Impact of Westward Expansion during Jeffersons Presidency - Essay Example

? HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Impact of westward expansion during Jefferson’s presidencyThomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and served as the president from 1801 to 1809. He was the first president in United States to be inaugurated in Washington D.C. after moving the capital from Philadelphia in 1800. During the period of his presidency, he oversaw the largest westward expansion of land, the Barbary Wars, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the American Naval battles, and the Embargo Act of 18071. The greatest achievement of Jefferson in his first term as president was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 from France. The Louisiana Purchase was one of the leading land deals in history. The United States paid approximately $ 15 million dollars in 1803 for over 828, 000 square miles of land2. This act served as the main achievement in the period of Jefferson’s presidency (The Jefferson Monticello 6). The westward expansion of the land had several impacts on the Native Americans, the African Americans and the Americans as a whole. The Louisiana Purchase Thomas Jefferson purchased a large piece land from France that was referred to as the Louisiana Purchase. The land consisted of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, some parts of Minnesota to the south of Mississippi River, sections of Montana, Northern Texas, Kansas, Wyoming, and Louisiana on the either sides of River Mississippi as well as the city of New Orleans. There are several areas that are also included in the land Purchase. Before Jefferson purchased the land, United States had only thirteen states. The purchase of this piece of land almost doubled the size of the United States. There are various reasons why President Jefferson purchased land. The main reason was because the New Orleans was the main port for trade. The port was mainly used to store the export items and was also used for importing the goods coming from the other countries. However, the nation was under a constant threat of having the port taken away for trading purposes. For that reason therefore, President Jefferson thought that it would be wise and best for the country if he purchased it3. The plans of President Jefferson depended on the western expansion and access to the markets for the American products, especially the farm products. Due to the expansion, the new American settlements on the west of the Appalachian Mountain mainly depended on river transport in order to get their goods to the market because the overland trade to the east was very costly and impractical (The Jefferson Monticello 4). The impacts of westward expansion Baldwin asserts that even though the westward expansion was of vital importance, it also affected the Native Americans, African Americans, and the entire American society differently (41). America did not have New Orleans in 1800 which acted as the major factor to the economy of Mississippi valley as a whole. Most parts of North America were controlled by the European powers, Spain, France, England and Russia4. Another reason why Jefferson agreed with the Napoleon’s offer of selling Louisiana was to ensure that the United States of America dominated power in the northern part of the continent. The expansion had several impacts on the people. For instance, it caused difficulties in transportation, lowered economic level, increased racism and in the process; wars took place leading to destruction of property and loss of life. All individuals including the Native Americans, the African Americans and the American society as a whole experienced the impacts of the expansion. In general, all Americans were affected during the westward expansion. The effects of the westward expansion on Native Americans The Native Americans experienced various impacts due to westward expansion. For instance, social instability as most parents could not control their children because they thought they were big enough to be independent. They therefore left their families to seek the western land and start their own lives. Most of the settlers were mainly young men who migrated from the east at a very tender age5.  In addition, some Americans became under control of the power from other countries, including France, Russia, England Spain and Russia (Elman 7). The country went through a hard economic situation which led to high standards of living. For instance, the extended land had very poor economic stability. The Native Americans therefore feared that the political influence and profits of their businesses might decline. They also feared the rising cost of labor. The western expansion caused problems on the economy of the West. There were very limited means of transportation routes thus making it difficult for the people to get their products to the market. The over land transport was very expensive for the people therefore, the individuals who lived along the river managed to transport their products through Mississippi River which was very dangerous and risked their lives6. Furthermore, there was very great religious development that mirrored the changing society of the nation. The evangelical churches had the greatest time for rapid development in both the south and west. Certainly, due to high rate of socialization with the westerners the Native Americans lost their cultural practices as they were forced to adopt new ways of life. They also lost their ancestral land and community system to the new settlers as they were forced to relocate elsewhere in order to create space for the white settlers7. Effects of the westward expansion on African Americans The effects of western expansion had various effects on African Americans. They were mainly slaves in the land and the expansion meant that there was need for more slaves. Africans were sold from Africa to other countries mainly as slaves who worked in the farms for the whites. During the western expansion, the African Americans suffered so much because they were subjected to hard work in the farms8. More Africans were brought to the United States during this period and were subjected to inhumane conditions. There was a great problem of racism in the area during the period of the expansion (Cole 16). President Jefferson believed that the whites were more superior to the blacks intellectually. He therefore disregarded the blacks and paid much attention to the whites. The African Americans therefore, developed their own institutions in the north and were systematically excluded from the societies of the white. In addition, African churches developed in the communities and later led to the development of educational institutions. The impact of westward expansion on the American society as a whole During Jefferson’s presidency, there were major shifts in the American life that brought various issues. The main issue that emerged was the nature of the American government and society. The Federalists wanted to limit the suffrage of the participation of the ordinary man in politics. Jefferson reduced the size of the government and the taxes; he opened up the western land sales and ended the assaults on the free press (Baldwin 16). In addition, he promoted the central principles of the nation including the religious toleration, free speech and expanding the political participation9. He also had an idea of making the American society an agrarian society of independent farmers. Jefferson’s main focus was to expand the private realm of the individual initiative. Even though the Louisiana Purchase and the other western lands were meant to improve the American living conditions, the western expansion also led to the rise social stresses. For instance, young individuals left their homes at an early age in order to seek land that was available in the west. This made the western community to be totally unstable. In addition, the complex culturally different communities emerged10. The new regions made life very difficult because they were unstable in economic terms since transportation was difficult and complicated the shipping of produce. The westward expansion encouraged rapid development of the evangelical churches all over the region. This showed that there were uncertainties in the lives of people and absence of well established traditional controls. Additionally, the migration to the west caused trouble in the east by making people uneasy. For instance most families were unable to control their children as they did initially. The children considered their selves old enough to seek land for themselves leading to their migration despite of their parents warning. Moreover, the country was faced by several wars during the expansion in Jefferson’s presidency (Elman 19). When Jefferson’s took over the office, he was faced with the pasha of Tripoli that demanded a large tribute. Jefferson refused to pay the tribute and this led to war between Tripoli and America that lasted for four years11. During the westward expansion, there were several forces that affected both the Americans and the African Americans. President Jefferson did consider the Africans but regarded the whites as superior. This therefore led to the separation of the whites and the blacks. The blacks developed their own institutions separate from the whites. The Native Americans also had various effects due to the expansion. President Jefferson mainly purchased the land in order to improve the living standards of the Americans and to take control over North America. The land therefore was of great significance to the entire American society.     Bibliography Baldwin, Tamara. 2006. Jefferson and the press: Crucible of liberty. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 83, (4): 943-945. Retrieved on November 24th 2011 from http://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Press-Crucible-Jerry-Knudson/dp/1570036071#reader_1570036071 Cole, Shawn. 2005. Capitalism and freedom: Manumissions and the slave market in Louisiana, 1725-1820. The Journal of Economic History 65, (4): 1008-1027. Retrieved on November 24th 2011from http://www.people.hbs.edu/scole/webfiles/journals/01-manumission-jeh-2005.pdf Elman, Colin. 2004. Extending Offensive Realism: The Louisiana Purchase and America’s Rise to Regional Hegemony. The American Political Science Review 98, (4): 563-576. The Jefferson Monticello. The Louisiana Purchase. Retrieved on November 24th 2011 from http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/louisiana-purchase Read More