Research Paper

  Territorial Expansion - Research Paper  

\During the U.S historical time, many events took in the mid colonial days before and after the U.S Revolutionary war. One of the successful events Americans triumph was Territorial Expansion, during the Louisiana Purchase and War with Mexico.


     The Purchase of Louisiana was purchase by Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon, the France leader. During the France Revolution, Napoleon sold Louisiana territory to the U.S during the war between Russia, Europe, Britain, Haiti, and France. When the land was owned by the Americans, the population started to increase and people started to spread out more around the Mid West and the West Coast.The idea of Territorial Expansion encourage follow Americans to explored new land and over take lands from the Native Americans and the Mexicans. For instance, According to Britannica Online Encyclopedia, "On May 9, 1846, Polk began to prepare a war message to Congress, justifying hostilities on the grounds of Mexican refusal to pay U.S. claims and refusal to negotiate with Slidell. That evening he received word that Mexican troops had crossed the Rio Grande on April 25 and attacked Taylor’s troops, killing or injuring 16 of them. In his quickly revised war message—delivered to Congress on May 11—Polk claimed that Mexico had “invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil.”" From the incident, America and Mexico started war.

 

      The Americans and Mexicans governments wanted to protect and give the best interest for their people. According to PBS.org /Kera/usmexicowar, it states that "Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico, went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the war's end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power."

        During the Louisiana Purchase era, Thomas Jefferson wanted to gain lands by buying the land and not to go through conflicts to gain the lands. According the United States text book on page 209 it states that, "Jefferson reasoned that he could avoid war by offering to buy New Orleans from the French. When James Monroe and Robert Livingston, the American minister in France, approached Napoleon, they found him surprising receptive." Napoleon was at war with other European nations and with Russia. Napoleon sold Louisiana territory to the U.S government (Thomas Jefferson) for $15 million to support his troops into battle.

    During the American Revolutionary war,  America was influenced by Haiti's Revolutionary war against the French Emperor Napoleon to gain independence and freedom from the French. During this era, slaves in America were being oppressed by their slaves masters to prevent similar acts that the Haitians did to the French Empire. According to the United States Text on page 209, it states that "Napoleon's imperial plans had been foiled by slaves rebels in caribbean colony of Saint  Domingue, which is now Haiti."  " Without that army to occupy Louisiana, and needing money to fight the British, Napoleon decided to sell all of Louisiana Territory."