US Settlement after 1848 5-16-25

The US needed settlers to move west to secure their expanded territory after 1848 to discourage attempts by Britton to move South. Incentives to move West included land ownership. This required that settlers make the trip in covered wagons and took months. 

After 1848, following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States acquired a vast amount of land from Mexico, expanding its territory significantly westward. This land, known as the Mexican Cession, included present-day states like California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Additionally, the treaty established the Rio Grande as the border between the US and Mexico. 

Elaboration:

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: This treaty, signed in February 1848, officially ended the Mexican-American War. 

Mexican Cession: The US acquired approximately 525,000 square miles of land, encompassing a large portion of what is now the southwestern United States. 

Rio Grande as Border: The treaty also established the Rio Grande as the official boundary between the US and Mexico. 

Expansion to the Pacific: The acquisition of this territory extended the United States' borders to the Pacific Ocean. 

Subsequent Acquisitions: While the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a major expansion, the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 further acquired a small portion of land from Mexico for a southern transcontinental railroad. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=us+settlement+after+1848

There was a Common Vision operating in the US during this population expansion. But the Slavery Issue that festered in the 1830s was about to split the US. The newly won Territories after 1848, would include large agricultural areas and when these Territories were converted to States, the Slaveholding Western States would side with the Slave Owing South. Congress had been split into Slave vs Free since 1776.

When Abraham Lincoln won the Presidency in 1860, he knew it was time to address the Slavery Issue. The Southern States began to form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln was careful to ensure that the Confederacy fire the first shot. The Civil War ended in 1865. Slaves were freed and some became “sharecroppers” and others moved North.

In 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was complete to make resettlement easier and faster. The US population in 1869 was estimated to be around 38.5 million residents. The US population in 1880 was 50,189,209. The Common Vision that prompted settling the West was completed.

 Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader