Week 4 - Documents of the West into 'Ghost Riders'

Thanks to Lucy for an interesting site which can be of much use now and later in the module. Otherwise, we need to step up the intensity of this blog.
For week 4, I'd like you ALL to post material which follows up the theme of the opening weeks - territorial expansion into the continental interior, America's sense of its special destiny to occupy the entire continent, and the first displacements of the native peoples West. In particular, it would be useful to focus on two interrelated things - the idea of 'Manifest Destiny', and one of the most explicit political manifestations of that idea, the 'Monroe Doctrine'. So please post blogs and links that give historical detail on 'Manifest Destiny' and the 'Monroe Doctrine'. In particular, I would like you to follow up the following questions:
1. What was the 'Monroe Doctrine'?
2. To what was it a response?
3. How far did it determine the political policies of the USA in the century after it was first issued?
(It is beneficial for you to research these now, as for week 5's presentations, I will be asking you to choose a section of 'Ghost Riders' and relate it to a specific element of the documents of the West.)
For week 4's small group, please finish reading 'Ghost Riders'. In the group, after reviewing the documents of the West, we will look especially at Chapter 1 and Chapter 5. When reading, please keep these questions in mind:
In what ways does Richard Grant appear an "outsider" in his experiences of America, and how does that let him perceive issues and make criticisms of America that an insider could not?
In Chapter 1, what vision of the scale of the West and travel across it is given and how has it shaped character and personality?
In Chapter 5 how does Grant see the Western landscape as affecting himself, white Americans and Apaches?