Documenting United States History

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214 ChaPTer 9 | expansionism: part 1 | period Four 180 0 –1848 ToPIC I | expansion, Compromise, and Conflict^215

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hroughout the first half of the nineteenth century, US policy makers
sought to expand American power both internally and abroad. Many
American citizens supported this expansion in hopes of expanding their
markets and opportunities to exploit land and resources west of the Mis-
sissippi River. Many other Americans dissented from these plans and felt
that American expansion threatened to provoke internal conflicts and erode the
universal human rights that were described in the Declaration of Independence.
As expansion continued westward, the debate over the fate of enslaved Amer-
icans became increasingly heated. American policy makers and citizens debated
the expansion of slavery into new territories, especially because if slavery was
allowed in a new territory, it would become a slave state with corresponding
power in Congress. Compromises over the expansion of slavery proved success-
ful in the first half of the nineteenth century but became increasingly difficult
toward the middle of the century.

Seeking the Main Point


As you read the documents that follow, keep these broad questions in mind. These
questions will help you understand the relationship between the documents in
this chapter and the historical changes that they represent. As you reflect on these
questions, determine which themes and which documents best address them.


What were some of the reasons behind American expansion westward?
What were some of the debates that it inspired? In what ways did these
debates manifest themselves?


How did economic and environmental factors influence American
expansionism?

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