Manifest Destiny and its role on Natives, Africans, and Mexicans from 1776 to 1861
1. Manifest Destiny: the idea that the U.S. government had the responsibility of claiming as much U.S. territory as possible.
1.1. Natives
1.1.1. Andrew Jackson's vision was for the natives to be secluded. He thought that they were incapable of surviving among the white Americans, and that their chances of prosperity would be greater if they were in a designated, closed off area.
1.1.1.1. Indian Removal Act (1830): The policy that would allow the U.S. to forcefully remove natives from their homeland. The government did this by tricking/coercing nations to sign treaties and fighting wars.
1.1.1.2. Trail of tears (1838): The forceful removal of Indians from their homelands. This event caused many deaths, because of the whites' brutality during wars and during the march itself.
1.1.1.3. These policies and military actions resulted in the natives loosing almost all of their land and massive number of native deaths.
1.2. Mexico
1.3. Mexico has a hard time protecting it's borders as the U.S. tries to expand..
1.3.1. U.S. Mexico war: (1846-1848) The U.S. fights Mexico over land, and claims most of the south west.
1.3.1.1. 75,000 Mexicans left in now American land. Those Mexicans were forced to chose between U.S. or American citizenship. After one year, those who did not decide were made American citizens.
1.3.1.1.1. Mexicans become "second class citizens", lose property rights and rights of their land.
1.3.1.1.2. Neither Mexico or the U.S. claimed these people. Their culture, language, and religion, as well as their presence begins to be erased from the American historical context.
2. Africans
2.1. Issues of whether slavery should be outlawed arise, causing the north and south to engage in a civil war.
2.1.1. Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Abolishes slavery in 1863. Lincoln advises that blacks abstain form violence and work hard to earn their pay.
2.1.1.1. Lincoln states that blacks will be protected by the navy and army, and they will also be allowed to enter the navy or army. He advises them to work hard and abstain from violence.