PW - Mexican-American War/Manifest Destiny Lesson

Mexican-American War/Manifest Destiny

The era of Manifest Destiny was pivotal in American History. The nation was growing and people continued to expand westward. Many felt that it was not only the right of the United States to do so, but a predetermined destiny that the nation would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Without this expansion, the United States would be a much smaller nation geographically, and likely much less powerful.

Of course, expanding into new territories meant displacing and conquering people that were already there. Although much of the West was not densely populated, it was the home to hundreds of thousands of American Indians. In the end, they would lose control of their lands. In addition, much of the Southwest was Mexican Territory. Settlers in Texas would rebel in 1836 and form their own nation. In 1846, after Texas was annexed by the United States, war would break out between the U.S. and Mexico with the United States gaining about half of Mexico's territory from this conflict.

View the presentation on Manifest Destiny below and read this information on the Mexican-American War from Boundless Links to an external site..

 

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