Manifest Destiny was a nineteenth century concept of American expansion. This concept gave Americans the belief that they were destined to move United States territory into the West, and that America should fulfill its duty of settling and civilizing all the land that was available to them. There were many different aspects of Manifest Destiny, such as its overlying racist ideology, as this concept gave citizens of the United States a mindset that it is America’s duty to civilize the “uncivilized” world to the West, inhabited by the Native Americans. American expansion West oppressed the cultures of the Natives, and replaced them with forced conversion and adaptation of American culture. The system of expansion Manifest Destiny brought about also had a positive influence on the economic culture of America, expanding its borders, allowing for railways to be built, trade to expand, and new goods to be discovered. However, the former two aspects that came along with Manifest Destiny ultimately …show more content…
The North, wanting to limit slavery to the South where it currently existed and eventually abolish the labor system all together, were hesitant to allow the formation of large territories in the Southwest. The South had a fierce ambition to expand slavery into the Southwest, and the concept of Manifest Destiny played right along with their beliefs and motivation to do so. Whenever new territories were added, the North and South would begin a process to decide the fate of the newly established territories, which would lead to many compromises, such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820, The Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. All of these compromises would solve the immediate territorial disputes, but was just delaying the inevitable conflict that would become the Civil
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
While the Louisiana Purchase was a key starting point for American expansionism, aggressive imperialism into the West didn’t begin until the middle of the Jacksonian Period. Many Americans considered Manifest Destiny as a benevolent movement and a divinely ordained right to move west toward the Pacific Ocean. It combined discourses of imperialism and freedom by claiming that it was the duty of the US as a Christian, democratic country to take over lands in the Southwest. Manifest Destiny was aggressive imperialism that created a greater need for slavery, oppressed natives, and lead to the Mexican-American War.
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 is a term used to describe a particular ideology and belief that white European-Americans were inherently superior than that of natives and other ethnic groups and were destined by God to secure claim expand their territories across America from "sea to shining sea. " Under the guise of religion and racist ideologies white European- Americans used extreme measures to wipe the native inhabitants from their land in order to reach this goal. Independence had been won, the war of 1812 had been conquered, and American settlers wanted to create a more homogenous society with more territory and preservation of their religion and racial superiority. In order to achieve to actualize their vision U.S. policy makers justified their reactions
Was it Destiny to Move West? Manifest Destiny was the belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American Continents was justified and inevitable. Although it was not justified or inevitable. There was violence that did not need to happen. And the expansion of the US did not happen through inevitability it happened through government action.
Manifest Destiny was a controversial movement from the 1820’s to the 1850s. Manifest Destiny is the belief that Americans have a god given right to pursue liberty and happiness. The movement included pushing Mexicans and Native Americans out of their homes and their land to make way for American settlers. Manifest Destiny’s influence on Westward Expansion fostered change due to the expansion of slavery, the Gold Rush, and populating the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
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.
Social Darwinism and the Gilded Age The concept of Social Darwinism and the Gilded Age period are interrelated because they determine the same time in the history of the United States. At the end of XIX century, the great popularity acquired the theory of Charles Darwin's natural selection. This theory justified social inequality by "survival of the fittest". The ideas of social Darwinism were combined with the notions of a free market and Laissez-faire policy.
Manifest Destiny changed the United States socially, economically and politically. It was affected socially because it became more culturally diffused; it also affected relationship with the Native Americans due to the Americans belief that they were the better race and others were inferior to them. It was affected economically because there was more land to profit off of and politically it damaged the United States and Mexico’s foreign relations. Those who believed in the manifest destiny forcefully removed Native Americans from their lands in order for the United States to gain more land. America was shifted politically, due to new tense relations with Mexico, as an effect of the Mexican
Andrew Jackson’s Speech to Congress on Indian Removal was given at a time of westward expansion, which was greatly influenced by the idea of Manifest destiny (Bentley 695). Manifest destiny also greatly influenced the national sentiment of the time, which can be found in Jackson’s speech. Jackson uses nationalist and colonialist rhetoric in this speech, particularly when he discusses his idea of progress. At the time of this speech, nationalism and colonialism greatly impacted both racial and economic policies in the United States, and the preceding Indian Removal Act of 1830 was also reflective of both the United States’ racial and economic policies, and greatly impacted the racial makeup and economy of the country for the rest of the nineteenth century and beyond.
The time of Manifest Destiny was a time of true American brotherhood and comradeship. With Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk being the leading presidents of the cause during this time, it not only led to continental expansion but homicide as well. While the Americans believed they were expanding into free land, Native Americans had already settled the land centuries earlier. This led to the dark side of Manifest Destiny. Native Americans were forced to pick up their homes and resettle in areas that were less than sufficient to meet their basic needs.
In the 19th Century, there were strong supporters of the ideology of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was basically the belief of expansion by settlers expanding all over America because god supposedly destined the Americans for expansions by their resources. This resulted for the Americans to find a modern mode of transportation that would make traveling from the east to the west coast easier. This resulted in a mega construction known as the Transcontinental Railroad. The railroad not only helps with transportation but with trading.
Nevertheless, without Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion, America would not be the country it is
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.