Period 5

As the American economy and population exploded, a nationalist movement for territorial expansion swept the nation. This movement centered on the idea that the United States was destined to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; this idea is called “Manifest Destiny”. While Manifest Destiny united the nation towards a common goal, it also strained relations with Great Britain, who claimed lands in the territories of Oregon and catalyzed a war with Mexico. But while the nation’s territory grew, so did the tensions between the Northern states and the Southern states. The tension centered on the extension of slavery- an abomination and barrier to economic growth to many Northerners, and a necessary institution to Southerners. This tension soon led to the Civil War, which left 600,000 dead, the South decimated, and the Northern states in control. Radical Republicans fought to subdue institutional discrimination in the South while Southerners fought to secure social norms and hierarchies- mainly through the suppression of civil rights of blacks. Radical Republicans fought to remake the South economically, politically, and socially subdued while Southerners fought to secure the social norms and hierarchies- mainly through the suppression of civil rights of the blacks. By 1877, the South had successfully reestablished white supremacy, delaying significant changes for African-Americans for another seventy years. © Apprend, Inc