Westward Expansion
Explain territorial expansion, Manifest Destiny, Indigenous removal, Mexican-American War, migration, and environmental change.
A lesson of US History, in Expansion, Reform, Civil War, and Reconstruction, about 10 minutes.
The Jacksonian Era and Westward Expansion
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe the political and social changes of the Jacksonian era, explain the ideology of "Manifest Destiny," and analyze the consequences of westward expansion for Native peoples, Mexican citizens, and enslaved people.
The Era of Good Feelings and Its Discontents
After the War of 1812, the country experienced a brief period of one-party rule (Democratic-Republican) under James Monroe — the "Era of Good Feelings." But beneath the surface, sectional tensions were building.
Missouri Compromise (1820): Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. Compromise:
- Missouri admitted as slave state; Maine admitted as free state (balance preserved in Senate)
- Slavery prohibited north of 36°30′ latitude in the Louisiana Territory
- Thomas Jefferson called it "a fire bell in the night" — warning of future catastrophe
Election of 1824: four Democratic-Republican candidates; no majority in Electoral College; House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams despite Andrew Jackson winning the popular vote. Jackson called it the "Corrupt Bargain."
Andrew Jackson and Jacksonian Democracy
Andrew Jackson (president 1829–1837): war hero (Battle of New Orleans, 1815); represented a new political style — the "common man" (specifically, white men without property now had the vote in most states).
Expansion of suffrage: property requirements for voting eliminated in most states by 1820s–1830s. White male universal suffrage. (Women, Black men, Native men — excluded.)
Spoils system: Jackson openly appointed political allies to government positions — "to the victor belong the spoils." Democratic in theory (rotation in office, not entrenched elite); corrupting in practice.
Bank War: Jackson opposed the Second Bank of the United States as a tool of elites and foreign interests. Vetoed its recharter (1832); removed federal deposits. The bank collapsed. Economic chaos followed (Panic of 1837).
Nullification Crisis (1832–1833): South Carolina declared federal tariff null and void within its borders. Jackson threatened military force; Henry Clay engineered a compromise tariff. But the crisis previewed the coming secession crisis.
Indian Removal
Indian Removal Act (1830): authorized the forced relocation of Native peoples east of the Mississippi to "Indian Territory" (present-day Oklahoma).
The Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole — had adopted many European-American cultural practices. The Cherokee had their own written constitution, newspaper (), and government.