Reference no: EM133312152

Question 1. Although the United States never officially owned any colonies, it did add to its "coffers" treasures of additional land through conquest. Some of the 50 states that now comprise the United States of America were "acquired" first as territories by transactions that included not only treaties but outright warfare. What was "manifest destiny" and what role did it play in westward expansion during the 1840s? What were the consequences of American hunger for land for various groups of Native Americans as well as for countries such as Mexico? How were the ideas of manifest destiny used to justify what was sometimes violent expansionism? Why has manifest destiny left a "mixed legacy"? While the results of manifest destiny, of course, cannot be undone without undoing the nation as we know it, what are some lessons that could possibly be drawn? Support and explain your answer.

Question 2. The war with Mexico in the 1840s would have the unintended consequences of renewed disputes over slavery in the territories. How did the Compromise of 1850 attempt to settle the renewed disputes over slavery in the territories after land was acquired in warfare with Mexico? How had the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and Missouri Compromise of 1820 previously "settled" the issue of slavery in the territories? Why did the Compromise of 1850 unravel, leading to renewed crisis in the western territories and in the nation as a whole? What was containment? What was popular sovereignty? How did the events in "bleeding" Kansas in particular (e.g., Pottawatomie Creek, Sumner/Brooks affair, etc.) illustrate the failures of popular sovereignty?