The story of westward expansion by European Americans is a basic theme of the American experience, but it is also a history Indian removal from their traditional lands.

During Daniel Webster's first term as Secretary of State (1841-1843), the primary foreign policy issues involved Great Britain.

Along with territorial disputes with Spain and Mexico over the Southwest, the fate of the Oregon Territory was one of the major diplomatic issues of the first half of the 19th century.

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was fought primarily to enable the United States to expand at the expense of Mexico.

1830-1860 The Department of State supports westward expansion through diplomacy and helps open new markets to U.S. trade.

When the Spanish cargo schooner La Amistad came aground off the coast of Long Island, New York in August 1839, the United States found itself with an explosive legal and diplomatic case that would pit the American system's ability to provide justice for all on its shores against the federal government's ability to enforce its treaty obligations where the jurisdiction of states is involved.

Prior to 1824 Texas was a Spanish possession and thereafter part of independent Mexico. Americans began to settle in Texas beginning in 1821 when Spanish authorities allowed American to acquire land in the sparsely settled region.

Commercial expansion in Asia involved diplomatic entreaties with two important nations, China and Japan.

The founding of Liberia represented the intersection of America's racial conflict and foreign policy.