How did Manifest Destiny affect America?
Manifest Destiny was the idea of America expanding and moving west. People wanted to move west for cheaper land and large areas of land. Many families moved west along the Oregon trail. The idea of Manifest Destiny spread the United States all the way to the west Coast. However, Manifest Destiny also had some negative side effects. A major con was the removal, often causing starvation and death, of American Indians east of the Mississippi. Also, the methods of travel like the Oregon trail and sea voyages were often unsafe and unpleasant. The good news is that lots of new transportation methods came out of this, namely the transcontinental railroad! —– Overall, the 3 main effects: 1. Expansion–America established its continental boundaries from the East to West coasts (Texan-Mexican war, Louisiana and Gadsden Purchases) 2. Indian removal–the Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized deportation of all American Indians east of the Mississippi to western reservations and ‘Indian territory’, leading to starvation, sickness, and death. Indian tribes never really came back well after this. 3. New transportation methods–namely the Transcontinental Railroad, built by two railroad companies the Central Pacific (started laying track in California) and the Union Pacific (started laying track in Nebraska) which met in Promontory Point, Utah.