Paper #2
William Jennings Bryan claimed, “Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” A notion of westward expansion ignited the idea of Manifest Destiny, which raised the question on whether or not the United States should pursue the entire continent. Nearing the 1850s, Americans began to believe they were a superior race that had a sole responsibility, or God-given right, of expanding westward across the continent. Factors such as the American system, the decimation of Native Americans, the market revolution, and the Mexican war fueled the American's belief in Manifest Destiny and ensured the necessary actions to achieve it.
In the first place, it is vital to
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Around the 1820s, whites worked to increasingly survey and squat tribal lands. Indians often experienced great injustice from whites. Furthermore, in 1830 President Andrew Jackson issued for the Indian Removal Act, which granted him the ability to "exchange public lands in the West for Indian territories in the East" (255). Further evidence, Jackson's excerpt stated that, "It will relieve the whole state of Mississippi and the Western part of Alabama of Indian occupancy, and enable those states to advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power" {Doc E}. With this …show more content…
John O'Sullivan claimed that, “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (Doc A). As the nation experienced new technological advancement and economic growth, the need for more land became imminent. Many supporters and “advocates of Manifest Destiny used lofty language and invoked God and Nature to sanction expansion” (388). Religion played a significant role in the lives of many Americans. That being said, if Americans believed that God had ordained them with such a destiny, they would not be resistant to adhere to take action. However, not all Americans felt this way. For instance, “Northern Whigs frequently dismissed Manifest Destiny as a smoke screen aimed at concealing the evil intent of expanding slavery” (388). Before the establishment of the Nebraska Act many Northerners felt that the expansion west would further increase the spread slavery throughout the remainder of the
In the 1800s, Manifest Destiny, or also known as “obvious fate,” stretched all over the country, and intrigued many people. It took on many forms. The United States expanded through treaties, settlement, and war. But before that, the US only owned from the Atlantic ocean to the Mississippi river. The rest was owned by Great Britain, Russia, France, and Spain.
“Manifest Destiny” is a phrase that perfectly sums up the American experience in the early 19th century. During this time, Americans were moving west with the idea that they had the god given right to do so and this idea didn’t stop there. Continuing into the American imperialism ages of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States never abandoned the “justification” given to them by God and used this to drive their expansion into foreign nations and beyond, as stated in Document B. It could be argued that the expansion of the late 1800s and early 1900s is a continuation of the previous westward expansion, but many aspects of expansion changed during this time as well. Obviously, the expansion of the early 19th century and
Manifest Destiny is the belief of the nineteenth century that America was destined by God to expand westward. The author of Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis believed that God established Anglo-Saxons as the superior people whose purpose was to spread Christianity. (Doc B) This idea of spreading a superior culture or religion has been a motive for expansion for decades before this. Despite this support for expansionism, there were those who were against it.
Manifest Destiny was the ideology, which held that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast on the North American continent. Manifest Destiny was a substantial factor in the expansion of the United States and its conflicts with Native American’s over land. The advancement West was also propelled by the end of the Civil War, the Homestead Act, wagon trails, and the discovery of gold and other non-precious metals. By the mid-1700s Native Americans leave their farms to lead a nomadic life roaming the Great Plains hunting buffalo on horseback.
Manifest Destiny is the belief that God wanted the U.S. to stretch from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast. This belief was a wide spread one in the U.S. at this time. The president of 1844, President James K. Polk, believed in Manifest Destiny. Add it all up people support it and leader support it this equals it going to happen. O’Sullivan writes that “...Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying of millions.
As the economy was booming and the population was increasing, Americans began expanding westward. The term “Manifest Destiny” was used to justify the forceful taking of the land. John L. O’Sullivan believed it was a God-given right for Americans to expand westward. He was a fake prophet that convinced and brainwashed many Americans into expanding westward. They were tricked by his promises of riches and massive amounts of perfect land for farming.
Manifest Destiny is a unique, yet mysterious fundamental series of events in American history. No other country’s history contains such an eventful history as the United States. Amy Greenberg’s book, Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, provides documented evidence that settlers believed they were destined for expansion throughout the continent. In other words, many religious settlers believed that it was a call from God for the United States to expand west. On the other hand, people believed that Manifest Destiny vindicated the war against Mexico.
Manifest Destiny gave Americans the idea that they had the right to expand through the continent to spread the freedom and liberty they had come to know. This freedom and liberty did not apply to all. A significant numbers of Americans viewed themselves as superior to the people of the unsettle regions, namely the Indians and the Mexicans. This idea of racial superiority was also the underlying issue within the debate of slavery. The expansion throughout the continent would only serve to reopen the controversy over slavery and create further tension between the North and South.
Under influence of president Andrew Jackson, the congress was urged in 1830 to pass the Indian Removal Act, with the goal of relocated many Native Americans in the East territory, the west of Mississippi river. The Trail of tears was made for the interest of the minorities. Indeed, if president Jackson wished to relocate the Native Americans, it was because he wanted to take advantage of the gold he found on their land. Then, even though the Cherokee won their case in front the supreme court, the president and congress pushed them out(Darrenkamp).
“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion.
Manifest Destiny is justified,it was something that people thought they had to do, they thought that they had to expand west and spread their cultures and freedom all over the country.always a good thing. Sure, there were good things about it but that doesn't mean there weren't bad things as well. Manifest Destiny was something that revolutionized this country, there were more land for them to take over and there were more land to discover. More resources were found such as , plant, trees were and materials, Manifest Destiny was something Americans could take pride in.
During the year leading up the war with mexico the united states used major disputes and reasons for going to war being manifest destiny, Rio grande boundary dispute, and slidell 's mission. Manifest Destiny was the word used throughout the 1840s which is the belief that Americans had the right and the duty, to expand westward across the North American, from the Ocean to Ocean. In order to have this destiny, Americans would have to go to war with Mexico. so in 1844, James K. Polk who won the election, He and the Democrats went with Manifest Destiny, a concept that stated that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent and get as much land as possible. In Polk prestindestce he promised in his four step plan to get land westward and he did getting california and oregon.
The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.
The citizens of the United States felt they had the best form of government and culture and felt the obligation to expand it across the nation. Manifest Destiny had both positive and negative effects on social and political values during this time. Americans felt because they were experiencing such growth that God was blessing them and that by incorporating others into their culture they would be blessed too. However, greed eventually took over and the belief that the white man could destroy anyone or anything that got in the way of its progress led to many wars and lives lost over the acquisition of much needed land.
Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.