Manifest Destiny Imperialism Essay

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Manifest Destiny was the commonly held American attitude during the 1800s that there was a god given obligation for Americans to expand throughout the natural borders of the continent. Manifest Destiny is generally perceived by Americans to be a benevolent movement due to the positive economic conditions it had created. However, ever since the inception of the concept of Manifest Destiny, many have viewed it not as a movement of benevolence, but rather as a movement of aggressive imperialism. This is because Manifest Destiny resulted in the mass destruction and forced migrations of Native American tribes as well as the Mexican-American War, a long standing statement of American Imperialism. It is clear that through the negative consequences …show more content…

The war was fought primarily as a war to acquire territory as it had resulted in the loss of more than half of Mexico’s land. Due to the territorial acquisitions during the war and the imperialist attitudes of the American people, the war was a war of American imperialism. Even before the war, President James K. Polk had unsuccessfully tried to intimidate Mexico into seceding California, a territory which Mexico had long held. President Polk had denied that expansion was a movement of Imperialism in the quote "Our government is not extended by the sword. By its own merits it extends itself." However, it is apparent that through Polk’s order of Gen. Zachary Taylor and his army into the disputed Rio Grande territory, that expansion was not allowed for by the merits of the American people, but rather on behalf of the aggressive imperialism of the American government. As a result of the Native American tribes who suffered under the forced migrations and the Mexican government who lost half their territory, the movement of Manifest Destiny was one of aggressive imperialism. The view of the movement as a movement of benevolence is seen only by Americans as they were the only ones who did not suffer under the mass migrations, land encroachment, and imperialistic policies

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