Manifest Destiny Research Paper

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Ammad Hashmi-Essay #1 During the 1850’s, the idea of Westward expansion and white superiority led to a political crisis. Manifest Destiny was the idea of the US being called by God to expand from coast to coast. The political crisis originated from the idea of Manifest Destiny, which involved the expansion of slavery, and led to the secession of the South. The origin of this crisis can be traced down to the belief in Manifest Destiny. In Polk’s presidency this idea was a major factor when he expressed his desire to capture California, which in turn provoked the Mexican American war. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago ended the Mexican American War, and allowed the US to receive Texas, California, and all the lands in between. In order to deal with this massive amount of land given, the Homestead Act was created which sold land to settlers to come and live on the land and improve the land (agriculturally) for five years. Manifest Destiny had a huge impact on Native Tribes, forcing them to move from their homes, if they didn’t die…show more content…
The people of Texas wanted to become a slave state in the U.S. which would bring an imbalance to the number of free and slave states in the U.S. The compromise of 1850’s was written to help solve this current issue by amending the Fugitive Slave laws, admitting California into the US as a free state, and ending the slave trade in Washington, D.C. Also, the Abolitionists Movement was sparked and ran across the country, calling for the emancipation of slavery, further throwing the US into a crisis. The book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, significantly helped raise support for abolitionist with its harsh depictions of slavery. As of a result of these factors working to stop the expansion of slavery, the Southerners felt as their economic structure will be broken up by the North, worrying many of the slave owners and alerting the political officials to take

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