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Territorial Expansion Research Paper

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Territorial expansion revealed major disagreements within the United States, directly leading to the rise of sectional tensions. Americans had been gradually moving west since colonization, but in 1803 it nearly doubled in size with the Louisiana purchase. The Louisiana territory remained largely unsettled until after the War of 1812. The successful defence against British forces led to a surge of nationalism. This surge of nationalism led to the belief that America was destined to expand and spread democracy across the continent. This widespread belief became known as Manifest Destiny. Western expansion soon led to conflict when Missouri requested statehood. At the time slave states in the South and free states in the North were politically balanced at eleven states each. Missouri’s admission as a slave state would upset the delicate balance of power, giving slave states the majority in congress. This upset Northerners who had grown increasingly opposed to the institution of slavery. The Missouri compromise was made in 1820 to prevent further conflict. In this compromise, Missouri would be admitted to the union as a slave state and Maine would be admitted as a free state. …show more content…

The admission of California, a free state, into the union created a significant controversy because there was no slave state to maintain the balance of power. This led to the Compromise of 1850, in which California is admitted into the union as a free state. In turn, the territories of Utah and New Mexico were organized under popular sovereignty, meaning the people living in the territory would decide whether it would be a free state or slave state. The passing of stricter fugitive slave laws was also part of the compromise. This infuriated Northern abolitionists who felt they were being forced to support an immoral institution. This sparked many protests and furthered the abolitionist

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