Tag Archives: 1840s

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Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

Flag of the California Republic, which broke away from Mexico during the US-Mexican War.

Flag of the California Republic, which broke away from Mexico during the US-Mexican War.

During the 1840s, the United States continued its expansion westward. This brought the US into conflict with other nations, particularly Mexico but also Britain (during the settlement of the boundary between Oregon and Canada as well as Maine and Canada). Americans did not all agree on the the means or reasons for expansion, particularly with geographic expansion threatened to include an expansion of slavery. Below are some examples of the range of opinions on expansion in general, the nature of this expansion, and the means by which the United States acquired territory.
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Women’s Rights: The Seneca Falls Declaration

The Seneca Falls Conference of 1848, held in New York, is often considered the launching point for the women’s movement in the United States. Women–despite legal and economic restrictions and oppression–were a driving force in many of the social reform movements of the time such as the abolition and temperance movements. Their drive for greater political, legal, and economic freedom, including the right to vote has been arduous.
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