Acquisition of New Territories: Help/ Hurt U.S. ?

The acquisition of new territories helped the United States more then it hurt them because it increased immigration and economy of the United States while it only hurt them in creating division in the country over the issue of slavery. When the settlers moved westward, as stated by the Land Act of 1820, they were allowed to purchase virgin land which would then be used for farming which would lead to an increase in the economy. The West was also a land of opportunity for many Europeans immigrants who wanted to gain land and to live prosperously. The acquisition of new territories such as Texas stimulated immigration in the West. The original families in Texas, for example, were Scots-Irish and more German and French immigrants settled there afterwards. The only way it hurt the United States was that it created division between the North and the South and whether or not the acquired territory would be a free or a slave state. The Missouri Compromise of 1821 said that the newly annexed Missouri would be a slave state but all land above the 30’36’ line would be free. This was enacted in order to provide a sectional balance between free and slave states. This would create bigger problems in the future but for then, new states were very helpful to the Unites States.