They thought that by forcing the Native Americans to assimilate to the Americans that they Native Americans would be “a happy and prosperous people,”(Jackson133) instead of the savages the Americans believed them to be. The Americans believed that because the Native Americans had realized that it was there destiny to give up their lands that the Native Americans were going to ... ... middle of paper ... ...,”(Jackson 134) so that all of the lands could be theirs. The Americans were only concerned with taking all of the land from the natives so that they could expand the United States and keep all minerals with in the new lands. In the 1800's the Native Americans kept the peace while the Americans were selfish in their crusade for land. The Americans thought that according to the Manifest destiny they were the sole rulers of the Native American's lands.
American Progress portrays western expansion and Manifest Destiny as a glorious and righteous thing. This painting presents a very effective persuasion to the American people. The painting played off the American emotions present at the time regarding patriotism and manifest destiny, and by incorporating American innovations such as telegraph lines into the image he paired the idea of expanding westward settlement with the idea of innovation. The painting truly hints at the past, lays out a fantastic version of an evolving present, and finally lays out a vision of the future.
Americans always had the desire to do great things and expand their influence abroad. It was their ideal that god destined them to do so. Manifest Destiny was a term coined by John O’Sullivan during the 19th century that describes the American’s expedition to further their land, and stretch it from coast to coast. There westward motivation was made possible most notably during the reign of James K. Polk. However, expanding and gaining new land wasn’t a simple scheme.
Approaching the mid-1800’s, a movement coined as “Manifest Destiny” took over the American nation. Manifest Destiny was the overall idea that Americans had the “divine right” to expand towards the west. Many reasons were considered when talking about settling west, reasons such as cheap land, economic growth, and job opportunities, etc. Americans wanted to expand the national territory from ocean to ocean and express their superiority. Overall, the purpose of Manifest Destiny was to spread American values and expand the geographical borders of the nation.
O’Sullivan believed that the way to gain control of the continent was to be peaceful, and this was achieved through the work of "Anglo-Saxon emigration." Unlike imperial European nations that dominated their empires, the United States would wait for people living in other places, to realize the advantages of annexation and wait for them to join the Union (Robert E. May). Manifest Destiny had many values that Americans were fond of. For starters, Manifest Destiny included the expansion of land, and thus, it greatly expanded the geography of our country. Americans owning land was an important step towards prosperity.
The West was empty, which allowed Americans to settle the territory free from... ... middle of paper ... ...ed on Westward expansion, then it is none too appealing to realize that Westward expansion meant the brutal conquest of the native population. To come to grips with this reality, Native Americans were pushed out the conscious of Americans. Westward expansion is much more palpable if the West is viewed as free, open land that was ripe for the taking – as described in Turner’s thesis. When Americans were finally confronted with the fact that Native Americans had occupied the land, the Natives were depicted as brutes that were not capable of correctly taking care of the land. Overtime, however, historians have been able to modify Turner’s thesis into a more balanced argument.
In the text "Letter to Luis de Santangel", Columbus writes about his crowning achievement, the discovery of new world. I believe that this text helps convey a specific definition of America. Columbus portrayed America as being nothing short of paradise, an unimaginable land that offered great things. Columbus' "Letter to Luis de Santangel" was written during an exciting time in history, which is why the text reads as though one can feel the anxiety and exhilaration of the writer. Columbus wrote to Luis de Santangel, who was an early supporter for Columbus' voyages, because he knew that de Santangel would appreciate the descriptions he had to offer.
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 Destiny advancement was a great catalyst that encouraged the progress of liberty and individual economic opportunity,(“Manifest Destiny”). Motivation and desire for expansion are the primary reasons that America is a successful nation and this kind of determination must continue for America to maintain the success gained many years ago. The “American Dream” is the ideal life that especially appealed to people in the mid 1800s. The ideal “American Dream” involves freedom, territorial expansion, job opportunities and the ability to pursue dreams that are impossible to attain elsewhere.
For some it was the will of God for the expansionist to spread throughout the country to control and populate the country as they see fit. It did not matter to the expansionist if people such as the Indians were living on that particular piece of land. The expansionist just saw it as they were doing God’s work. The expansionist pushed many Native Americans to also move westward to escape conflict with these so-called followers of God’s will...
Photography in the early American West was a manipulative tool of the government’s interest by portraying the West as a safe land filled with opportunity. Many Americans believed that they were entitled to the vast land that their government had just purchased and even more land to the west of it. One reason was the incredible sense of superiority that the Americans felt in their own virtue and their superior form of government. Another reason was that the Americans thought that the native Americans didn't appreciate the land that they occupied and that the Americans should liberate it, making the land more useful and productive. These reasons were all based in the ideolog... ... middle of paper ... ...on and 80% of the non-white population self-reported as illiterate in 1870 (National Assessment).