Throughout the history of America, individuals have been exploring the frontier, broadening horizons, and pushing boundaries. During the eighteenth century, Americans set out to settle the western frontier, ingrained within them the idea of manifest destiny, which stated that the United States was destined to stretch from coast to coast. Individuals began to migrate west in droves, rapidly expanding the United States until they reached the Pacific. In 1890, the Census Bureau declared that the frontier had been “officially closed.” Americans had settled the far reaches of their country, fulfilling manifest destiny. The United States began to set its sights on greater, overseas conquests. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth …show more content…
As a result, varying views began to emerge regarding imperialism and how to govern the new territories. Some individuals deemed imperialism disdainful and oppressive, while others saw it as the nation’s obligation and beneficial to all involved. Great debate arose, especially surrounding the Philippines, which remained restless under America’s rule. Although Americans appeared to be completely divided over imperialism, most individuals, regardless of their position, considered the effects of imperialism on the Filipino people and the American nation as a whole. Despite the greater emphasis placed on the oppressed people and the implications of imperialism on the United States, some focused on the effects of expansion on the American people, viewing imperialism through the lense of racial inequality. For example, E. E. Cooper, an African American editor of the newspaper Colored American, supported the war with Spain because he believed it would “cement the races into a more compact brotherhood through perfect unity of purpose and patriotic affinity” (1). Cooper’s perspective is that of an African American man finding hope anywhere he can that America is headed for more accepting times. However, his point of view does not represent the majority of individuals during this time period, and, therefore, his support for imperialism is anomalous. Most individuals, whether adversaries or supporters, viewed imperialism as
At this time in U.S. history, the United States was beginning to emerge as a global power and the effects of expansion would only aid in supporting the economy, boosting international trade and contributing to the vision of American exceptionalism. While the idea of conquering new territories and countries seemed to be an appealing temptation to most, it cannot go unsaid that the doctrines of manifest destiny and imperialism were extremely contested and controversial to many other citizens, especially those who suffered from the battles, wars, and hardships as a direct result of westward expansion and imperialism. Through a comprehensive analysis, the intricate relationship between frontier and empire during the nineteenth and twentieth century will be delineated while focusing on both the benefits and damages brought about by efforts to expand domestically and
While some were driven on what they believe was God’s will others saw Manifest Destiny as the historical inevitability domination of North America from sea to sea. Before, manifest destiny, many Americans had small families not by choice, but for the mere fact that many of the people would die before they would reach forty. By the mid 1800’s technology began to rise, and the life span for many Americans increased. The U.S. population grew from more than 5 million in 1800 to more than 23 million by the mid century. By the increasing of families in town many of the towns became overcrowded. At this point many Americans looked to the west for possible permanent homes.
In the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny which was a term that defined the attitudes and actions of Americans seeking westward expansion emerged and determined American settlement westward would inevitably spread coast to coast. The motivations of Manifest Destiny came from religious purposes (spread of God’s will), a romanticized reality of life West personified in pioneers, and the overcrowding populations that made up Eastern United States. These ideas stemmed from Puritan John Winthrop’s 1640 ideals of upholding god’s will in the “City on the Hill” in which it was their social responsibility to express and become an exemplary society for others to follow or live up to. The ideas of Manifest Destiny made territories West not just a place of geographic opportunity, but something of a requirement of American society to spread its greatness and harness the countries true potential and overall American ideals. Other powerful nations had much less involvement in North America than previously, providing the nation’s ability and overall motivations to extend their hold and power in North
The quote "A Splendid little war" by Secretary of State John Hay summarizes the Spanish American War in 1898. While this war could be seen as an act of aggression by the 20th century standards this war was beneficial to the United States of America while being deviating to the Kingdom of Spain for many reasons.
The United States was expanding with the vision of Manifest Destiny. People from the east where expanding towards uncharted territory in the west. From hunting pelts, mining for gold to making farms along the way.This vision was not an easy task, political structure over land and equal rights would ruin alliances and even caused wars. Families were broken or lost over a chance of making fortune out west. However, American’s journey to colonize the west was also a risk, not many survived the diseases, low food and the harsh weather that the frontier exposed. However Manifest Destiny was America’s divine right to expand towards the west by any means necessary, by purchasing, political or by force Americans are supposed to expand from sea to
The term of Manifest Destiny originated in the 1840s and in the 19th century it was a belief that the United States will expand its territory throughout North America by influences of social, economic and political aspects. The topic for this research is about the Manifest Destiny and the Westward Expansion. This research highlights how manifest Destiny helped expand the United States territory. Manifest Destiny aided American westward expansion with contributions made by the Lewis and Clark explorations, Railroads and Telegraphs systems, and military conquests.
