Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848–1877

Newspaper articles commenting on economic benefits and perceived superiority of European-derived civilization.

Photographs depicting the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Novels romanticizing the yeoman farmer ideal.

Census data showing population growth in urban areas.

Limiting immigration to sustain resources for existing settlers

Continued westward expansion and territorial acquisition

Equalizing power between North and South through new state admissions

Upholding treaties with Native American tribes

Plantation agriculture

Market farming

Mercantilism

Industrial capitalism

Jefferson's Empire, 1820

Matthew Perry, 1853

James K. Polk, 1844

John L. O’Sullivan, 1845

Cultural exchanges among different Native American tribes before European contact.

Military strategies employed during conflicts between European powers in early America.

Economic theories influencing trade policies between northern and southern states pre-Civil War.

Personal challenges faced and optimism about opportunities linked with westward movement.

American Civil War.

Spanish-American War.

World War I.

Mexican-American War.

A moral duty to extend democracy and liberty throughout the continent.

American expansion across the continent is preordained by divine providence.

The necessity of military conquests to protect America from European intervention.

The need to establish economic trade routes for national prosperity.

It influenced the development of industrial centers in the East.

It led to increased legislative focus on Native American affairs.

It spurred further westward expansion and settlement efforts.

It encouraged the spread of slavery into newly acquired territories.

The enactment of the Homestead Act in 1862, facilitating western migration

The discovery of gold in California in 1848, initiating the Gold Rush

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803, expanding U.S. territory significantly

The inauguration of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869

Both acquisitions were directly related to increasing American agricultural production.

Both were primarily motivated by a need for economic competition with European powers.

Each event was driven by a desire to expand slavery.

Both acts represented an extension of U.S power in keeping with their period’s understanding of America’s destined role on the continent/world stage.