The Manifest Destiny Essay

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.

On May 9, President Polk received a message from his war department about the attack. After being told of the attack President Polk immediately wrote a message declaring that a state of war has existed between the US and Mexico. On May 13 congress declared war. President Polk went into war with one main objective, to seize all of Mexico north of Rio Grande and the Gilla River and westward to the Pacific. The US army advanced into Mexico. US forces led by Col. Stephen W. Kearny and Commodore Robert F Stockton were easily able to get the lands. "Chapultepec was the last battle of the war before the capture of Mexico City" Many battles went on during the Mexican War.

The second basic cause of the war was the Texas War of Independence and the subsequent annexation of that area to the United States. Not all American westward migration was unwelcome. In the 1820's and 1830's, Mexico, newly independent from Spain, needed settlers in the underpopulated northern parts of the country. An invitation was issued for people who would take an oath of allegiance to Mexico and convert to Catholicism, the state religion. Thousands of Americans took up the offer and moved, often with slaves, to the Mexican province of Texas. Soon however, many of the new "Texicans" or "Texians" were unhappy with the way the government in Mexico City tried to run the province. In 1835, Texas revolted, and after several bloody battles, the Mexican President, Santa Anna, was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco in 1836 . This treaty gave Texas its independence, but many Mexicans refused to accept the legality of this document, as Santa Anna was a prisoner of the Texans at the time. The Republic of Texas and Mexico continued to engage in border fights and many people in the United States openly sympathized with the U.S.-born Texans in this conflict. As a result of the savage frontier fighting, the American public developed a very negative stereotype against the Mexican people and government. Partly due to the continued hostilities with Mexico, Texas decided to join with the United States,

As Texans began demanding freedom, they deciding to away from Mexico, causing tensions between the United States and Mexico. In 1845, tensions began to lead to threats between the two countries when the United States decided to annex Texas into their country and ultimately led to the Mexican-American war. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. A reason is that James K. Polk, president at the time, decided to send American soldiers onto disputed territory which Mexico thought was theirs. Doc C is an article written by Jesus Velasco-Marquez discussing the Mexicans viewpoint on the war with the United States in 1846. According to Doc C,¨In the eyes of the Mexican government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack

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.

There are people today who think that the United States of America’s boundary was created by fate; however, much complexity was involved in the gaining of our country’s boundaries. Manifest Destiny comes from the desire that Americans had to expand their borders. Americans wanted a distinct expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The term “Manifest Destiny” originated when John L. Sullivan published an article on the annexation of Texas. O’Sullivan believed that the expansion of the United States would be beneficial and better our nation. The American settlers became very determined to expand their civilization across North America. The Second Great Awakening, the belief that God would bless the growth of the country, created another reason for Americans to want to expand. “The Democratic Review asserted that God had preordained expansion across the continent” (Greenberg, 15). Manifest Destiny has played a very important role in our country’s past, its present, and it will have a significant role on its future. “Without Manifest Destiny, the territorial expansion of the United States from a strip of Atlantic coast colonies to a continental empire in less than a -century would have been, literally, unthinkable” (Greenberg 2). If our country continues to expand its perimeter, the concept of Manifest Destiny will always play a role in history.

In addition to Polk’s scheme to pull Mexico into war with the United States, he was also hatching a plan in the west. With the help of John C. Freemont and a group of American frontiersmen, known as the “Bear Flaggers”, he organized a revolt against Mexican rule and liberated most of California before the U.S. invasion began. Likewise, Both California and New Mexico were occupied by American forces prior to the assault on northern Mexico. (Tindall & Shi 2010). Securing the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and California ignited widespread support for the war and re-established the national America’s sentiment of manifest destiny. (Tindall & Shi 2010).

In 1846 General Kearny leads an army West to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He intends to gain control of New Mexico as he claims it is American territory. His march was met with hardship from lack of water, and frankly nothing but desert for the mass duration of his journey. Upon reaching camp he is confronted by a lieutenant, a sergeant, and two privates from Mexican forces. Conflicts arise between General Kearny and Manuel Amijo. General Kearny himself put forth, “All who obey me, and do not resist, I will respect, and make secure in their property,

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.

In addition the claim that Texas's border was the Rio Grande was also a leading contributor to the war. Once America declared war on Mexico in 1862, the opposing sides participated in the Battle of Buena Vista, Palo Alto, Cerro Gordo, Resaca de Palma, Battle of Chapultepec, and many others. The advanced weaponry that America contained was the downfall of Mexico.The faltering Mexican government and the awful Mexican generals allowed Mexico to be defeated. General Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor's forces defeated Santa Ana's troops.Defeated and devastated, Mexico was forced to sign a treaty. They decided to end the war with

It is worth noting here that the Americans were concerned about appearances, and that they did their best to provoke Mexico into a war, without having to bear the responsibility of actually starting the war. In his Personal Memoirs, Grant explained the mission of the U.S. Army in south Texas, "We were sent to provoke a fight, but it was essential that Mexico should commence it." The plan worked. The U.S. annexed Texas in February of 1846, and Polk immediately ordered Taylor to proceed to the Rio Grande. One of Taylor's patrols skirmished with a Mexican detachment and lost over twenty soldiers, including eleven dead, five wounded, and several captured. Polk immediately called for war. In his bellicose message to the U.S. Congress, the President announced that, "American blood had been shed upon American soil." He got his declaration of war.

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.

The Mexican-American war, also known as the Mexican war happened between 1846 and 1848 with the participants being United States of America and Mexico. Texas, previously a Mexican state, was the primary cause of the war. A series of disagreements had occurred between Texans and the Mexican government leading to Texas declaration of its independence in 1836. Later, Texas decided to join the United States as the 28th state and this infuriated Mexico. Additionally, border disagreements came up with Mexico claiming the border was at Nueces River while Texas claimed it was at Rio Grande River. James K. Polk, the president, sent his army to protect the border which ended up in shooting between Mexican and American troops. It is after this that

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.