Manifest Destiny Essay
opinion Essay
957 words
In order to understand why the war between the US and Mexico happened, it’s important to understand what each side was fighting for. I found “Manifest Destiny: An Introduction” to be very informative and provided thorough explanations of each side’s struggle. America was in search of manifest destiny and Mexico was coping with becoming a newly independent country. Though it doesn’t justify the actions that took place, it’s important to know why the US had this desire to expand. What exactly is manifest destiny? It was a term used during the 19th century to justify America’s desire to expand ultimately reaching from coast to coast. It stimulated Americans and gave them a new sense of purpose, or national destiny. By midcentury, the population had grown from 5 million in 1800 to over 23 million. In order to accommodate this increase in population, America needed more land. Between 1820 and 1850, nearly 4 million Americans made the trek across the country to the western frontier where land was cheap, even free in some cases. People were looking for opportunities to make a living on their own and having land of their own gave them the opportunity to do so. …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Opines that it's important to understand what each side was fighting for in the war between the us and mexico.
- Explains manifest destiny, a term used during the 19th century to justify america's desire to expand.
- Analyzes mexico's struggle after winning independence back from spain in 1821. recovery was challenging, they faced many political challenges, and struggled to secure a suitable leader.
- Explains that the war between mexico and the united states was the first war where modern correspondents, full-time reporters, and free-lance writers were reporting.
- Opines that even though there were reporters on the front lines providing genuine accounts of the war, it doesn't guarantee that information will be accurately communicated to the world.
In 1821, Mexico won its independence back from Spain but that wasn’t the end of their fight. Many countries have continued to struggle after engaging in war, whether they win or lose, and Mexico was no different. Recovery was challenging, they face many political challenges, and struggled to secure a suitable leader. It was also difficult for them to populate and protect borders of the northern area they acquired when winning their independence. Populating these areas was made even more difficult by the constant conflict and fighting they engaged in with the Native Americans. Not only that, but the central government and the poorer frontier communities clashed when it came to theirs ideals and they struggled to communicate and work
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- Analyzes how the mexican-american war showed how important a stable government was to its nation and the ability to provide the supplies and leadership it needed to win.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that the mexican american war was a clash between the united states and mexico.
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- Explains that the mexican-american war began on april 25, 1846, when mexican cavalry attacked a group of u.s. soldiers in the disputed zone under the command of general zachary taylor.
- Explains that the mexican-american war was a predictable conflict fought by traditional armies consisting of infantry, cavalry and artillery using established european-style tactics.
- Cites bentley, jerry h., herbert f. ziegler, and heather e. streets-salter. "the americas in the age of independence." traditions & encounters: a global perspective on the past.
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In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mexico's struggle to create a functioning government allowed the united states to acquire its northern frontier.
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- Explains that mexico was forced to give up most of the land in its northwest to the united states after a short and embarrassing war in 1846.
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- Explains that the first government of mexico was little more than a dictatorship, before it too was overthrown in 1823.
- Explains that mexico's population, even before the revolution, was small and growing slowly. their first attempts to populate the frontier were horrible failures.
- Explains that spain's economy was in deep recession before the mexican revolution. spain turned to its colonies for monetary relief, destroying the few pools of money gathered in the new world. corruptions ran unchecked as government officials lined their own pockets.
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2731 wordsRead More - The American Manifest Destinyanalytical essayThe American ideal of “Manifest Destiny” towards the Ohio country created; altercations among native tribes living on their ancestral lands and the colonial people in search for the new found acreage, a defeat for the United States, and terrible consequences for the Native Americans in colonial path.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the american ideal of "manifest destiny" towards the ohio country created altercations among native tribes living on their ancestral lands and the colonial people in search for the new found acreage.
- Explains that st. clair's defeat was a tremendous triumph for the native americans and the most detrimental military catastrophe the united states had endured.
- Analyzes how referring to the encounter as "st. clair's defeat" attracts focus away from the indian success.
- Explains that the battle between the native americans and the colonials was basically a clash for land. the annihilation of st. claire's army confirmed settlers fears and escalated the burden on congress to institute its power in the west.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains the concept of territorial expansion, or manifest destiny, came about in the 1840s and was said that the american people deserved to control the entire continent.
- Explains that the supporters of expansion agreed with the idea but there were also mixed opinions on whether or not the use of force and far should the nation outstretch its borders.
- Analyzes how the missouri compromise divided the territory in the louisiana purchase and fueled the conflict even more when colonists tried to spread across the continent, thus going over the limits of the compromise.
- Concludes that the us settled on compromises during the manifest destiny era to stay away from war with other countries, but the disputes shaped the united states as a whole.
515 wordsRead More - The Robust Imperialist Societyanalytical essayThroughout 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. in his Speech to 56th Congress, Congressional Record, 1900 states, “We will not abandon our opportunity in the orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God, of the civilization of the world. ...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that america had a history of taking land in order for the benefit of our country, better known as imperialism.
- Analyzes how the manifest destiny was a powerful imperialistic tool to achieve territorial gains.
