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Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson bought the first piece of land for America, starting off westward expansion by almost doubling the size of the union. This supports the idea that westward expansion was inevitable because after getting this much land, they just wanted more. -
Lewis and Clark Expeditions
Lewis and Clark traveled across the newly purchased Louisiana territory and to the Pacific Ocean to scout out the land America had payed for. This showed that expansion was inevitable because Lewis and Clark were surveying the land to test its livability for the other Americans. -
Trail of Tears
President Jackson pushed out the Native Americans from some southern states and farther west. This showed that westward expansion was inevitable because it showed that Americans didn’t care about native populations, and it moved them farther west to bring awareness to more of the western territories. -
Manifest Destiny
The phrase manifest destiny is coined. This is the idea that it is Americans God-given right to expand westward and reach the Pacific Ocean. This shows that expansion was inevitable because God ordained America to expand. -
Mexican-American War
The war between Mexico and America truly embodied the westward expansion movements because the land was conquered because of Manifest Destiny and America wanting more land. It showed westward expansion was inevitable because the US went to war with another country just to expand westward and get more land. -
California Gold Rush
The gold rush brought over 300,000 people into California hoping to find gold, but this also got people out westward. This showed that westward expansion was inevitable because hundreds of thousands of people traveled across the entire United States just for a little gold, and that wasn’t even when the government was giving out land for free. The will of the people is always strongest. -
Homestead Act
The act allowed the government to give out land in the west. This made westward expansion inevitable because it got more people out into the west to claim the land as American. The US gave out 1.6 million homesteads in this time period and 270,000,000 acres of federal land for private ownership.