionism ideology of Manifest Destiny resulted from various social transformations including religious motivation, racial supremacy, and political empowerment.
Beginning with the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the Louisiana Purchase deal was offered and truly sparked the objective of Manifest Destiny. In 1803, America gained a large portion of the western land, adding almost 830,000 square miles of land territory to American control.  As Napoleon’s goal of establishing an empire in North America was failing, he offered the Louisiana Territory for fifteen million dollars to Robert Livingston and James Monroe, who were negotiating for Jefferson.  With the increase of land, American economy, social structure, and politics transformed. However, Jefferson acted against his own characteristics as a Constitutional man by accepting the unexpected offer from Napoleon without formally requesting an Article V Amendment.  He believed that the delay in securing an amendment might put the unexpected offer at risk, with this fact, there was a change in Jefferson’s Constitutional thinking.  With the approval of Jefferson, the size of the nation nearly doubled, marking Manifest Destiny and the belief that it was the American people’s God-given right to settle coast-to-coast.
Manifest Destiny was not just a guise for justifying America’s territorial goals. It was a common and firm belief that America’s Destiny was delivered by God. As Amy Greenberg writes in her book, Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, “Zealous English Protestants brought their faith in God’s will with them to New England. The seventeenth-century Protestant dissenters known as Puritans asserted that their arrival in the New World – and their survival there against all odds – was proof of God’s approval.” (Greenburg 3). Therefore, the will of British colonists were unalterable and justified in their hopes to expand westward. Nearing the 1830s, several aggressive social transformations began to take place that would invoke several changes on America. The Second Great Awakening, the belief that God wanted American Protestants to spread his word, imposed the frame of mind to view the Catholic regions from the South and West as distinct challenges to their religion and security.  The patriots imagined spreading their culture across North America and influencing their ways to secure faith for some, while others were out for power.
The Whig party did not support the idea of aggressive expansionism. However, the Democratic party was holding onto the ideology.  A representation of fierce territorial expansion and social transformation came with the presidency of Andrew Jackson. His promise of removing Native people east of the Mississippi boosted his popularity and became a leading contributor to his win.  Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which resulted in the upheaval of around fourteen thousand Native Americans.  This Act is reflective of the aggressive expansionism ideology that Manifest Destiny embodied. Natives from Georgia as well as surrounding states were sent to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.  A localized region chosen by the Federal Government. This brutal journey of starvation, disease, and exposure is historically known as the Trail of Tears. Upon their arrival to Illinois, the Cherokees were suffering from their lack of knowledge about cold climates.  The removal of the Indian people would allow vacancy for white settlements in the south. This also illuminated the Jackson as an example of a president enforcing U.S. Army in expansionism.  In his state of the Union Address, Andrew Jackson commented, “Towards the aborigines of the country no one can indulge a more friendly feeling than myself, or would go further in attempting to reclaim them from their wandering habits and make them happy, prosperous people…”(Greenberg 63). This message reflects the former President’s mental image of Native people as different from himself. The next step America would face is the annexation of Texas and the War with Mexico, further adding to the territorial expansion “from sea to shining sea.”
The firm mission to increase the territorial perimeter of America continued well into the nineteenth century. The next interest to American leadership was the annexation of Texas. Texas was an independent republic in 1836, but the President of Texas, Sam Houston, as well as United States President Andrew Jackson wished to annex Texas into U.S territory.  Both parties understood the significance of obtaining more land, and the will was backed by their God given right to spread his word. America was not ready under the Presidency of Andrew Jackson as Mexico refused to recognize Texas independence.  The main reason Texas was a large goal to the United States was to enlarge the area of land for slavery.  It was not until James K. Polk won Presidency that true change started to take place, taking 10 years due to the controversy with Mexico. Winning from an expansionist specific campaign, Polk entered presidency by admitting Texas as a United States territory, and also with the new intent of obtaining California.   James K. Polk has the aim and force to fight a battle with Mexico. At this point, the United States has not placed military personnel beyond west of the Sabine, but with the rising tension with Mexico, 1500 soldiers were deployed to an area near the Rio Grande.  America continued to hold onto its Manifest Destiny, and as the battles with Mexico underwent, the War was praised as proof of Gods will leading them to spread across the North American continent.  This aggressive mentality of self-entitlement sustained the War until it’s ending in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which granted the United States half a million square miles of land from Mexico.  This win for the United States solidified their belief of the white mans rule and exponentially increase the validity of United States power.
Amy Greenberg’s book titled Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion: A Brief History with Documents breaks down how territorial expansion, religion, and politics intertwined to shape early American borders and mentality. By including historical facts and primary documents, Greenberg allows researchers to dive deep into the topic and have an accurate representation of how Manifest Destiny effected lives in early America. This book is a compilation of first-hand documents and summaries that one would have to go lengths to search for. Further emphasizing it as a potent source to understanding the history of the United States. A necessity with the diverse and controversial subject matter it entailed.
The outlook of territorial expansion was validated by the belief that it was in God’s will that Americans expand across the North American continent. By examining movements such as the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas, the War with Mexico, and the Trail of Tears it becomes apparent that the westward growth of the United States stemmed from their religious ideology. Nations west of the Mississippi were dislocated and treated unfairly because they settled in wanted territory. Amy Greenberg’s book Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion: A Brief History with Documents, describes in detail the tragedy that nations west of the Mississippi faced at the expense of another group’s ideology. Manifest Destiny was originally coined with a docile sense of mission, but as the country grew this idea created war and misery for nations that were in the path of “God’s authorization.”