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A widespread belief in "Manifest Destiny" was driving this growth.  Manifest Destiny was the concept that westward expansion was part of God's plan for the United States to spread out over the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  Americans believed that exploration and expansion was a mission from God.

A widespread belief in "Manifest Destiny" was driving this growth.  Manifest Destiny was the concept that westward expansion was part of God's plan for the United States to spread out over the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  Americans believed that exploration and expansion was a mission from God.

In 1842, the United States resolved some minor disputes with Canada (still a British colony) over the location of the U.S.-Canadian border.  Known as the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, this resolved the location of the northern border of Maine, agreed on the location of the border in the Great Lakes (and shared use of those Lakes), and affirmed the use of the 49 degrees latitude as the border heading west.  Daniel Webster, then the Secretary of State (who otherwise was a prominent Senator), signed the Treaty for the United States and the U.S. Senate ratified it as required by the Constitution.

In 1842, the United States resolved some minor disputes with Canada (then still a British colony) over the location of the U.S.-Canadian border.  Known as the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, this resolved the location of the northern border of Maine, agreed on the location of the border in the Great Lakes (and shared use of those Lakes), and affirmed the use of the 49 degrees latitude as the border heading west.  Daniel Webster, then the Secretary of State (who otherwise was a prominent Senator), signed the Treaty for the United States and the U.S. Senate ratified it as required by the Constitution.

At around the same time settlers began to move westward in large groups, traveling on the Oregon Trail.  Beginning in 1843, Americans became fascinated with the Oregon territory, and 1000 pioneers traveled all the way from Missouri to Willamette Valley (a trip that took 4 to 6 months then).  The Oregon Trail stretched for 2000 miles and many settlers spent a full six months traveling along it.  Missionaries traveled in order to minister to the Indians far and wide.   

At around the same time settlers began to move westward in large groups, traveling on the Oregon Trail.  Beginning in 1843, Americans became fascinated with the Oregon territory, and 1000 pioneers traveled all the way from Missouri to Willamette Valley (a trip that took 4 to 6 months then).  The Oregon Trail stretched for 2000 miles and many settlers spent a full six months traveling along it.  Missionaries traveled in order to minister to the Indians far and wide.   

Along with the expansion and migration came great social change in the older portions of the United States.  Utopian communities thrived in the 1840s to pursue idealistic societies, often based on common religious beliefs and sharing homes and property.  The homeschooling movement today could be compared with the movements in the 1840s, though homeschooling is more of a concept than a centralized community having shared property.  Examples of Utopian communities in the 1840s (and earlier) were the Shakers, Brook Farm, the Rappites, and the Oneida Community:<ref name="Utopian">http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/amana/utopia.htm</ref>

Along with the expansion and migration came great social change in the older portions of the United States.  Utopian communities thrived in the 1840s to pursue idealistic societies, often based on common religious beliefs and sharing homes and property.  The homeschooling movement today could be compared with the movements in the 1840s, though homeschooling is more of a concept than a centralized community having shared property.  Examples of Utopian communities in the 1840s (and earlier) were the Shakers, Brook Farm, the Rappites, and the Oneida Community:<ref name="Utopian">http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/amana/utopia.htm</ref>

* The Shakers, whose formal name was the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, believed in communal living (people sharing each other's homes and property), productive labor, celibacy, pacifism, simplicity, and ritualistic dancing and shaking during services.  It was founded by an Englishwoman in 1758, split off from the Quakers in 1772, and grew to 6,000 members in America before the Civil War.  The Shakers rejected slavery and other aspects of American life, and had thriving communities in Enfield, Connecticut and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  Other Shaker communities existed in Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (New Lebanon) ... and Maine (New Glochester), where Shakers survive to this day!

* The Shakers, whose formal name was the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, believed in communal living (people sharing each other's homes and property), productive labor, celibacy, pacifism, simplicity, and ritualistic dancing and shaking during services.  It was founded by an Englishwoman in 1758, split off from the Quakers in 1772, and grew to 6,000 members in America before the Civil War.  The Shakers rejected slavery and other aspects of American life, and had thriving communities in Enfield, Connecticut and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  Other Shaker communities existed in Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (New Lebanon) ... and Maine (New Glochester), where there are Shakers to this day!

