During the early stages of the United States of America in the nineteenth an idea known as manifest destiny was very popular. Manifest destiny is the name of the time period where Americans believed that it is their mission to overspread over the continent beginning with the Western territories of the frontier and then to export the nations ideals of democracy and enlighten the entire world. Manifest destiny played a major role in the creation of the theory of American exceptionalism. According to Loch K. Johnson, exceptionalism is a “belief in a mission to disperse this nations value around the world.” During this time many people in America thought that their country was looked on by God and was chosen to save humanity by spreading their ideals across the world. Many of our political leaders at the time believed that America’s ideals of democracy were truly exceptional and decided to make it their mission to help other countries to make them better and make them conform to the same democratic ideals that the United States of America follows. One example of America trying to fulfill the “national mission” is during the Spanish-American War. The Spanish–American War emerged between Spain and the United States during the months of April and August of 1898 over Cuba’s liberation. The war began when Spain rejected American demands for the Cuban independence. The United States got involved in the war because they had economic interest in Cuba and also because they had reason to believe that Spain had caused the explosion of the USS Maine. Congress passed the Teller Amendment in May 1898, in which the US promised not to annex Cuba, but to liberate it as an independent state. Thus, the US claimed to be fighting the war not for self... ... middle of paper ... ...it was in the 20th century but there are still times when America feels as if it is our mission to do. For example, after the attacks of 9/11 President George W. Bush declared, “We did not ask for this mission, but we will fulfill it…We defend not only our precious freedoms, but also the freedom of people everywhere to live and raise their children free from fear.” There are still those who highly believe that the United States and the American people are in a higher standard than everyone else in the world. They believe that their duty as Americans is to offer hope for humanity around the world, which can be done so by instilling in them our ideals of personal and economic freedom. Works Cited Johnson, Loch K. 1942-. American Foreign Policy and the Challenges of World Leadership. Power, Principle, and the Constitution. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. Print.
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Show MoreManifest 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.
The term “Manifest Destiny” was never actually used until 1845, but the idea was always implied from the Doctrine of Discovery. Without understanding the Doctrine, it is impossible to understand the reasons and fundamentals behind why Manifest Destiny began.This Doctrine was a set of ten steps and rules that European nations followed in order to avoid conflict over land holdings, created in the early 1400s. The first few steps give the discovering country full rights to buy the land from the native peoples. This is important, since it gave the discovering country the power of preemption. Conquered Indian peoples lose sovereign powers and the rights to free trade and diplomatic relations, and the land they occupy is said to be vacant. Religion played a massive role in the regulations of the Doctrine, since “non-Christian people were not deemed to have the same rights to land, sovereignty, and self determination as Christians”(Miller 4). These rules were all meant to favor the ethnocentric, with full understanding of the repercussions on those who lived in the places being conquered.
Coined in 1845 by journalist John L. O'sullivan the term Manifest Destiny outlined the idea that it was America's God given right to spread to the western territory bought in the Louisiana Purchase and beyond. Already swept up in the excitement of expansion, the people of America took up the term quickly, using it as yet another incentive to populate new lands in pursuit of riches. Manifest Destiny was used often to give reason to the nation’s imperialistic activities of conquering the west, including its justification for the war against Mexico in 1845- 1848. (Acuna 222, 226). America's desire for economic power and military prowess, as well as her wish to keep up with ever-expanding technology pushed her people west, with O'sullivan's Manifest
In 1845, John L. O’Sullivan combined American nationalism and messianic mission in the idea of Manifest Destiny to justify the annexation of Texas. He spoke of America as a nation in defense of humanity, of the oppressed, of all nations, of the rights of conscience. Universal freedom and equality became justification for disenfranchising former Mexican citizens and displacing Native American tribes. Manifest Destiny was used throughout the second half of the 19th century as justification for expansion to California, and the acquisition of territory in the Caribbean and the occupation of The Philippines. Europe’s reform movements o...
During the late 19th and 20th century, the United States pursues an aggressive policy of expansionism, extending its political, military, and economic influence across the globe. The events during this ‘age of imperialism’ laid the foundation for America’s international power while simultaneously defining the use of the these powers. The policy that the United States implemented at this time is known as Big Stick Diplomacy which was to speak softly but carry a big stick. This meant that the United States would ask for something or take a stance on an issue and if another nation refused or went against the United States, then the military would be summoned to ‘resolve’ the issues. This domineering foreign policy defined the politics of American Imperialism that was especially prevalent from 1890-1913.
