Western Expansion and Manifest Destiny

Reasons for Westward Migration

• Transportation Revolution: Allowed passage into new areas.
• Market Revolution: Resulted in poverty and unemployment, pushing people to move West.
• Horace Greeley (1841): Urged Americans to move to the countryside for better opportunities.

Safety Valve Theory

• Idea that Western migration would reduce societal pressure in the East.
• A solution for overcrowded cities and socio-economic issues.

Manifest Destiny

• Term Coined by John O'Sullivan (1845): Belief that American expansion was justified and inevitable.
• Geographical Scope: At least all land between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
• Religious Motive: Seen as fulfilling a divine American destiny.

Influences on Manifest Destiny

• Religious Fervor: Belief in a divine mandate to expand.
• Puritan Roots: Inspired by John Winthrop’s idea of a “City upon a Hill.”
• Practical Reasons: Natural resources, national strength, and defensive advantages.
• Racial Motivation: Seen as a divine right of white Americans to civilize new territories.

Political Views on Expansion

• Jacksonian Democrats and Southerners
  • Pro-expansion
  • Supported the spread of slavery
• Whigs
  • Anti-expansion
  • Focused on internal improvements (roads, canals, and railroads)

The Oregon Trail

• Key Risks: Life and limb during migration.
• Activities: Play the Oregon Trail game to understand the challenges faced by settlers.

Reflective Questions

• Why did people risk traveling the Oregon Trail?
• What was Manifest Destiny?