Reginald Horsman argues in Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism that the idea of racial inferiority gained it’s full connotation during the beginning of the 18th century to the mid 19th century. I was then used as a justification for Indigenous genocide, the theft of Mexican land, and slavery. I personally liked how he was able to draw from the origins of this ideology in which he talked about how Anglo-Saxonism wasn’t always racially motivated. According to Horsman, Anglo-Saxonism had to do with mainly English heritage and was implemented within politics and history. Eventually however it became a racially motivated ideology that through the rise of what he calls “scientific racialism” which was heavily
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.
This forced excavation of the Native Americans lead to a massive number of deaths among the tribes.
The famous phrase “Manifest Destiny” was made up by a journalist in 1844. The idea of Manifest Destiny was that the people of the east had a divine and God-given right to settle in the west. God put the land there for the taking, and so the immigrants answered His call with westward expansion. My belief is that Manifest destiny was a necessary evil. The idea of manifest destiny expanded the west and provided homes and jobs. but on the other side of the coin manifest destiny ran the Native Americans out of their land and kept pushing them further and further west.
The English colonies in present day America used slavery as a form a cheap labor, but it wasn't until the seventeenth century that the view of slavery became racial based. Slave labor on Chesapeake was thought as beneficial because slaves never became free and their children were born into slavery.“Species in which a distinction is already marked immediately at birth, between those of it members who are intended for being ruled and those who are intended to rule.” Many poor farmers that lived on Chesapeake felt that they were intended to rule because they could get married and have families, property, move and associate with other people, be a jury, vote and hold office. “They could also work and sleep as they pleased.” When the English started expanding and looking for land one of their rationales was that they could put the land to better use by employing European-style agriculture and livestock. Many of the English policies towards the Indians were based on segregation. In order to continue segregation, the English came to develop the notion of “race”: they began to view race as an imperative that justified English rule. “Greeks regarded themselves as well born into their own country but absolutely and in all places.” The English thought of themselves the same way. Aristotle’s views were present in the English justification for supporting that slavery and the taking of lawns justified and therefore it was natural because they were
In the 19th century the settlers in America believed they had a mandate from God to expand west, this is called the Manifest Destiny. This expansion would involve not merely territorial aggrandizement, but the progress of liberty and individual economic opportunity as well. The Manifest Destiny shaped America throughout the years. Three main things that revolve around the Manifest Destiny are the moon race with Russia, western expansion, and how we found more resources and advancements in technology.
Manifest Destiny is our god given right to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. During Manifest Destiny there were many different cases that helped out country like expanding to Texas through the Mexican American War, and finding gold in California which will be later called the gold rush.
Manifest Destiny was one of the worst thing the United States have ever done. Manifest Destiny happened from 1825 to 1850. Manifest Destiny was something the Americans believed in. They basically said the God compels them to take over the land from coast to coast. The three things that contributed to Manifest Destiny were the treatment of the Native Americans by the United States government, the Texas revolution, and the Mexican American war.
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
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.
To continue the expansion of the United States and achieve Manifest Destiny, the federal government took several actions to encourage the rapid territory growth. From purchasing massive amounts of land, going to war with various countries, and negotiating treaties, the United States acquired land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Not all lands were bought or received fairly. Many Native Americans were forced off of their sacred land and forced to travel under harsh conditions to reach “Indian Territory”. The United States government also encouraged the settlement of the new lands by building railroads and allowing settlers to claim land.
Manifest Destiny in America in the 1800s outcomes have many political, economic, and social factors.
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,
Manifest Destiny, one of the most influential ideologies in American history, was used as the basis to justify almost-continuous conflict from the early- to the late-19th century (Greenberg 3). This conflict included the relentless displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral lands, a war of aggression against Mexico in 1846, and attacks on countries such as Canada, Cuba, and even Central America, by filibusters and military action to gain overseas colonies (Greenberg 10, 25, and 26). While Manifest Destiny first arose as a dominant ideology during the early nineteenth-century, the concept of American exceptionalism, the heart of this ideology, was older than the nation itself. This concept was taken by white Americans as proof that they, and their nation, were unique and marked by God for a special destiny (Greenberg, 5). It would be several decades before the advantages of American settlement would be presented to the world. One advantage being the Louisiana Purchase, which was the expansion westward.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the United States saw many problems come and go. Some problems were more important than others, however all led to further division of American politics. The most divisive issue in American politics during this time frame was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or territorial expansion.
Reginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny: The Orgins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism explores the evidence and reasons of racial prejudices in America and discusses one of the most controversial topics in American history. The book also navigates the subjects of white superiority, and the creation of Anglo-Saxonism.