Introduction

Overview

What was Westward Expansion?

Westward Expansion refers to the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, lasting roughly from 1787-1880. During the 19th century, the United States gained a million square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. This land was acquired through purchases, treaties, and war. During this time, Americans moved West seeking land, adventure, riches, and new opportunities. This new frontier would become an important factor that shaped early American life.

Although the term “Westward Expansion” is common, not all settlers moved west during this time period. People migrated north from Mexico, east from China, and enslaved African Americans were forced to move from the Upper South to the Deep South.

In addition, this time period was not considered “expansion” by everyone. Indigenous people had been living in North America for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. The movement of white settlers onto their land was seen as invasion and dispossession. Mexican Americans similarly saw the movement of settlers as an “invasion” rather than an “expansion.”

As with all history, multiple perspectives are necessary. Weighing the perspective with today's values is also a challenging task. Hopefully, we as stewards of American History can carefully navigate those perspectives while keeping in mind that the people who lived during those times, and the events that took place, whether aligned or unaligned to today's values, have a significant and meaningful place in United States History. We can learn from our past, and continually progress as the U.S. Constitution Preamble states as, "a more perfect union", or we can erase our history because its too painful or doesn't conform to our values. The choice should be clear. We should learn from our past, never to repeat it, and make the United States, the more perfect union, but to understand from whence we came, we need to investigate and study the people and events of the past.

Welcome to the Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion Webquest!

This webquest will allow you answer the questions associated with the concept of Manifest Destiny and the positive and negative aspects of U.S. Westward Expansion.