Manifest Destiny

Europeans, for centuries, have been obsessed with the idea of conquest. It brings a person honor and glory to fight to defend the homeland, and to conquer new lands to expand empires. We think of ourselves as Americans today, but during the country’s conception, we were still European, and this idea was brought along with us. This allowed people to justify the idea of manifest destiny, and adding a religious element to that dream was just icing on the cake in terms of getting the population geared up for westward expansion. The term “Manifest Destiny” became “first and foremost a call and justification for an American form of imperialism.” (Scott, “Religious Origins”) The Americans believed that obtaining that land was their God-given right, no matter who was living there previously.

In the mid-19th century, the West drew increasing numbers of American settlers despite the hardships of the journey and the difficult living conditions that waited them at their journey’s end. Thus Americans were immediately sized on the phrase “ Manifest Destiny”- believing that United State’s destiny is manifest, inevitable, to expand to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory. Various factors in the United States in early 1800’s caused the nation to become grabbed with the Western Expansion. First, there were geographical and psychological issues. After Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which had doubled the United States’ size, Americans explored this huge territory in limited numbers.

The Mexican War is often regarded as one of the most significant wars in American History. The concept of Manifest Destiny, or idea that the U.S. was destined to stretch from coast to coast, was beginning to preoccupy the minds of many Democratic Americans. Democratic Americans hoped the U.S. would expand and ultimately possess control over the entire continent, because they believed that more land would promote increased economic success. The Whigs, on the other hand, felt the key to expanding the country and its economy was to embrace the economic endeavors that were already being pursued. In order for America to dominate the entire continent, western expansion was necessary and land would have to be taken from Mexico.

Just later in history and pushing further west in an organised manner with government support. At this time there is much greater political significance as America must appear united (links to Texan conflicts) 2-3-The American ideals were based on the ability for one to gain what they want through hard work, however the other civilisations populating the Country could not fit in with this ideal and through manifest destiny they believed they had a God given right to expand for the good of their American culture. ( Politically links back as the Democratic government in poi... ... middle of paper ... ... and other minerals. Gold fetched a high price, so people went west to seek it. Just like any other commodity that brings a lot of money, gold miners were always hoping to strike it rich.

Throughout the history of the United States, America always had a desire to expand its territories. They acquired most of their land during the nineteenth and early twentieth century- continuing their expansionism. From the first half of the nineteenth century the manifest destiny played a huge role in expansionism. Because it was essentially a radical “God-given” duty to expand and spread its influence. Senator Albert J. Beveridge.

America was appealing to these European nations because of the desire to expand their countries power, the natural resources this "new world" offered and for some, religious freedom. The Europeans brought with them livestock, plant life, disease, and often times an attitude of superiority to these "primitive" native peoples. All of the aforementioned would forever change the native peoples lives as well as their culture. This short assessment of the invasion of America by the Europeans will examine what these countries wanted from the Indians, how the different countries used the Indians to oppose other countries, and the tactics used to accomplish their goals. In 1492, Spain's monarchy had liberated itself from Muslim reign and was eager to expand the kingdom.

America, the land of opportunity, a country that stretches out from sea to shining sea. Except what if America stayed in the boundaries; the appalachian mountains east? Would America be the country it is and has been for the last 100 years? Westward expansion is why America is as unique and diverse as it is today; it gave the hope of opportunity to thousands of Americans and is why the American dream or “Manifest Destiny” remains a reality even today. Westward expansion encouraged by Lewis and Clark which led to the Oregon Trail and was later fuled by the California gold rush illustrates the American dream as people took a risk leaving the east to seek new opportunities and/or wealth in the west which helped make America the country it is today.

The expansion of America resulted in many different factors. The colonization and development of colonies along with the idea of manifest destiny. Manifest Destiny was a concept that heavily influenced American policy in the 1800’s. It put a lot of emphasis on rapidly expanding americas territories into the west from the east, and was very appealing to the citizens. President James Knox Polk was a strong believer that this idea was essential to maintain a successful society.

Overall, the purpose of Manifest Destiny was to spread American values and expand the geographical borders of the nation. To begin with, the need Americans felt to expand west caused the government to seek more geographical territory and “Expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century.”. The Louisiana purchase was one of the first expansions that made a big impact on the United States and initiated this movement. Events such as the Texas annexation and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 were parts of Manifest Destiny. These events expanded the national territory and encouraged people to settle further west, north, and south.

Expansionism in the late 19th/ Early 20th century Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was the strongest of nations, and that they could take any land they pleased. This is shown in the "manifest destiny" of the 1840's and the "Darwinism" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Apart from the similarities, there were also several differences that included the American attempt to stretch their empire across the seas and into other parts of the world.