Manifest+Destiny-AS

Most emigrants, like the majority of Americans believed in Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the idea that the nation was meant to spread to the pacific. Latecomers to the midwest set their sights on California and Oregon, even though some nations already claimed parts of these lands. California was a frontier province of Mexico. Because few Mexicans wanted to live in California, the local government welcomed foreign settlers. By the 1840s, several east-to-west routes had been carved, including the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. United Sates promised that the defined territories would belong to the Native Americans forever. White settlers still streamed across the plains, however, provoking Native American hostility.



Resource: The American Vision: Modern Times Pg. 104 AS