Manifest Destiny Research Paper

In 1846 America had taken more than a million square miles from the newly independent Mexican Republic because of what they called Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the thought that Americans had the right and duty to expand their territory across North America. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. reason: One reason was that President James K. Polk was provoking Mexico to go to war with America. Document D is about Joshua Giddings announcing a speech in the House of Representatives on May 23, 1846.

The United States uses war as a tool of expansion and defense. Since the moment, American declared its independence in 1776, a vision of westward expansion beyond the thirteen colonies was already in the minds of the American people. America would finally obtain land that stretched from coast to coast, under the Mexican cession of 1848. The belief of American superiority generated the idea of Manifest Destiny in which, America had the god given right to expand and prompted the Mexican–American War of 1846 to be imperialistic. The War of 1846 to 1848 between Mexicans and Americans was imperialistic because of Manifest Destiny, territorial expansion, and The Treaty of Velasco.

Manifest Destiny in America in the 1800s outcomes have many political, economic, and social factors.

The way that the concept of Manifest Destiny would have affected American politics and government in the mid 19-century would be many. The meaning of the term Manifest Destiny would be “the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable”. Due to this many people had craved the idea of expansion and as of a result, people running for president would say that they would expand the United States. Another effect for anyone running for president had a more likely chance of winning. One great example of this would be James, K Polk.

Essay authored by: Trey Howard. While many people think manifest destiny is horrible, it is amazing for the blooming country of the United States of America. The first reason that proves this is that we spread democracy. The second reason is that it caused the population to skyrocket. The third reason was women getting paid to do jobs.

The ideas for the War with Mexico were born from the ideals of Manifest destiny and in a time when America sought to show her military power. The ideas of both patriotism and nationalism following the war of 1812 spawned a desire within Americans not only to expand westward, but to show of the strength of the Nation’s military. In 1820 James Monroe issued his Monroe Doctrine which stated that United States would no longer be open for colonization or conquest, of course this didn't mean that America couldn't continue to practice imperialism and during the time of Manifest destiny that is exactly what they did. (Acuna, 231). "Their (Mexican's) natural enemies are the officers and the soldiers of the North American army which dominates them through

Manifest Destiny took place in the US in the mid-1800. Manifest Destiny was used among the Americans in the 1840’s as a defense for U.S. territorial expansion. It is the presumption that God had destined the American people to at divine mission of American movement and conquest in the name of Christianity and democracy.

While economic interests and debates on manifest destiny were critical factors in causing the war of 1861, the most important factor to bring about the war was the problem of slavery. The division of economic interests between the North and South was an influential factor because laws and acts from the government greatly threatened and terrified the southern economy. Manifest Destiny or the expansion of the USA reigned as a more important factor of causing the war because it continued to deeply split the ideologies of the North and South in the government. Slavery was the most important factor because these issues propelled the first blood shed and fighting between the North and South before the war of 1861.

Thomas Jefferson purchased land from the French during the Louisiana Purchase which gave the United States land west. He sent Lewis and Clark west to explore what he had just purchased. During the same time of the Louisiana Purchase, there was a concept of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a main idea during the 1800s. It is the belief that the land west was the Americans land to settle and that the resources were theirs to use. This belief was self-centered and did not focus on the Native Americans. The Americans did not reach out to the Natives to build a strong nation and instead they took the tools, ideas, and materials to build their nation and left the Natives out of it. Americans saw their dream as a free country and it was their right to conquer others’ property without their consent. During westward expansion, American identity evolved into one image for all Americans that emphasized greed and power and the belief that American settlers should create their own sovereign land.

Manifest destiny was the belief that God wanted the United States to own all of North America (Hall 301). But John O’Sullivan really only envisioned that white men were the only ones privileged enough to receive liberty (Hal 301). The Manifest Destiny was caused by the American people it gave them a sense of superiority over the other peoples who lived in North America. The declaration of the Manifest destiny wanted to expand the U.S. territory over the whole of North America and to extend and enhance its political, social, and economic influences. Eventually the United States won the war it had ended on February 2, 1848 when Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United

Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States’ destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Most of the public was in favor of territorial expansion, though some politicians felt it contradicted the constitution.

In a short history, American manifest destiny was a big mistake for Indian people in the past. The Indian people lived on the land before the Americans came. However, manifest destiny is the affliction Americans have that makes them believe God and took control all their land. For example, American settlers took their land and forced them into another uncomfortable place, less nature resource, and difficult to survive. Moreover, America settlers brought diseases into Indian tribes that made a lot of Indian people sick and dead. In addition, American settlers had a negative impact to the environment and natures resource such as more hunting and fishing that cost extinction, more cutting trees to build houses due to deforestation. In conclusion,

The Manifest Destiny was the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. Manifest Destiny was mainly accomplished by the Monroe Doctrine, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican-American War, but we were not a true continental power yet. After 1850, the Civil War, westward expansion, and the rise of big business made the United States a true continental power.

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

“Manifest Destiny was a term coined by John O'Sullivan. Our 11th President James Polk was a supporter of Manifest Destiny. Manifest means clear, obvious, and apparent. Destiny is defined as something meant to happen or should occur-fate.” Question is, what was the cost of Manifest Destiny for all people living in North America? The answer is a lot. Certain people in North America were hurt and pushed back by the creation of Manifest Destiny, while others were successful and made more progress in their lifestyle. Then, there were other groups of people who realized the power of manifest destiny and became concerned with the idea in itself and tried to hide away from it or ignore it to avoid further conflict with themselves. They were all affected and all handled Manifest Destiny in different ways. (notes)