Western Expansion of the U.S.
Western Expansion of the U.S.International borders have always been centers of conflict, and
the U.S.-Mexican border is no exception. With the European colonizing
the New World, it was a matter of time before the powers collided. The
Spanish settled what is today Mexico, while the English settled what
is to day the United States. When the two colonial powers did meet
what is today the United States� Southwest, it was not England and
Spain. Rather the two powers were the United States and Mexico. Both
Counties had broken off from their mother countries. The conflict that
erupted between the two countries where a direct result of different
nation policies. The United States had a policy of westward expansion,
while Mexico had a policy of self protection. The Americans never had
a written policy of expansion. What they had was the idea of "Manifest
Destiny." Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States had
the right to expand westward to the Pacific ocean. On the other hand,
Mexico was a new country wanting to protect itself from outside
powers. Evidence of U.S. expansion is seen with the independence of
Texas from Mexico. The strongest evidence of U.S. expansion goals is
with the Mexican-American War. From the beginning, the war was
conceived as an opportunity for land expansion. Mexico feared the
United States expansion goals.
During the 16th century, the Spanish began to settle the region.
The Spanish had all ready conquered and settled Central Mexico. Now
they wanted to expand their land holdings north. The first expedition
into the region, that is today the United States Southwest, was with
Corando. Corando reported a region rich in resources, soon after
people started to settle the region. The driving force behind the
settlement was silver in the region. The Spanish settled the region
through three major corridors; central, western and eastern. The first
settlements were mainly through the central corridor. The Spanish went
thorough what is now the modern Mexican state of Chihuahua into the
U.S. state of New Mexico. Eventually the Spanish established the city
of Santa Fe in 1689. The eastern corridor was through modern day Texas
and led to the establishment of San Antonio. The eastern expansion was
caused by the French expansion into modern day Louisiana. The Spanish
crown wanted a buffer between the French in Louisiana and central
Mexico. The last corridor of expansion was in the west, through the
sea, which led to the establishment of San Diego in 1769 and Los
Angles in 1781.
The Spanish were not the only European power to colonize the new
world; French, English and the Dutch also settled North and South
America. The Spanish and the French settled what is present day
U.S.-Mexico border region. The French settled modern day U.S. midwest,
while the Spanish settled present day Mexico and U.S. southwest. As
time went on, European influence in the region diminished.. The...
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