1. Unit Question of the Day
How and why did the USA expand west as a result of Manifest Destiny?

2. Quick Fire
Our manifest destiny [is] to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.
John L. O'Sullivan, 1845
Describe what this means in your own words.

3. What is Manifest Destiny?
Manifest Destiny: This means “Obvious Destiny”
Many Americans thought it was the manifest destiny of the USA to expand westward from sea to shining sea and become one of the most powerful nations in the world
The Age of Westward Expansion is known as the Age of Manifest Destiny

4. Manifest Destiny
In the 1840’s, westward expansion led Americans to acquire all lands from Atlantic to Pacific, in a movement known as Manifest Destiny
Americans flooded into the West for new economic opportunities
The U.S. gained Louisiana, Texas, Oregon & other territories through treaty or war

5. Reasons for Manifest Destiny
Changes in the early antebellum era ( ), encouraged westward expansion
Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the USA
Lewis & Clark’s expedition confirmed the economic possibility of western territory
The growth of “King Cotton” & commercial farming led to a desire for more western lands

6. Reasons for Manifest Destiny (continued)
Changes in the early antebellum era ( ), encouraged westward expansion:
The U.S. population grew 400%
The number of US states grew from 13 to 26
Western state populations exploded (Ohio’s population grew from 50,00 to 1.5 million

7. Indian Relations
Westward expansion brought conflict with Indians, such as the Black Hawk War, as trails disrupted hunting grounds & violated previous treaty agreements
The Treaty of Ft. Laramie created vast Indian Territory but was repeatedly ignored by whites expanding West

8. Map of Indian Removal

9. Motivations
The journey west was dangerous & unpredictable, yet thousands of Americans traveled along the Oregon, Santa Fe, & Mormon Trails
The earliest pioneers were fur traders, land speculators, & poor farmers looking for cheap farmland
Soon, hunters, miners, business owners, and religious groups flooded West

10. Westward Trails

11. Westward Trails
The Oregon Trail- Lead thousands of pioneers to the fertile lands of Oregon in the 1840s.
The Santa Fe Trail- Allowed U.S. to sell goods to the Spanish
The Mormon Trail- In 1830, Joseph Smith founded the “Mormon” Church of Latter-Day Saints in New York, but was persecuted & forced to move West; Joseph Smith’s murder forced the LDS leader, Brigham Young, to resettle in Salt Lake, Utah where he built a Mormon community