The Westward Movement: Impact On Nationalism And Democracy

The Westward Movement had a big impact on nationalism and democracy. Nationalism is a feeling of patriotism, or pride in one’s country in a way. The westward expansion promoted the “ideal” of a pioneer as a pure and true American and the regular man as the “embodiment” of a democracy. This meant that every person had the same rights, the same opportunities and they hall had a right to vote and impact greatly the decisions of our government. The only group of people that were not treated this way or fairly at all were the African Americans. African Americans were not considered human beings, they were considered “stock”, “cattle”, or more famously known as “Slaves.” In old days if enough people moved into a certain territory, that territory
Most died because of the conditions they were in. The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between France and the United States, where the United States received 827,000 square miles of land to the west of the Mississippi for $15,000,000 dollars. This made the Indians move more to the west. The Oregon Treaty was a treaty that set the United States and the British North American border at the 49th parallel with the exception of Vancouver Island, which was later claimed by the British. The Mexican Cession was very important and very significant. The Mexican cession was the historical name for the southwestern area of the United States that Mexico ceded (to give up) to the United States in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. All three of these land acquisitions had major impacts on Native Americans. The most major impact of the Westward Expansion was the election of Andrew Jackson as our president. This was major because he was from the west and he was a democrat. He was often known as a “Self-described champion of the common man.” The Westward Expansion also greatly strengthened the Democratic Party. This helped us move even further to the