America’s westward expansion: the growth years

By Gene Pisasale 
Real Clear Wire

“Go West young man – and grow up with the country.” – New York Tribune Editor Horace Greeley

After the 13 colonies were firmly and independently established, the North American continent became a magnet for people all around Europe who were seeking a better life. Although the Appalachian Mountains were initially considered a “barrier” to migration, that quickly changed as thousands of settlers ventured westward to explore unsettled land and potential wealth. 

President Thomas Jefferson was so enthusiastic about expansion, he made the biggest real estate deal in American history: the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. More than doubling the size of the United States, he spent $15 million in adding roughly 530,000,000 acres to the nation for a bargain- approximately 2.8 cents an acre. That deal was a catalyst for decades of movement in what many deemed the inevitable expansion of America’s boundaries.

In a country with wide expanses of forests, hundreds of free-flowing rivers, and virtually untouched mineral deposits, expansion was an activity hard to resist. It was journalist John O’Sullivan who is credited with popularizing the phrase “manifest destiny” in describing this movement across the continent, which he felt was predestined to occur because we had been blessed with righteous beliefs and a system of government which encouraged growth and development. What initially seemed a reasonable activity over the decades later highlighted some serious problems: 1) overrunning Native American lands and 2) the inexorable expansion of slavery. The first issue was a recurring one from centuries before, the second a growing concern as the abhorrent practice caused violent conflicts across the nation.

Members of Congress also caught the fever. John Quincy Adams arranged the Treaty of 1818 which established the border between British holdings in North America and the United States as far as the Rocky Mountains. The next year he negotiated the Transcontinental Treaty, transferring Florida from Spain to the United States, extending the border with Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. By 1840, almost 7 million people had crossed the Appalachians to find a new life.

With western expansion came heated arguments regarding the spread of slavery. Widely supported in the southern states due to their largely agrarian economy, the practice was not widely practiced in the North due to its greater focus on manufacturing and industry. When Texas was made a state in 1845, many citizens in the North were concerned about the spread of slavery to the nation’s newest member. 

The Mexican-American War (1846-48) and the subsequent Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the U.S. an enormous swath of territory, from New Mexico and Arizona to Nevada, California, Colorado and up through Wyoming- all areas which could potentially be friendly to slavery. The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill outside Sacramento set off a wild rush to California, an event described vividly in Pennsylvania author Bayard Taylor’s book, Eldorado, or Adventures in the Path of Empire.  That region was yet another where the horrific practice might gain support.

Abolitionists around the country saw this alarming trend and tried to stop it wherever possible. The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, but also introduced the idea that each state might debate the issue on its own. However, the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 mandated that people assist in the capture of escaped slaves- a law which enraged abolitionists. A few years later, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed those two states to settle the issue, leading to horrible clashes between slave owners and abolitionists, bringing the phrase “bleeding Kansas” into our vocabulary.

In 1859, John Brown was so outraged, he led an armed revolt against the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry due to his vehement opposition to slavery. He was put on trial, convicted and hanged for his crimes, helping to create a line in a popular song: “John Brown’s body lies a-moldering in the grave … but his soul goes marching on…” Citizens around the country could see that the two issues – western expansion and slavery- were together a volatile catalyst which might cause the nation to destroy itself.

The presidential election of 1860 brought Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. His views on slavery were perceived by many slave owners as a direct threat to their livelihoods. Just five months later, the explosion finally occurred: shots were fired upon Federal Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War had begun. It would take four years of horrendously bloody conflict and the loss of 600,000 lives (a stunning two per cent of the population, equivalent to more than 6 million people today) to formally decide one of these issues. Yet the other one – western expansion – remained.

In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward made a great acquisition, adding the Alaska Territory to the United States. Initially dubbed “Seward’s Folly,” the region would prove itself as a tremendous asset in later decades. 

By the late 19th century, western expansion had played a role in bringing both outstanding economic growth and horrible tragedies to America. Territories added to the Union between 1803 and 1867 supplied enormous amounts of gold, silver, industrial ores, timber, petroleum, natural gas, incredibly rich farmland and other resources which fueled America’s rise to the top rank of nations. In his outstanding book, "What Hath God Wrought - the Transformation of America," 1815-48, Daniel Walker Howe describes the development of railroads and the telegraph which dramatically improved the nation’s economy and the standard of living in America for farmers, shop owners, manufacturers, merchants and everyone in between, creating a new landscape for growth and achievement.

The trend didn’t stop there. Dwight Eisenhower’s Administration in 1959 made Alaska a state – and added Hawaii as well, completing the flag with the 50 stars we all know today, the banner itself a testament to the relentless pursuit of excellence and expansion which made America a world power.

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. His 12 books focus mostly on the history of the Chester County/mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s most recent work is “Sandy Flash and the Trail of History”, showcasing the fascinating people, places and events of this region over more than 300 years. His books are available on his website at www.GenePisasale.com and also on www.Amazon.com. Gene can be reached via e-mail at Gene@GenePisasale.com.

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