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Question

Difficulty: EasyManifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

“The rapid extension of our settlements over our territories as they have been acquired has been a subject of pride and congratulation... The expansion of our Union is the expansion of free principles and self-government, which are destined to spread over the entire continent.”

— President James K. Polk, Message to Congress, 1845

The ideas expressed in the excerpt were most directly used to justify which of the following developments?

  1. The territorial acquisition of the Oregon Country and the annexation of TexasAnswer
  2. B
    The expansion of the factory system during the early Market Revolution
  3. C
    The passage of the Dawes Severalty Act to preserve Native American tribal land rights
  4. D
    The implementation of popular sovereignty to give the federal government direct control over the expansion of slavery

Answer

The territorial acquisition of the Oregon Country and the annexation of Texas
The correct answer is correct because President James K. Polk's statement represents the core beliefs of Manifest Destiny—the conviction that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its territory, democratic institutions, and culture across North America. This ideology served as the primary justification for the major territorial additions of the 1840s, including the annexation of Texas in 1845 and the acquisition of the Oregon Country from Great Britain in 1846.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical source and identify its core ideology.
The quote by President Polk in 1845 expresses pride in territorial expansion and asserts that American principles are destined to spread over the entire continent, which is the definition of Manifest Destiny.
Understanding the ideological context of the source allows the student to link it to the correct historical events of the era.
2
Match the identified ideology to the correct mid-nineteenth-century historical developments.
Manifest Destiny directly motivated the United States' acquisition of the Oregon Country and the annexation of Texas in the mid-1840s.
This step connects the conceptual belief (Manifest Destiny) to its practical, historical outcomes during Polk's presidency.

Key Concept

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

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