Manifest Destiny

When the United States became their own nation, they began the idea of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the idea that the United States was bound to expand its borders from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Expanding these borders would be rewarding, but dangerous because the land in this area was all already claimed. The Native Americans were already living in most parts of the western territories. Mexico had claims on Texas, and Britain owned the Oregon Territory. Although expansion was difficult, it continued as Manifest Destiny would prove to be true. Four major territories were added to the United States in order for this to happen. They were the Louisiana territory, the area now known as Texas, the Oregon territory, and what we now call California.
In 1800, the French were ruled by Napoleon. They had many debts to pay due to their war in Europe. To help pay for these debts they needed to sell some of their land. The United States was able to buy the land called the Louisiana Territory for only fifteen million dollars. For the quality of the land and the time period this amount of money was no match for the Louisiana Territory. It was as if the French were giving the United States their land. This land west of the Mississippi doubled the size of the United States. The people who already lived in this area were given United States citizenship. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark went out on an expedition to explore this new territory. Along with them came a Native American pregnant woman named Sacagawea. She was imperative to their exploration. She helped them find food, and she saved our most valuable equipment when a boat turned over along the way. She also helped us befriend her native Indian tribe, whom could of easily ended the Lewis and Clark expedition.