On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 1840s, America stretched west at a breathtaking pace. Texas joined the Union, the Mexican-American War added vast new territory, the California Gold Rush transformed the West, and the dream of a nation from sea to shining sea became reality. For our ongoing Story of Us—Story of America series, Dr. Bill McClay, author of Land of Hope, explains how the idea of Manifest Destiny shaped a rapidly growing republic.

But every new mile of American expansion intensified the nation's oldest conflict. As Congress struggled over whether slavery would spread into the new territories, compromises grew increasingly fragile and the path toward the Civil War became harder to avoid.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)