Manifest Destiny Research Paper

1181 Words3 Pages

Throughout American history there are two ideologies that have left an everlasting impact on the American nation and their pursuit for expansion: Manifest Destiny and American imperialism. Manifest Destiny was a belief system that emerged in the 19th century, which captured the ideology that many American settlers sailed off of. This ideology was seen as a divine mandate to expand westward across North America. Manifest Destiny helped shape the American expansionist ideas for the better and worse through pivotal events such as the annexation of Texas. On the contrary, there was American imperialism which came into light around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This ideology was seen as a means for America to spread their influence and …show more content…

Manifest Destiny primarily focused on continental expansion across North America. This expansion led to the establishment of American sovereignty from coast to coast, including the annexation of Texas, Oregon, and California. Furthermore, this expansion through Manifest Destiny guided economic development, transportation development, and agricultural development. This growth spurred the augmentation of infrastructure development such as railroads, and vast lands for farming which overall improved the American economy. In addition, the expansion provided American settlers with new opportunities as democracy and civilization spread across North America. Whilst American expansion was proving to be a positive move for Americans, there were some underlying problems that occurred. Mainly, it was the treatment of the indigenous people who were on the westward lands far before American settlers. These Native Americans were being put through disempowerment, displacement, and mistreatment as settlers began to scatter across the …show more content…

In contrast, the American administration invested in projects that supported public health initiatives and educational reforms in the Philippines. Throughout this imperialistic overtake of these countries, America was able to enhance their influence and power from a global standpoint. Overall, while Manifest Destiny and American imperialism had the same goal in mind of expansion, the results varied as Manifest Destiny contributed to domestic conflicts and indigenous marginalization and American imperialism brought colonial domination and resistance within the oversea territories. This goes to show how Manifest Destiny's results arrived from within the nation and American imperialism's results were seen outside the nation. They were also about varying ideas, such as Native Americans and colonial domination overseas. It is true that Manifest Destiny and American imperialism share similarities regarding their controversies such as their issues being based on ethical or moral implications, but breaking down these implications it can be seen that there were distinct differences in the issues they faced such as indigenous displacement and democratic

More about Manifest Destiny Research Paper

Open Document