Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was America’s destiny to spread across the entire continent of North America. It was started by a group of expansionist called the Young American Movement and they were affiliated with the Democratic Party. By their idea, America was able to double its size and obtain new land from Mexico and Britain. However, this also caused pain to the Native Americans. In the end, America obtained new land, and its people achieved what they believed to be their God given right to expand and move west.

Manifest Destiny represented a God given right to expand West, justifying any action to accomplish the sacred duty. However, such a grand quest could not have been left unscathed and the Mexican-American War was the inevitable action that left a mark on the Manifest Destiny of being motivated by nothing more than greed and extreme nationalism. The inevitability of the war and the claimed “injustices” that were done toward Mexico were justified because of the annexation of Texas, there was a legitimate national threat and the war being a last resort.

Manifest Destiny is a term coined by John L. Sullivan in 1845 when talking about the annexation of Texas. He believed, along with other expansionists, that it’s inevitable that the US population would spread across North America because the land is given by Providence to the United States and that it’s natural that the land should be part of the country [Doc 1]. The idea of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny had positive and negative effects on the politics, society and the economics of the United States and

In order to understand manifest destiny we must first find its’ origin. John O’Sullivan first initiated manifest destiny into America in 1845. This New York editor wrote the phrase that captured this mood when he attempted to explain American’s thirst for westward expansion he wrote: the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly

Newspaperman John O'Sullivan wrote that Americans had a God given right to bring the benefits of democracy to other more backward people, and accomplish this by force if necessary. He argued this was the nation's manifest destiny. This belief became widespread and in conjunction with a missionary fervor and racist attitudes was a powerful motivating drive to the Pacific (p. 357).

Firstly, Manifest Destiny greatly socially united the Nation. Manifest Destiny ignited a widespread passion in its people. Manifest destiny was an idea that “it was America’s God given right and destiny to expand westward.” Westward expansion was driven by a social belief. This belief united the nation socially, for most of

Manifest destiny was the idea that the citizens of the United States had a God-given right to extend their way of life from the Atlantic to the Pacific and that no physical barrier or human force could stop the settlement of these lands. This idea became a prevalent thought in the minds of many United States citizens. The expansion into new territories across the continent was a direct link in the chain of events leading to the Civil War.

The author’s purpose was to highlight the territories of California, Oregon and Texas with the intention to promote Manifest Destiny and westward expansion in a published Whig journal. Whigs promoted rapid economic and industrial growth, including the expansion of territories through Manifest Destiny, by demanding government support for a more modern, market-oriented economy, suggesting high tariffs, and funding internal improvements. The term Manifest Destiny was coined by John O’Sullivan, the editor of the 1846 Democratic Review. He claimed in his article that California will “fall away from Mexico…and a population will soon be in actual occupation of [it].” In stating this, he was foreshadowing the end of the war and the forced Mexican cession of the territories of California and New Mexico to the United States in exchange of $15 million.

Industrialization of the United States was in full swing by the 1840s. Which evidenced that the continued expansion of the states was an issue and the idea of a Manifest Destiny was of major importance. John L. O’Sullivan once stated, “Our Manifest Destiny is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (America: A Narrative History). The idea of a Manifest Destiny originated in the 1840s by the Anglo-Saxon Colonists to expand their ideal civilization and institutions across North America to become a super nation. There were conflicts during this expansion, but they only led to major successes that molded the states into the superior country it is today. The Manifest

During the 19th century of the American expansion the United States but was heading to stretch from coast to coast. But this attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. The belief of the Manifest Destiny had numerous parts for many things, each was serving people in different ways. The Manifest Destiny was supported by many Americans. The components created separate reasons to overcome a new land. Manifest Destiny was used among the Americans in the 1840’s as a defense for U.S. territorial expansion. It was an idea that was taken to be true that God had destined that “the white man” to a godly mission of American movement and defeat in the name of Christianity and democracy. John O’Sullivan first initiated manifest destiny in America in 1845. He edited the annexation of Texas was published on 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review. in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the United States. And to give the name and description to the creed of victorious Americans. Though the next two decades of the nation needed more territory, so then began the enormous territory growth. The nation stretched. The

Manifest Destiny quickly came to be known as an extremely influential ideology in America. In the beginning, settlers were claiming land illegally and expecting their government to protect them from the original landowners. As the Americans began to discuss the potential of expansion, the Southerners had a large stake since they stood to gain a profit

Throughout the American history, we have seen “Manifest Destiny” at work, and how it has helped grow our nation. The idea of Manifest Destiny helped in creating revolutions that would help them find freedom in the U.S., but it also had some negative effects. Most believe that “Manifest Destiny” began in the 1840’s, when John L.O’Sullivan coined the term “Manifest Destiny” in 1845, but if we look closer we can see that even all the way back to the first settlers we can see that“Manifest Destiny” was already at work as in, the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The term is defined and recognized as, the Americans belief that it was their destiny given to them by God, to expand into the Western territories “ The whole continent was to be theirs.”1 We

Manifest Destiny is a term that was first coined in 1845 by a journalist named John L. O’Sullivan, and was described as America’s destiny to expand, and that it was God’s will that America was to expand. According to Genovese, “The notion of westward expansion and domination of the white races struck a responsive chord in many Americans” (Genovese, 2017). The idea of expanding America’s territory was so popular that is was even later used in Congress to justify the claiming of Oregon’s territory. While the idea of expanding America seemed great to the Americans, it was not so great for those who were living on the land that the Americans would later claim. According to Hastedt, “The failure to assimilate and prosper was the fault of those receiving America’s goodness” (Hastedt, 2016). The Americans felt that they were superior to those whose lands they were trying to take, such as the Native Americans and Mexicans, and that they should be the ones to adopt American culture, even if they were there before the Americans claimed the land. The Americans even thought that those whose lands they were taking would be happy to convert to their way of living, as is stated by Hastedt, “The inherent superiority of American Values was sure to be recognized by those with whom they came in contact and would gladly be adopted” (Hastedt, 2016). This mindset would ultimately lead to the expansion of America, turning it into what we know today, but it would also ultimately result in conflict with those that the American’s were attempting to take the land from for the sake of expansion.

The O’Sullivan article on Manifest Destiny sparked an initial interest amongst the American people. The idea that it was the United States’ destiny to expand across the continent became an ardent hope. America had a strong Christian belief that God had intended this for the country. The need for more land became vital as an increasing amount of immigrants flocked to the country each year. As the US gained more land, they steadily began to approach the western part of the continent. At the time, the United States was half of what it is now. The other half was owned by a country that would soon be forced into a two year war.

John L. O’Sullivan first coined the phrase manifest destiny in 1845. In these two words, he voiced the idea that it was America’s God-given right to expand across the North American continent. This idea was evident in the Ostend Manifesto of 1854 (Document J) where the writer claims ”[B]y every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting [Cuba] from Spain if we possess the power.” This idea was partially created because of the idea that the Americans were superior to the Native