Expansionists

Expansionists in general:

-believed in extending ‘freedom’

-Manifest Destiny

-God wanted them to have the land

-usually a ‘smoke screen’ for hiding the want to expand slavery

-Wanted land: California, Texas, Oregon

-many expansionists blamed the post-1837 depression on the U.S. not acquiring markets for its agriculture surplus, having California and Oregon could solve problem

-Many expansionists thought that with expansion agriculture could grow and protect democracy

-believed that industrialization was the cause for social strife

-with more land, farmers would have more opportunity and have access to foreign markets

-would open up economic opportunity for the common people

Thomas Jefferson:

-expansion would favor the common people

-believed that that it was the American people’s right to displace uncivilized or European people from the path of their westward movement

-feared that overexpansion would possibly create an ungovernable empire

-Jefferson proposed an indefinite restriction on the settlement of Louisiana

-later expansionists believed that with the development of the telegraph and railroads, the problem of distance was no longer

-wanted to avoid dividing the country

James K. Polk:

-known for sharing same opinions as Andrew Jackson

-shared Jackson’s views on tariffs and internal improvements

-believed that Texas should be added to