The Justification Behind 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.

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.

Manifest Destiny is a term used to describe the reason behind the US expansion into the West. What are the social, political and economical effects of this idea on the people living in the United States colonies and the West?

Can you imagine what life would be like if the United States of America was small and different. America may not have survived and/or thrived. Well, it could have been like this, if it was not for Manifest Destiny. The Manifest Destiny was a positive part of U.S history. Without it we might not be the United States that we are today. There is many sources to support that it was a positive part of U.S history. I will be showing you with my 4 sources why the Manifest Destiny was evidently a positive part of United states history.

The actions engaged in by the United States during the time of Manifest Destiny were not justified because of the way they came across seemed unfair to many. Their actions were unfair because they were taking land from people who did nothing to them. During this time they also expanded slavery, took children from their homes to send them to boarding schools. The actions used by the United States during Manifest Destiny were unjustified because they proceeded violently and unfair.

Define and discuss the phrase "Manifest Destiny." Explain how this belief came to divide the nation. Manifest destiny was based on a belief presented by John O'Sullivan. He was a newspaper editor and publisher. In 1845, he said that the aggressive westward expansion of the nation was vital to the prosperity of the country. He believed that it was every American's right to bring the ideas of freedom, democracy and Christianity to the Indians as well as Mexicans. In his view, these groups were nothing more than savages who needed to be taught the most civilized ways to live. (Faragher, 2009)

Manifest Destiny, caused the tribes to wipe out causing a cultural divide in the Native American

The Manifest Destiny was the daring idea to expand past the original boundaries of the United States. Although there is no land that has not been discovered, this type of self motivation is needed to maintain the American tradition of conquering all. Within that idea, one conflict of this journey was that this expansion of boundaries would encourage the idea that white men were superior to other nationalities and had power to overrule. This claim became widespread because white men were behind this Manifest Destiny and were willing to take over land of the Native Americans’ land out west to secure Oregon Territory, California, Mexican land in the southwest, and in the 1850s, Cuba, (“Manifest Destiny”). Recently, the State of Florida has recently bullied their way into tearing down the local Tom Thumb gas station in Vernon, Florida in order to four lane the

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.

The Manifest Destiny was a theory during the 19th century that many Americans believed. They believed that they were destined by God to expand from coast to coast. Andrew Jackson’s concept of the Manifest Destiny lead to the Trial of Tears because he believed it was a God-given right to attain land so he was willing to do all in his power as a president to expand the United States. He was blessed with the opportunity to expand the United States due to the global wars that transpired between France and other countries. In some word Andrew Jackson was an opportunist when it came to expansion. He also believed that the Americans were supposed to obtain the land whatever the cost. The Manifest Destiny was a theory during the 19th century that many Americans believed. They believed that they were destined by God to expand from coast to coast.

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of U.S in 1803. But it is not enough for ambitious Americans, we are not satisfied, we wanted more territory. So western expansion did not end, it actually keep moved. Westward Expansion is a very significant part in U.S history. It operated perfectly based on the ideology called manifest destiny. However, the creation of this theory is on purpose. It was used to push U.S territory to further west.

The idea of western expansion was promoted in order to strengthen the reputation and the entirety of the infant country. This was appropriated and romanticized through texts and documents, such as Manifest Destiny by John C. Calhoun and the message promoting the Indian Removal Act by President Jackson, which uses various appeals and logical fallacies to persuade the audience on the ideal benefits and optimistic virtues without the consideration of the Native American demographic. While expanding, the Americans encountered numerous Native Americans that ranged from a violent interaction to a peaceful treaty of removal in order to satisfy the American’s territorial cupidity. Despite America resorting back to its founding principles to

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.

1) Explain the justification for the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, including material and idealistic motivation

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.