Acquisition of Territory: Help/Hurt

Acquisition of territory had both helped and hurt America because it had improved the economy and international standing, whereas it had also caused internal conflict and disunity. The expansion westward had improved the American economy. With the new supply of land in order to satiate the need for more crop producting territories, America was able to gain a new supply of agriculture and some cahs crops such as tobacco. The expansion of territory also allowed for the production of many raw goods which helped to support the New England manufacturing industries. Development also improved international standing. The United States' sharing of Oregon with Britain supported American equal standing. The control of
Texas also improved the international standing because the United States was now seen as more powerful than the lesser Mexico. The main thing that hurt America during expansion was
increased disunity. The issue of slavery had caused Americans to divide. In the Missouri Compromise, it was loosely defined what would happen with the western states, thus causing conflict between the newly founded
territories. Also, Texas was not allowed into the Union because it supported slavery. Overall, expansion was good because it improved the economy, but it hurt America by causing disunity.