Key Concept 4.3 - The U.S. interest in increasing foreign trade and expanding its national borders shaped the nation's foreign policy and spurred government and private initiatives.
- How did the U.S. seek to control the Americas?
- How did westward expansion cause tensions over slavery?
How did the U.S. seek to control the Americas?
After the Louisiana purchase, America started to try to control the west. This was first seen with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which tried to map out the North American continent. They had also engaged in armed conflicts such as the Aroostook war with Britain to settle border conflicts in Maine. Another armed conflict was that of the Indian Removal Acts. This was used to force Native Americans out of supposed U.S. territory. One big way they tried to exert control over the Americas was through the Monroe Doctrine. This warned Europeans to not approach the Americas, establishing the U.S. as the controlling power in the Western Hemisphere. This in turn also promised to keep the U.S. out of European affairs.
Further expansion into the West was strongly supported by frontier settlers. Many of these people had wanted more land for farming specifically. However, they had to contest Natives for their land. In this time, multiple native conflicts emerged, such as the Black Hawk War and the Seminole Wars.
An important expression of American control is the rise of nativism in American culture. From this era on, American culture greatly uses racist, anti-catholic, or other justifications to suppress foreign and non anglo-saxon cultures. In this period, this can be seen through the the Know-Nothing Party, which was created to resist Irish immigration into the U.S.
How did westward expansion cause tensions over slavery?
Due to Cotton plantations damaging land greatly, the Southern plantation owners looked to expand westward for more land. With westward movement of plantations past the Appalachians, slavery was brought with it into the new territories. In the North, there was growing antislavery sentiments, such as those by William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. Despite 3/4 of the Southern population not owning slaves, there were arguments made supporting slavery, like John C. Calhoun's argument that slavery is a "positive good."
In light of this expansion and controversies over the institution of slavery, the government tried to patch it up and create national unity with the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise had admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, and drew a line which slavery and free states would be determined. This only held the nation together temporarily. A critic of this was Jefferson, which argued that drawing a geographical line for slavery will only split the nation further. This prediction by Jefferson evidently turned out to be correct.