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Unit 5: Period 5: 1844–1877

Manifest Destiny

Explain why Americans moved west from 1844 to 1877, how Manifest Destiny justified expansion and conflict, and how laws and Asian trade drove it.

Topic 5.2 · 13 min read

This lesson comes with the AP United States History plan

In this lesson

  1. 01What Manifest Destiny claimed
  2. 02Why settlers went west
  3. 03Competition and violent conflict
  4. 04Laws that pushed settlement during and after the war
  5. 05Expansion across the Pacific
  6. 06How historians read Manifest Destiny
  7. 07Worked examples
  8. 08Where students lose points
  9. 09On the exam

The first units’ lessons are free. The plan opens every lesson, every practice question with worked solutions, your study plan and calendar, for $14.49 a month. Cancel any time.

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