Question

In your own words, consider the importance of westward expansion during the 1840s and 1850s and the California gold rush on the stability of the nation as a whole.

Answer 1

The Mexican-American War was a war of national aggression with a view to acquiring ground. It followed Texas' annexation in 1845, which Mexico considered their territory. The Texan Army won the San Jacinto War against Mexican forces in 1836, led by renowned general Santa Anna, and the Texas Republic proclaimed independence from Mexico. But Mexico had refused to recognize this action, and warned the U.S. that Mexico would wage war if it wanted to make Texas part of the U.S. Texas volunteered to enter the United States in 1845, and became the 28th county. This action prompted the United States to wage war on Mexico, beginning the Mexican-American War.

At the time, the battle was seen as a significant American victory over a hostile adversary, but the Mexican-American Battle was all but forgotten by history in the aftermath of the sectional turmoil of the Civil War. But the war had been critical in shaping the future of our country. This cemented the US notion of an expansionist, transcontinental empire. It fulfilled the Manifest Destiny dream of the country – establishing one country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It created the land that today is where many Americans live. And it led straight to the Gold Rush in California.

Many gold rushes occurred in North America, most notably the 1896 Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon Territory of Canada, but none were as important historically and culturally as the California Gold Rush. On average, the rush produced 76 tons of gold per annum. It was estimated that gold worth $550 million had been extracted by the end of the 1850s-around $187 billion in today's dollars. The gold rush ignited a large wave of Western United States growth and settlement. A paltry 2,700 immigrants had settled in California in the years previous to the Gold Rush. By 1854, there had settled over 300,000 colonists and many immigrants from other nations, some of them from as far as Australia and China.