manifest destiny and territorial expansion dbq: to what extent did it unify the US

Ever since the Manifest Destiny became the United States’ holy goal, Texas had always been in the sight of the United State, for the location and size of the territory were extremely attractive for the expansion. In addition, the state offered the Rio Grande River which promised great trade in the future. These factors made Texas a key component in fulfilling the sacred duty, so when news spread that Texas became independent, there was no time wasted from the United States in integrating them into the union. Even before Texas gained their independence, the United States had become intertwined with the culture of Texas by having hundreds of American citizens immigrating into the territory and spreading American values across the land. As many historians have said “Throughout the United States, especially in the South, support for Texas was warm and widespread. Men, money, and

Manifest destiny was used as an excuse for America claiming land it had never had any right to. Americans wanted to extend slavery and saw taking land from Mexico as a way to do so. President Polk set the perfect opportunity to get Mexicans to attack US soldiers, so he would have grounds for war. None of these were justified reasons for war, and only caused a larger rift to form within the nation. The United States’ unjustified decision to go to war with Mexico was a driving force in dividing the nation, ultimately leading to the Civil

While Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion created conflict with foreign nations, including the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and within the United States, it worked to unify the United States from 1830 to 1860 by strengthening the nation as a whole, creating economic opportunities for people from all different walks of life, and expanding the United States through the annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California from Mexico.

There was much division among Americans regarding what should be done with Texas. Some argued that it should join the other states so that there could be peace between them and Texas (Document F) and that it would make the slaves more comfortable by providing them with more land and support (Document C.) However, others argued that annexing Texas would create a dangerous imbalance of slave and free states. In Document B, Reverend William Ellery Channing claimed that “By annexing Texas, we shall not only create [slavery] where it does not exist, but breathe new life into it, where its end seemed to be near.” In other words, by including Texas as a free state, slavery would only continue to spread for a longer amount of time than it would have originally. This would, of course, extend the entire conflict of whether or not slavery was just. This controversy over Texas greatly divided the states amongst themselves.

James K. Polk was elected as president of the United States in 1848 and with him he brought a determination to expand territory more than any other president had before. In his one term administration he expanded the country by two-thirds. Polks hunger for more land resulted in a war with Mexico over Texas which evoked lots of opposition from the Whig party. The idea of Manifest Destiny was germinating throughout Democrats everywhere, countering the Whig ideology of “true republicanism”. They believed “A nation cannot simultaneously devote its energies to the absorption of others’ territories and the improvement of its own,” (pg, 49). Polk ignored this belief and soon John C. Fremont was declaring California independent and Stephen Watts Kearny was leading his army to several victories south of the Rio Grande. Nicholas Trist was able to get Mexico to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, recognizing the Rio Grande boundary of Texas and ceding New Mexico and upper Californian to the US.

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 popular idea during the 1840s. Many people thought that the U.S. was destined to stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. As a part of the U.S. journey to achieve the Manifest Destiny, many people wanted the annexation of Texas and California. While, Mexico did not want to give Texas or California to the U.S.; over time. These territorial disagreements between the U.S. and Mexico started to become a stimulus for war. When the U.S. started to gain territory from Mexico, the issue of slavery became more frequent because lawmakers argued over whether the adopted territory allowed for slavery or not. Although the idea of the Manifest Destiny sparked a wave of patriotism among Americans, territorial expansion ultimately divided the U.S. between advocates and opponents of slavery. Americans not only wanted the land for economic purposes but they also felt that they needed to teach Mexico a lesson; these ideas were used as the basis of unity during the mid-19th century.

Manifest Destiny pushed America into a new, positive light. Economics, along with the government and social classes were affected by Manifest Destiny.

The Annexation of Texas is an example of how manifest destiny played a decisive role in the United States politics and policies in the 1840’s. The Annexation of Texas is where Texas won its independence against Mexico that results from Texas becoming admitted to the United States. This shows how they wanted the United States to become a global power by American expansion. It was President’s Polk’s idea to expand their territory. This relates to the slogan President Polk made “Fifty-four forty or fight!” this represents the victory of claiming the Oregon territory.

Manifest Destiny played arguably one of the largest ideological roles in American history, and a prime example of its prevalence would be the Mexican War. The war itself stemmed from a vehement desire for Texas by Andrew Jackson, but wasn’t officially started until his successor, James K. Polk, took office. A whole series of events led up to the war’s commencement, however Manifest Destiny was the both the root of and justification for the Mexican War.

Manifest destiny is God’s plan that America will extend its territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. was justified in going to war with Mexico because they wanted to extend their land toward the Pacific Ocean just like the Manifest Destiny says, Mexico crossed the border first, and they attacked the U.S. first. In 1821 Mexico declared their independence from Spain.

During the nineteenth century, the Manifest Destiny happened in the United States, which was the American settlers were bound to expand throughout the land. This helped with removing more Natives from the country, started war with Mexico, and spread economic means across the country in order to get more money.

Manifest Destiny is America's expanding from east to west and whites believed this is what God ordained them to achieve. Along with Manifest Destiny many believed that slavery was a good thing and many disagreed. As we gained more territory and expanded into the west our country was divided over this conflict, whether added states should be free or slave states. Manifest Destiny heavily influenced our sectional conflict over slavery in politics and geography in the United States.

The idea of Manifest Destiny, the belief that American settlers had the God-given right to expand across North America, essentially led to the Mexican-American War. This American belief eventually caused a tremendous deal of suffering for many Native Americans, Mexicans, and American citizens. Tensions grew between the North American independent nation and Mexico when Texas later became a state in the U.S following the war over Texas earlier on. Consequently, dispute over the border lines of Texas triggered military confrontation as well as President Polk’s desire for war to acquire large areas of land from Mexico. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the war formally, and as a result, the United States received the disputed Texas territory, as well as the New Mexico Territory and California.

Manifest destiny is the idea, or belief that America would expand from the eastern border and all the way to the pacific ocean. It all started with people such as Thomas Jefferson who thought that it was necessary to move west and expand the united states. The expansion of the United States occurred with little movements west. For example, the Louisiana purchase doubled the nation's size and helped America expand west. Another example of America expanding west is when texas joined the union and declare their independence from the Mexicans. Pioneers went west for various other reasons that included the gold rush or for religious freedom. In 1849 gold was found in San Francisco. The forty-niners was a name that was given to the people who migrated