“We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march?” (Denial) noted writer John O’Sullivan in 1839, but in fact, there was one limit: territory. Some people believed that in order to spread democracy, it was America’s manifest destiny, or obvious fate, to inhabit the entire North American continent. It had a major impact on American society by it being the cause of social change in the US, it economically revamped America, and lastly, it altered America politically. Manifest destiny caused the change of America socially due to the economic transition from a local market economy to a national market economy. Manifest destiny has also impacted America’s society economically by the large increase in territory gained to profit off of. But, it also altered America politically by causing further division of the North and South which led to a great drama of regional conflict. These social, political, and economical changes in the United States were certainly results of the initiation and usage of manifest destiny.
The concept of Manifest Destiny was simple: American settlers believed that they were destined to grow across the continent, coast to coast. There are two basic themes to Manifest Destiny. They are the principles of American people and the Americans mission to move into the west. Historians say that Manifest Destiny was like a competition. Democrats endorsed the idea of it; however, many of the leading Americans, like Lincoln and Grant, rejected the idea of it. “American imperialism did not represent an American consensus; it provoked bitter dissent within the national polity….Whigs saw America’s moral mission as one of democratic example rather than on of conquest,” said Daniel Walker Howe.
Manifest Destiny is known as the idea that the United States will control the continent from the east coast all the way to the west coast. However, this idea took time to happen, which is shown through the first sixty years of the idea when territorial expansion was the primary goal. This may not have been able to happen if it weren't for several key factors. Factors such as Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, along with the Louisiana Purchase were able to personify Manifest Destiny due to its push westward on the boundaries of the United States.
Manifest Destiny was an ideology that emerged in the late 1840’s that had profound significance in the development of the United States of America. The main idea behind Manifest Destiny was that Americans have a God given right to take over the unsettled land in North America. Manifest destiny was fueled by nationalism, population increase, new technological advances, and reform ideals. While some may argue that Manifest Destiny was a benevolent movement that lead to the expansion of the United States, the reality is that Manifest Destiny was imperialism. It lead to wars in Texas and Oregon that costed many innocent lives, despite the fact that the United States ultimately gained those territories.
In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...
Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean; it has also been used to advocate for or justify other territorial acquisitions. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was not only good, but that it was obvious and certain. Originally a political catch phrase of the 19th century, "Manifest Destiny" eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the expansion of the United States across the North American continent.In the early 1840s John L. O’Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review, inaugurated the expression Manifest Destiny to depict American expansionism. O’Sullivan described the nation’s extension as inevitable and criticized those that delayed that progression "for the avowed object of thwarting our policy, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions."(Horsman 219) Horsman notes that even though O’Sullivan laid claim to the phrase manifest destiny, the idea was embedded in Anglo-Saxon heritage. In chapter one of Horsman the concept of ...
The Manifest Destiny was a progressive movement starting in the 1840's. John O'Sullivan, a democratic leader, named the movement in 1845. Manifest Destiny meant that westward expansion was America's destiny. The land that was added to the U.S. after 1840 (the start of Manifest Destiny) includes The Texas Annexation (1845), The Oregon Country (1846), The Mexican Cession (1848), The Gadsden Purchase (1853), Alaska (1867), and Hawaii (1898). Although this movement would take several years to accomplish fully, things started changing before we knew it. New technology took off right away!
One of the largest and most wealthy countries in the world, the United States of America, has gone through many changes in its long history. From winning its independence from Great Britain to present day, America has changed dramatically and continues to change. A term first coined in the 1840s, "Manifest Destiny" helped push America into the next century and make the country part of what it is today. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny played an important role in the development of the United States by allowing the territorial expansion of the 1800s. Without the expansion of the era, America would not have most of the western part of the country it does now.
Manifest Destiny! This simple phrase enraptured the United States during the late 1800’s, and came to symbolize an era of westward expansion through numerous powerful entities. The expansion can be inspected though many different contextual lenses, but if examined among the larger histories of the United States, this movement can be classified as one of the most influential developments of the post-Civil War period. While very influential to the larger part of American history, the seemingly barbaric methods that were used conquer the western lands and their peoples took physical and economical forms that proved to be a plague upon the West.
As we approach the next Presidential election the topic of American foreign policy is once again in the spotlight. In this paper, I will examine four major objectives of U.S. foreign policy that have persisted throughout the twentieth century and will discuss the effect of each on our nation’s recent history, with particular focus on key leaders who espoused each objective at various times. In addition, I will relate the effects of American foreign policy objectives, with special attention to their impact on the American middle class. Most importantly, this paper will discuss America’s involvement in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War to the anticipated fulfillment of these objectives—democracy, manifest destiny, humanitarianism, and economic expansion.