How did Spain and France contribute to the westward expansion of Americans?

Spain and France contributed to the westward expansion of Americans in several significant ways:

1. Louisiana Purchase: In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, which was under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte at the time. This acquisition doubled the size of the United States and provided American settlers with vast new territories to explore and settle.

2. Territorial Cessions: Spain, through treaties and diplomatic negotiations, ceded control of territories that would become important for westward expansion. For example, in 1819, the Adams-Onís Treaty (also known as the Transcontinental Treaty) was signed between Spain and the United States, in which Spain ceded Florida to the U.S. and agreed on the boundary of the Spanish colony of New Spain, thereby clarifying the borders for further expansion to the west.

3. Exploration and Mapping: Earlier, Spanish and French explorers, missionaries, and traders had explored large parts of what is today the Western United States and the Mississippi Valley, contributing valuable knowledge of geography and Native American cultures. The routes and maps created from their explorations would later be used by American settlers and explorers.

4. Cultural Influence: Both Spain and France left behind linguistic, cultural, and legal influences in the territories they controlled. For instance, the use of Spanish place names in the Southwest and French names in the Mississippi Valley persists to this day.

5. Trade: Spain and France established trade networks with Native American tribes and among European settlers that the United States would later tap into and expand upon as Americans moved westward.

These actions set the stage for westward movement and manifest destiny, which was the belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent.