* “Manifest destiny”, the United States was destined, even divinely ordained, to expand across the North American continent from…
Newspaper editor John L. O'Sullivan first used the term manifest destiny in an 1845 article to describe the inevitability surrounding the annexation of Texas. Since then it has come to describe the belief among American settlers and political leaders that it was their God-given right and duty to expand U.S. territory, customs, and institutions throughout North America from coast to coast. The concept gained traction during the nineteenth century as immigration and land acquisitions, including the Louisiana Purchase (1803), drastically increased the feasibility and pace of westward expansion.…
The expansion of America from the thirteen colonies across the entire continent was known as westward expansion. In 1845, John O’Sullivan, a newspaper editor that was writing about the possible annexation of Texas, coined the term Manifest Destiny. “Manifest Destiny…to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (Wexler 96). Manifest Destiny inspired a 29-year old named Stephen F. Austin to talk grandly of colonizing the Mexican province of Texas with "North American population, enterprise and intelligence" (digitalhistory.edu). It led expansionists, united behind the slogan "54° 40' or fight!," to demand that the United States should own the entire Pacific Northwest all the way to the southern border of Alaska. Manifest Destiny was a 19th century view held by Americans who felt they had the right to expand across the North American continent. The events of this westward expansion did provide the United States with security and prosperity by eliminating European powers as well as the North American Indians. However, the necessary balance of the slave versus non-slave states, so essential in Congress, caused the sectional conflicts that led to the Civil War.…
This writing assignment will attempt to describe the concept of Manifest Destiny and analyze its impact on the nineteenth-century of the South and West. I will also elaborate on how the ideas of the expansionists were similar and different from the goals and experiences of ordinary migrants. In closing, I will describe the effect the movement of thousands of individuals to the…
In the 19th century, Manifest Destiny, which is the idea that the United States’ expansion was inevitable and justified throughout the continent, became prevalent and was used a way to validate the nation’s acquirement of new territories. The idea brought forth a sense of nationalism and led to the nation working towards expanding and laying a foundation for an empire. However, as the US made an effort in developing a dominating country, the nation became divided as conflicts regarding the spread of slavery and the beginning of the Mexican war lead to disagreements and a lack of unity.…
The term Manifest Destiny was first used by John O´Sullivan in July-August 1845, in the Democratic review; “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” O´Sullivan said this while asking Congress for the annexation of Texas. The annexation followed quickly after but O´Sullivan´s use of sentence was barely noticed. Later in 1845, O´Sullivan reused the phrase but this time it created an extremely influential political idea.…
Manifest Destiny was a massive emotional push from the American Citizens to expand the United States boarders born during the 1844 presidential campaign. The American people believe they were destined by god to expand and apply the U.S. democratic institution to all the land on the continent. The Democratic Party supported this philosophy, taking the name Expansionist Democrats, and nominated Polk, a slave owner. As soon as Polk was elected president he began to work toward the reannexation of Texas, the reoccupation of Oregon, and the seizure of California from Mexico. Each of these expansionist moves brought up more slavery issues and sectional strife that caused the American Civil War.…
"The American claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent " John L. O' Sullivan…
The idea that the United States had a “manifest destiny” led to more than simply acquiring land, though between 1845 and 1848, the United States would almost double in size, from 1.8 million square miles to almost 3 million. Many Americans supported versions of Manifest destiny for their own reasons. Land speculators and those promoting the extension of the nation’s railroads wanted to exploit the vast lands in the west. Farmers dreamed of starting over rich and cheap new lands. Workers believed that rapid national expansion would guarantee industrial profits and thus their jobs, or give them a chance to start over if necessary.…
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States issued an aggressive policy of expansionism. This policy was meant to extend its political and economic influence around the globe. Before the new imperialism began, the old imperialism had begun. This meant that the European nations were trying to find a direct trade route to Asia during this age. However, they gained new land and established colonies in the Americas, India, South Africa, and the East Indies.…
In 1839, a writer called John O’Sullivan established an idea of “Manifest Destiny” to spread that the American deserves a brighter future. The Manifest Destiny is a belief of settlers in the U.S. “We are the nation of progress, of individual freedom, of universal enfranchisement. Our future history will be to establish on earth on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man—the undeniable truth and goodness of God.”(John, 1839) From John’s words, I know that he is confident about his nation’s future. He and all the Americans are sure that the U.S can be a free, strong, and independent nation in the future. And this belief helps the U.S…
Manifest Destiny is a word that entered American’s vocabulary in 1845, which means the westward expansion of the United States. This word was first discussed in an editorial published in an issue of the Democratic Review “Manifest Destiny.”. The democrats played a major role in the westward expansion as they believed it was their right to do so. Manifest Destiny would lead to groups losing some of their cultural customs and some being viewed as inferior.…
Confrontation arose with Great Britain due to the fact that the United States wanted to expand. It also started a war with Mexico. President John Tyler initiated Manifest Destiny, which later had three main ideas behind it. John L. O’Sullivan stated the 3 ideas were that God was on the side of American expansion, free development was the spread of American rule, and population growth required the outlet that territorial acquisitions provided. Overall, this led to the Mexican-American war that lasted for a long majority of…
The phrase Manifest Destiny became known in 1895. It was a phrase that inspired Americans, or rather drove them to want to expand west of America. It was believed to be a right they had as Americans, something decided by god. (Nelson, 2004). According to Nelson (2004), Texas has been a deciding factor towards the Civil War. The Kansas Nebraska act was a bill that allowed settlers to decide whether or not slavery would be allowed within new state borders. (Kansas-Nebraska-Act, 2009) According to the article, Kansas Nebraska Act(2009), the disagreements between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers was a leading factor on the rode of the civil war. Not only did it divide nations, it worsened the relationship between the North…
Manifest Destiny is what imperialism is now; it was a set of beliefs that had various ideas about race, religion, culture, and economic necessity. During the 1840s, many Americans had [ this ideology ] carved into their minds. They insisted that their nation had a Manifest Destiny to dominate the continent and felt that it was their mission to extend the “boundaries of freedom” to others by passing on their idealism and belief in democratic institutions to those who were capable of self-government. This ideology of Manifest Destiny was fulfilled during the Mexican-American war on April 25, 1846 until February 2, 1848, which was fought between the the United States and Mexico in several locations. Those locations were the United States and Mexico…