“Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country,” said Horace Greeley. This course will explore westward expansion in the early republic, which has always been an important element in understanding our nation. We were populated by people looking for virgin land and new opportunities. It was also a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provided new opportunities for many people in the vastness of the west. It would ultimately allow the U.S. to become a continental power and to implement Jefferson’s vision of an empire of liberty. But it came at a high price, pushing Native Americans ever further from their ancestral land, and led to the expansion of slavery, which would almost destroy the union. The course will cover these themes and the emergence of a new generation of leaders in the early 1800s.