* Brook Farm was a Utopian community based on "transcendentalism", which was a philosophy started by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700s that emphasized man's ability to "transcend" experience and pursue a lifestyle of simple living, self-reliance, and rejection of industrialization.  This movement took inspiration from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was the leading American proponent of this philosophy (without himself living in a Utopian community), and his friend Henry David Thoreau, who did spend some time living in simplicity on "Walden's Pond," except when he went over to his friend Emerson's house to enjoy a good meal and better surroundings! (Thoreau also became famous for his book advocating "civil disobedience" to laws and authority.) Brook Farm itself was located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was led by a former Unitarian minister.  The community provided to all members, their children and family dependents the following: housing, fuel, wages, clothing and food.  It also had schools at all levels before college.  This project ended in failure due to financial difficulties and even a bitter lawsuit by investors attempting to recover their money.  This community never exceeded 120 persons, making it smaller than most homeschooling communities today.

* Brook Farm was a Utopian community based on "transcendentalism", which was a philosophy started by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700s that emphasized man's ability to "transcend" experience and pursue a lifestyle of simple living, self-reliance, and rejection of industrialization.  This movement took inspiration from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was the leading American proponent of this philosophy (without himself living in a Utopian community), and his friend Henry David Thoreau, who did spend some time living in simplicity on "Walden's Pond." (Occasionally he would sneak over to his friend Emerson's house to enjoy a good meal and better surroundings!) Thoreau also became famous for his book advocating "civil disobedience" to laws and authority.  Brook Farm itself was located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was led by a former Unitarian minister.  The community provided to all members, their children and family dependents the following: housing, fuel, wages, clothing and food.  It also had schools at all levels before college.  This project ended in failure due to financial difficulties and even a bitter lawsuit by investors attempting to recover their money.  This community never exceeded 120 persons, making it smaller than most homeschooling communities today.

* The Rappites, also known as The Harmony Society, were founded by Johann Georg Rapp and first consisted of immigrants from Germany seeking religious freedom in America.  They settled in Butler County, Pennsylvania, called Harmony, and believed that the Bible was humanity's sole authority.  Similar to the Shakers, the Rappites required celibacy also led a communal life without individual possessions.  Frederick Rapp, George Rapp's adopted son, transformed the economy of Harmony from subsistence agriculture to gradual diversified manufacturing, and by 1814 the Society was thriving with 700 members and a town of 130 homes and factories.  The products they produced, ranging from textiles to woolens to wine and whiskey, were highly valued by other Americans for their quality.  The Rappites continued to succeed economically, and repeatedly outgrew their towns, moving to Indiana (after selling their first town for $100,000 to Mennonites) and later back to Pennsylvania.  They peaked in 1866 and, after several schisms, disbanded in 1905.  Their sturdy buildings remain to this day.

* The Rappites, also known as The Harmony Society, were founded by Johann Georg Rapp and first consisted of immigrants from Germany seeking religious freedom in America.  They settled in Butler County, Pennsylvania, called Harmony, and believed that the Bible was humanity's sole authority.  Similar to the Shakers, the Rappites required celibacy also led a communal life without individual possessions.  Frederick Rapp, George Rapp's adopted son, transformed the economy of Harmony from subsistence agriculture to gradual diversified manufacturing, and by 1814 the Society was thriving with 700 members and a town of 130 homes and factories.  The products they produced, ranging from textiles to woolens to wine and whiskey, were highly valued by other Americans for their quality.  The Rappites continued to succeed economically, and repeatedly outgrew their towns, moving to Indiana (after selling their first town for $100,000 to Mennonites) and later back to Pennsylvania.  They peaked in 1866 and, after several schisms, disbanded in 1905.  Their sturdy buildings remain to this day.

In addition to the Utopian communities, there were key social and religious movements in or around the 1840s that resulted from the culmination of the Second Great Awakening, which swept America from 1790 to 1840:

In addition to the Utopian communities, there were key social and religious movements in or around the 1840s that resulted from the culmination of the Second Great Awakening, which swept America from 1790 to 1840:

