Reasons For Westward Expansion

During the 19th century, westward expansion was becoming a possibility for the North and South regions of the United States. The North and South’s economy relied on two completely different industries: manufacturing and agriculture. Their work force was made up of two different people groups: immigrants and slaves. Both regions wanted to expand westward for different reasons. The South wanted to expand their economic power west. Northerners feared the expansion of southern agriculture west would bring more slave states. However, neither side knew whether or not slavery would be allowed in the western territories. As events like the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, and “Bleeding Kansas” and John Brown’s raid took place,

The North dominated the manufacturing industry and the South dominated the agricultural industry. The North contained half of the “manufacturing establishments in the country in 1860” and “produced more than two-thirds of the manufactured goods.” The South had “cotton production [booming] in the lower South” and “cotton constituted nearly two-thirds of the total export of trade in the United States.” The amount of labor required to keep up with southern agriculture would require a continuous workforce. The North had a continuous cheap workforce themselves: immigrants. About 2.5 million immigrants from Europe came to America in the 1850s. Because “few immigrants settled in the South,” the South didn’t have a continuous workforce. The South had to depend on slaves for their workforce. Even though the South had a great advantage of agricultural economic control, they had to depend greatly on the North for manufacturing because of their poor transportation. When the option of westward expansion came to be, the South could see it as an opportunity to expand their agricultural economy to make up for their dependence on northern manufacturing. However, the North realized the danger of the South wanting to expand westward. The South’s economic power could grow and with their agriculture, would also come their slaves, but would slavery be allowed

Both regions wanted to try and gain another state, so both sides took to create a government within the territory. Pro-slavery southern settlers held an election that legalized slavery, but anti-slavery northern settlers wouldn’t have it and held their own election, abolishing slavery and then petitioned for statehood. However, they were denied statehood by Congress and were seen as traitors. Federal marshals were sent to arrest them, but they fought back causing both sides to fire at each other. This event was known as “Bleeding Kansas” and showed that either side was willing to kill and die for their cause. This awakened the eyes of Americans and showed the true separation of the North and South. There was no going back. These two regions were no longer fighting for the preservation of the United States, they were fighting to tear their own people apart. There was a clear distinction between the goals of the North and the goals of the South. They did not want to work together. They only wanted political domination for their