Thesis: The American people wanted to expand to the west due to the appeal of the free land and the fact that the abundance of land meant social domnance. Expanding the Land What they wanted What they got and how they got it Why they wanted it Believed in Lebensraum - territory is needed for national development Florida which extended along the Missippi was in the hands of Spain, as well as New Orleans The already populated lands were still not very populated. Georgia only had 2 people per square mile Northern portion of Mexico Believed in Manifest Destiny - that it was God's plan for them to conquer land "The lust for land is the aim of all action...and tthe cure for all social ills, among men in the United States."