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A Philadelphian's View of Westward Expansion

            I"d be more than happy to introduce myself to you. I am thirty years of age as of last week and I"m currently living in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my wife, Harriet. We have a place near the Delaware River which is not a long walk to my job at the shipbuilding company owned by a young African American named James Forten. My job is to carve blocks of wood into steering wheels. It may seem like a boring task, but I can't get many other jobs being an unskilled African American.
             My grandfather was the reason for me living as a free black. He was born into slavery, and at the age of eighteen, escaped with three other slaves and settled outside of Philadelphia. His companions were caught and killed, so he left his wife and three kids to head to Canada. Unfortunately we have never heard from anyone whether he made it or not. His father was brought to a plantation in Georgia from the Ivory Coast. I think it's safe to say that without my grandfather, James Brown, I"d just be another farmhand on a plantation picking cotton until my bloody hands could not pull anymore.
             Westward expansion, in my eyes, is not such a great idea. Maybe it means more money in the pockets of plantation owners, but that also means more African Americans to bear the pain of horrible working conditions, and I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Sectionalism is another thing that could cause problems later on. We"re supposed to be a united group of people, and how is a large division going to help us become one? Every night I pray that I won't have to go to war against the people of the south. It's ridiculous that slavery still exists in the first place. Being part of the Methodist church, I believe all people are created equal. The blood of people of our color is the same as the people who are taking a whip to our backs. If God will answer my cry, maybe one day my grandchildren won't have to go out into the world and be mistreated.


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2. Westward Expansion

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Westward Expansion The Affect on Native Americans Writer and historian Noel Ignatiev posed the question, "What is the role of westward expansion in American culture?" ... What was and is our belief about ourselves as we examine the westward expansion are both as enlightening as it is painful. ... Noel Ignatiev, "Noel Ignatiev on the role of westward expansion." ... Whether it was their land or their freedom, the whites considered themselves to be above them, and viewed them as something less than human. Americans of that time period justified their actions and behavior by viewing the Bla...

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6. Westward Expansion

Although there is a debate over whether Indian removal was necessary for westward expansion, I believe that due to the mind set of white settlers and other prominent American figures, such as Andrew Jackson, expansion would not, and could not have taken place without the removal of Native Americans. As expansion began, many tribes tried to adopt Anglo-American practices. ... The southwest tribes that felt the earliest effects of expansion were the Cherokees. ... The Cherokees felt the ever increasing tension of white expansion as the land hungry settlers squatted on Cherokee territory. ... The...

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8. Reconstruction

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