Jeremiah Cornish
U.S. History 1 Honors
Westward Expansion
The philosophy of Manifest Destiny, which led to westward expansion, caused hardships, several wars and hostilities between countries and also between people occupying the American land. It also led to new lives, comradery, development, an expanded economy, and it achieved the ultimate goal of possession and a United States which spread from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. The effects of the United States expanding its territory to the West can still be seen today. When one looks at the resentment of the Mexican people towards the American government, the roots of this are founded in the Mexican-American war when the United States government took advantage of the bankrupt Mexican government by offering 15 million as payment
for having the border in the middle of the Rio Grande River and in addition, the United States agreed to pay off all Mexican debts owed to the United States. On a more positive note, the acquirements of the Western areas have greatly increased the United States economical and political power to such an extent that it is impossible to say what it would be like without California, Texas, Oregon, and the other large Western states.