![]() The purchase was real, but no one knew precisely what the United States had bought. It doubled the size of the United States. The boundaries of the purchase were vague it covered land west of the Mississippi River, comprising what became all or parts of the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. ![]() history when, acting as president, he purchased 828,000 square miles of territory from France in 1803. Thomas Jefferson managed the greatest land bargain in U.S. Western expansion reinforced the view that American society was superior to all others and that it was the nation's "Manifest Destiny" to spread its institutions across the continent. That expansion, a form of continental imperialism, not only created modern cultural icons such as the frontiersman, the cowboy, and the homestead family, but also reinforced American identity. War and western expansion went hand in hand. Although Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas are not generally considered western states today, much of the fighting for land between white settlers and American Indians and much of the trail blazing and cattle drives took place in those states. ![]() ![]() As a result of the war with Mexico (1846–1848), the United States added land in the Southwest stretching from Texas to the Pacific, including California. Western expansion includes the lands acquired by treaty or warfare west of the Mississippi River. The age of western expansion refers mainly to the period following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It is a vital part of the nation's growth and development, a rich depository of its history. To a large extent, that picture was real, but the American West is far more than just a treasure trove of folklore. ![]() The West was also the site of frontier warfare between settlers and American Indians. As the idea of the West expanded in the public imagination, it became a land of cowboys, buffalo herds, a vast wilderness, and a society that operated on the other side of the law. At some time in American history, every part of the United States except the easternmost region qualifed as "the West," the last frontier of settlement. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |