Explain how westward expansion impacted American history Essay

Explain how westward expansion impacted American history - Essay Example However, the process turned to be violent due to the outbreak of the Mexican war. The Western expansion of America has some social, political and economic impact in the history of the country. Politically, the expansion to the west helped in spreading the American ideologies with major support of the Democratic Party. People moved to the western states of Kentucky and Tennessee where they survived under the ideologies of the Democratic Party that subjected great support to expansion (Billington and Martin 9). The early penetration of the Democratic Party in the areas towards the west of America confirms dominance of the party in the regions. The expansion also opened access of USA to the Atlantic and Pacific seas that linked America to other western countries like Mexico and Russia. Socially, the western expansion caused both positive and negative experiences. Positively, the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 that encouraged people apply free 160-acre plots in the western regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Hawaii among others, would see many Blacks from the South migrate to own lands alongside the white slave masters. Social justice and fairness began to appear as a reality to the Black community (Billington and Martin 18). Negatively, the western expansion broke and ruined social life of Native American tribes who constituted the great population in the western sides. The communities struggled to resist the expansion and triggering war that saw displacement and killing of many Indians. Economically, western ward expansion supported expeditious completion of the Transcontinental Railway system that would facilitate trade across America, running from east to west. According to Carlisle, the access to ports along Atlantic and Pacific oceans surrounding some of the regions bought and annexed as part of expansion boosted trade power of America (20). It was easy to access