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The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of imperial rights to the western half of the Mississippi River basin from France by the United States in 1803. The deal granted the United States the sole authority to obtain the land from its indigenous inhabitants, either by contract or by conquest.
This answers the question because it brought the issue of Indian sovereignty into question and removed many tribes from their established lands east of the Mississippi River -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase.
This answers the question because in the half-century after the Lewis and Clark expedition helped open the West to white settlement, Native Americans were removed to reservations, ravaged by disease and poverty, and forced to abandon language, religion and culture. Therefore it was inevitable. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. This answers the question because the War of 1812 created a lasting impact on several tribes whose communities were involved. For Native Americans, the War of 1812 created Indian heroes, established historic places, and dispossessed ancient home areas. Therefore, the expansion was inevitable. -
The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. This answers the question because more than 4,000 Native Americans died on the journey because of disease, starvation, and exposure to extreme weather. This made the expansion inevitable. -
The Trail of Tears
In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. This answers the question because it was estimated that the five tribes lost 1 in 4 of their population to cholera, starvation, cold and exhaustion during the move west. Therefore, it was inevitable. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the United States is destined, by God, its advocates believed, to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. This made the expansion inevitable because the philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal of Native Americans and other groups from their homes. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
This made expansion inevitable because the impact of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was that it was the invitation to the abolitionists and to the pro-slavery contingents to say “we need to move in.”