During the nineteenth century, American had expanded the territory westward called “Manifest Destiny”, the idea was originated from Thomas Jefferson after he purchased Louisiana from French and spinning the term “empire” into the phrase “empire of liberty”. (making America,189-190). In addition, John
Rapid population growth and overuse of the land east of the Mississippi River, coupled with the knowledge that there was an abundance of land for new settlement west of the river, led to the ideology of expansionism; the ideology became simply known as Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, written by Amy S. Greenburg, deeply explains the motivation of the individuals looking to expand their settlements westward. Since the time of publication, we have realized that we could have handled the situation, in which we removed the inhabitants of the west from their homeland, in a better way. Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand westward by destroying anything in their path. “…courageous pioneers believed that America had a divine obligation to stretch the boundaries of their noble republic to the Pacific Ocean.” (“29. Manifest Destiny.”)
“Limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” (“John O’Sullivan Declares”). This quote from an article by John O’Sullivan, not only managed to help create the mindset of this time, but also helped coin the name, Manifest Destiny. In the 19th century, or more specifically 1845, the leading idea among a lot of Americans is that they deserved the land from coast to coast. This ideal is know as Manifest Destiny. The idea came about when the journalist, John O’Sullivan, wrote about Texas and California falling away from Mexico, and joining America. He wrote that nothing can stand in the way of Americans obtaining all the land in between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to the help of the Transcontinental Railroad, John L. O'Sullivan’s writing on Manifest Destiny, and John Gast’s painting American Progress, the culture of the United States of America during the time of Manifest Destiny is vastly focused on expansion and conquering.
As the United States transformed physically from industrialization and competition to secure international markets a new political global hierarchy in the Imperial Age began to form. World power at this time was often accumulated by Nations dominated by the Anglo Saxon races. This power often came at the expense of minorities in non-industrialized Nations. The forceful acquisition of territories by more advanced Nations often resulted from racists theories of white superiority. Notions of white superiority evolved from philosophies like Social Darwinism and were used to support the White Man’s burden or duty to civilize less developed peoples. America in an effort to compete with European Nations on the Global stage obtained several territories from its victory in the Spanish America War. The acquisition of the Philippines in particular, sparked competing interpretations of the definition liberty and its proper administration in these new U.S. Territories. As well as, ignited debates among intellectuals, politicians and the American people over the role America’s foreign policy should embrace in the World Stage. Ultimately, Imperialists championed American foreign policy that restricted the liberty of inferior races, propelling America to embrace its duty to civilize the world as a Global Power. At the same time, anti-imperialists pursued foreign policy measures to expand liberty for native peoples in U.S. Territories insisting imperialism violated America’s founding
The book, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” by Frederick Jackson Turner expresses many of the important concepts of the American western frontier. “ … but at present the unsettled area has been so broken into by isolated bodies of settlement that there can hardly be said to be a frontier line,” said the superintendent of the census for 1890. Showing the overwhelming American influence in the shaping of the frontier, this quote captures the general structure of the frontier, at the time, and one can easily bridge the likeness between the absence of the frontier line to the American aspects and dreams. Meaning, America motivates its citizens to spread and lay claim to the land because the American dream is to become successful and in the late 19th
The physical growth of the United States as a nation and the acquisition of overseas territories suggests that US foreign policy between the years of 1890 and 1919 was imperialist as opposed to isolationist. Within 100 years, America’s population had risen from 5 million to 75 million, acting as a global empire that spanned across Alaska, the Philippines, Cuba and Hawaii. Although, America opted for a different type of imperialism, granting states self-governance and ‘autonomy’, these states were not given independence until they could prove that they had enforced democracy and changed from their ‘uncivilised’ and ‘barbaric’ ways as Pres. Woodrow Wilson would refer to them.
Today America is one of the major superpowers in the world and it is all a product of centuries of wars and expansion. It all started in 1492, with Christopher Columbus discovering America to the Great American Revolution with Civil War and finally the election of the first black president. Expansion has always been a major part of American development and manifest destiny is what makes America what it is today despite the negative aspects of it. Manifest Destiny is one of the peculiar features of America in the 19th century since “all nations are defined by their shared myths, but only United States had Manifest Destiny” (Amy S. Greenberg 4). I am of two minds in describing it and partially concur with this elucidation of manifest destiny that “In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans had come to believe that it was their destiny to explore, settle and exploit the entire continent and to unify it into one nation,” but I also harmonize with the expression by George Caitlin that manifest destiny became “an unrequited account of sin and injustice” and U.S. citizens became “cruel dispossessors.”
The year 1898 has come to be a watershed year. Many of the decisions made had a major impact on the country. The War of 1898 came in a decade of one of the most detrimental economic depressions in U.S. history (Perez 2). The U.S. economy was transitioning from being mainly agricultural to industrial during this time period. With the economy transitioning, it implied that the United States also needed new markets and territories from which to defend them from difficult times.
In the 19th century Americans saw it as their duty to accomplish what many might believe to be unrealistic, to connect North America from coast to coast. Manifest Destiny is a term that describes the attitude that many Americans had during this era of transformation and progression. Americans claimed the right to bring civilization westward and transform the unknown world into a land where men could live and be free. However, with this movement of progression Westward meant destruction for many Native Americans. California native’s suffered greatly due to the invasion and great influx of foreigners into their land due to the natural resources California offers. These resources attracted many and as a result California natives witnessed their land being destroyed along with their people and culture stripped away from them.