VUS.6b - Political Results of Territorial Expansion

The student will apply social science skills to understand major events in Virginia and United States history during the first half of the nineteenth century by

b) describing the political results of territorial expansion;

The continental United States was established through international diplomacy and warfare.

Following the War of 1812, the United States and Britain agreed, through treaty, to establish the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and Canada along the Louisiana Territory. It was later extended to the Pacific following the acquisition of the Oregon Territory from Britain in 1846. Florida was acquired by the United States through a treaty with Spain in 1819.

To protect America’s interests in the Western Hemisphere, the Monroe Doctrine was issued. The Monroe Doctrine (1823) stated the following: 

 The American continents should not be considered for future colonization by any European powers. 

 Nations in the Western Hemisphere were inherently different from those of Europe (i.e., they were republics by nature rather than monarchies). 

 The United States would regard as a threat to its own peace and safety any attempt by European powers to impose their system on any independent state in the Western Hemisphere. 

 The United States would not interfere in European affairs.

American migration into Texas led to an armed revolt against Mexican rule and a battle at the Alamo, in which a band of Texans fought to the last man against a vastly superior Mexican force. The Texans’ eventual victory over Mexican forces subsequently brought Texas into the United States.

The American victory in the Mexican War during the 1840s led to the acquisition of an enormous territory that included the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico.