Western Expansion & Reform
(1829-1859)
 Presidents Andrew Jackson, James
Polk, and John Tyler, like many Americans of this time, embraced the
notion of enlarging the "empire for liberty." In other
words they wanted to expand the borders of America westward.
While some pioneers headed west to
California, others attempted to expand the idea of what
"liberty" in America meant. Abolitionists opposed laws
that kept African Americans enslaved, and advocates of women's
suffrage argued that wives, mothers and daughters should play a more
significant role in society by voting, holding office, and working
outside the home.
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Expansion & Reform
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