(2b) The Great Plains was a good place to find great land. People were going west so they can get rich and own many things. (oi) People were trying to get land so they can start a new house with their new families. (oi) The struggle of traveling west to discover gold, silver, copper and land was called the California gold rush. (oi) One big reason many people were moving west was to be able to live with the Homestead Act.
After completing this task, rather than settling down, they continued to try and gain more land, this time into different places including Hawaii, Cuba, and the Philippines. Another thing that came off of the early expansionism was the economic reasoning. A multitude of people were interested in settling in the West to help promote ranching and agriculture. A large reason became competition with European imperialist powers. The US was in a position where it had to preserve trade with foreign countries, especially China, and gain some territory before it was all conquered by other countries.
Some believed that Oregon would offer them a better life, a place where they could make their fortune. For others, the mere promise of adventure was incentive enough to move west. Pure and simple patriotism also motivated a great many who joined the Oregon movement. The Oregon Territory was claimed equally by both the United States and Great Britain. However, England dominated the region economically.
Expansion affected the nation in many ways other than size. It also affected our country's population, culture, economy and social structure. America's economy was the first to experience the effects of Westward expansion. Most of the settlers that moved out west were planning on becoming farmers, if they were not already farmers. Along with new farmers came new products that the United States (US) could ship out to other countries as a profit.
The discovery and exploration of the Americas led to an initially slow but exponentially increasing westward migration by European countries. Among all the countries were England and Spain who colonized the majority of what is now the United States Eastern Coast. Both intrigued by the rumors and stories of gold and riches that beset the new lands they each did their part in western colonization; and not without reciprocal influence. Initial English colonies were established not only with cliché intentions of religious freedom but also with hopes of new economic expansion through agriculture as well as tactical, advantageous military purposes in the ever-present conflict with Spain. Mainly all original westward exploration was due to desires for gold and riches and in the case of the English this was no exception.
3. Along with venturing farmers came a potential threat to their farming goals: Natives. Except this time, they were brought upon a higher importance level than before. As America industrialized, the need for resources grew bigger. This led to exploitation of large lands that Natives very much respected.
This mission included not only gaining land but also pushing forward the freedoms of mankind. O. Sullivan and Democrats alike supported this sentiment because their political belief was to annex land as soon as possible. Although this idea was popular among many, this popularity was not unanimous throughout the nation. For example, in a letter to one of the most influential Whigs, Henry Clay, William Channing wrote that America is a restless nation whose only goal is to boast about national growth and expansion. This is significant because it demonstrates how double-sided the issue really was, and showcases the negative aspect of Manifest Destiny, mainly restlessness and greed.
American Movements As the living expenses and populations increase in Eastern colonies, it foreshadow some colonist will soon move to new land. However at that period colonist seem lacks of motivation, therefore, Manifest Destiny was introduced to set up an atmosphere to convince the colonist in order to survive they must immigrate to the west. The movement will take advantages of Mexico. As United States obtain enormous amount of land from the Mexico cession, yet the lands only beneficiate to United States colonist who explores into the Western hemisphere. In the same way, it is true that Manifest Destiny was an aggressive inspiration pursed at the expense of others.
The Way West Beginning in the early 1800’s, Americans began to look west. The start of the first railroads to the Pacific began and the path was anything but easy to navigate. The draw for expanding the railroad was not only the ability to travel faster and move goods throughout the country, but the railroad also gave people a sense of freedom to move about the lands of this vast country. With the larger populations of cities like New York and Boston building up and becoming more heavily crowded, many people were searching for a way to move outward where there was more space and more freedoms including mining, farming, and natural resources. Before the railroad, the only means of travel was by wagon, horseback, or boat.
Their accounts of their travels publicized the newly found region of the west and aroused interest in people contemplating the possibilities. By the 1840's, expansion was at its highest. Manifest Destiny was the reason for the revived interest in territorial expansion. With a sense of mission, people were tempted by the boundless tracts and sparsely settled land lying just beyond the borders of their country. There was also the growing desire to develop trade with the Far East.