* the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon Church), the only major church founded in America, was established in 1830 by Joseph Smith in western New York.  He then moved to Ohio, and then Nauvoo, Illinois, where it thrived so much that it became the largest town in Illinois in 1844 (even bigger than Chicago).  The movement banned alcohol and emphasized hard work and entrepreneurship.  But in 1844 an anti-Mormon newspaper (the "Nauvoo Expositor") began harshly criticizing the church, and city council responded by shutting down the newspaper, which in turn led to a backlash causing the imprisonment of Mayor Joseph Smith.  While in jail, Joseph Smith (and his brother) was killed by a mob that was unlawfully allowed to enter the prison.  Brigham Young became the next leader of this church within a few years, and led the 70,000-person Mormon community on a 1,300-mile migration to establish a new state in the west, then part of Mexico but now Utah.  Today the Mormon Church is the fourth largest church denomination in the United States, after the Catholics, Baptists and Methodists.<ref>http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html</ref>

* the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon Church), the only major church founded in America, was established in 1830 by Joseph Smith in western New York.  He then moved to Ohio, and then Nauvoo, Illinois, where it thrived so much that it became the largest town in Illinois in 1844 (even bigger than Chicago).  The movement banned alcohol and emphasized hard work and entrepreneurship.  But in 1844 an anti-Mormon newspaper (the "Nauvoo Expositor") began harshly criticizing the church, and city council responded by shutting down the newspaper, which in turn led to a backlash causing the imprisonment of Mayor Joseph Smith.  While in jail, Joseph Smith (and his brother) was killed by a mob that was unlawfully allowed to enter the prison.  Brigham Young became the next leader of this church within a few years, and led the 70,000-person Mormon community on a 1,300-mile migration to establish a new state in the west, then part of Mexico but now Utah.  Today the Mormon Church is the fourth largest church denomination in the United States, after the Catholics, Baptists and Methodists.<ref>http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html</ref> One of its spectacular temples is located just north of D.C., close to its "Beltway".

* The Seventh Day Adventist Church began 1844, when a prediction of the end of the world based on a biblical interpretation did not happen (the so-called "Great Disappointment").  This new Christian religion emphasizes observance of the Sabbath on Saturday (hence its name), adherence to the Bible, and preparation for the second coming of Christ.  The Seventh Day Adventists also developed an approach to good health that included building hospitals, such as the main hospital today in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

* The Seventh Day Adventist Church began 1844, when a prediction of the end of the world based on a biblical interpretation did not happen (the so-called "Great Disappointment").  This new Christian religion emphasizes observance of the Sabbath on Saturday (hence its name), adherence to the Bible, and preparation for the second coming of Christ.  The Seventh Day Adventists also developed an approach to good health that included building hospitals, such as the large hospital located in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

* Women's rights began as a social movement in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, where the first women's rights convention was held.  The assembly drafted a Declaration of Sentiments that called for granting women the right to vote, which they did not have at the time.  Separately, in 1849, the English-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive a medical degree in America, which she obtained from Geneva College in New York.

* Women's rights began as a social movement in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, where the first women's rights convention was held.  The assembly drafted a Declaration of Sentiments that called for granting women the right to vote, which they did not have at the time.  Separately, in 1849, the English-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to receive a medical degree in America, which she obtained from Geneva College in New York.

* In 1840, the first anti-slavery party (called the "Liberty Party") formed.  It lasted until 1848, when it merged with opponents of slavery in the Whig and Democratic Parties in order to form another anti-slavery party, the stronger Free-Soil party.

* In 1840, the first anti-slavery party (called the "Liberty Party") formed.  It lasted until 1848, when it merged with opponents of slavery in the Whig and Democratic Parties in order to form another anti-slavery party, the stronger Free-Soil party.

* In 1842, the union workers' movement obtained a key court ruling in their favor from the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in ''[[Commonwealth v. Hunt]]''.  That decision held that it was legal for workers to organize a union and to strike. Union power was greatly increased by this ability to strike (and shut down a factory) when the employer does not give into union demands.  Some blame the collapse of the American automobile industry today and the current depression in Michigan on an abuse by unions of their great power.

* In 1842, the union workers' movement obtained a key court ruling in their favor from the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in ''[[Commonwealth v. Hunt]]''.  That decision held that it was legal for workers to organize a union and to strike. Union power was greatly increased by this ability to strike (and shut down a factory) when the employer does not give into union demands.  Some blame the collapse of the American automobile industry today and the current depression in Michigan on an abuse by unions of their great power.  The unionization of ''government'' workers' is a national controversy in February 2011, as the Wisconsin Governor seeks to terminate the basic union power of  "collective bargaining"for its government workers.

==James K. Polk and War with Mexico==

==James K. Polk and War with Mexico==