- Analyzes how josiah strong justified american imperialism with an assertion of cultural and racial superiority that had been a motivation of american expansion since the early nineteenth century.
- Explains that expansionism in the pacific was a moral and immoral thing to do. theodore roosevelt's annual message to congress asks america to maintain social order.
- Analyzes how american expansionism in the late 19th and early 20th century was a continuation of past expansionist, as the united states probed their cultural influence.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that manifest destiny refers to the idea that americans had the right to expand across the continent and that they had a responsibility to do so.
- Analyzes how expansion west affected different groups of people in different ways. the oregon trail resulted in hundreds of americans growing ill and facing hunger.
- Explains that the mexicans were forced to go to war over the western territory, urging the president to withdraw his ideas of migrating west. the americans were willing to persevere and expand america to the west coast.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that they were particularly interested in researching the origins of manifest destiny and the history of the native americans from 1830 to 1839. reliability, how recently it was updated, and how easily it could be edited by internet users were the main criteria.
- Describes the criteria for selection and reading of books pertaining to native americas, and manifest destiny.
- Explains that manifest destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of america into the west. the homestead act encouraged westward colonization and territorial acquisition.
- Explains that america's westward expansion was published on suite101, an american history website, in february 2007 and was written by k.c. morgan.
- Explains that the indian removal act (1830) is an excerpt from the cherokee removal: a brief history by theda perdue and michael d. green.
- Explains how the indian wars, the trail of tears and other events show the obstacles that the native americans had to overcome and how indiscriminately they were killed.
- Opines that the idea of manifest destiny almost caused the eradication of an entire group of people. the american's were not appeased even after the native americans were relocated.
- Explains that wallace, anthony f. long, and cashin, edward j., eds. a wilderness still the cradle of nature: frontier georgia.
1365 wordsRead More - Manifest Destinyanalytical essayOne 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how james k. polk's campaign slogan "fifty-four forty or fight" referred to the line of latitude the united states wanted to be the northern boundary between oregon and canada.
- Explains that manifest destiny has played a large role in the history of the united states of america since the 1800s.
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- Explains that the term "manifest destiny" helped push america into the next century and make it part of what it is today.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains the mindset of the americans in the 18th and 19th century, which was called manifest destiny. the american push west led to brutal interactions with the native americans.
- Explains the mexican-american war, which was fought between the united states and mexico from 1846-1848. the gold rush in 1849 persuaded more people to move west.
- Explains the kansas-nebraska act of 1854, which allowed people to decide for themselves if they wanted to keep or abolish slavery in the territory, and repealed the missouri compromise.
- Explains that the seneca falls convention of 1848 was the first convention held for women's rights in the united states.
- Opines that the seneca falls convention of 1848 set the stage for the advancement of women in the united states.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that as the united states grew in power, so did her ideas of expansion. they followed in their founder’s footsteps and tried to occupy lands in the far seas.
- Analyzes how the departure from previous expansionism developed alongside the tremendous changes and amplifications of united states power (in government, economics, and military).
- Analyzes how the u.s. has progressed steadily in all of its departures from previous expansionism. after a strong navy existed, uncle sam was standing at the footstep of china's "open door" policy.
- Explains that the panic of 1893 contributed to the growing mood of expansionism and influential politicians such as mckinley, lodge, and roosevelt advocated a more aggressive approach to foreign policy.
- Compares the continuations of previous u.s. expansionism with the departures. the roosevelt corollary comes directly from the monroe doctrine, which protected the struggling latin american countries.
- Analyzes how the united states' expansionism in the late nineteenth-century and early 20th century was both a continuation and departure from previous u.s.
1262 wordsRead More - Manifest Destiny was a religious belief that the Americans had the divine right, given by God, to expand west whilst converting or relocating anything in their way. Manifest Destiny-Is the underlying theme that is used to justify all the expansion west In 1803, The President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase spans from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to New Orleans, and it doubled the size of the United States. ‘To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation's health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. (he writes "Those who labor in the earth…are the chosen people of God.")’ In order to provide enough land to sustain this ideal population of virtuous yeomen, the United States would have to continue to expand.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that manifest destiny was a religious belief that the americans had the divine right, given by god, to expand west while converting or relocating anything in their way.
- Explains that the president sends an exploring party out (lewis and clark), the trappers and mountain men followed.
- Explains that the american ideals were based on hard work, but the other civilisations could not fit in with this ideal and believed they had a god-given right to expand for the good of their american culture.
- Analyzes how the democratic policy of manifest destiny is used to justify an expansion further into the territory of another nation. historian fredrick merk argues it was not a fully backed policy by americans.
- Analyzes how manifest destiny is used to justify the constant interfering with natives and making their lives worse to the extent people became ashamed for forcing the indians to move as they didn’t fit in to their american ideals for expansion and growth of their nation
- Argues that the westward expansion was to eliminate the indians any resistance from the natives. the government influence/manifest destiny is arguably necessary.
- Explains that daniel boone and others expanded the known boundaries of america for their trade to trap and hunt beavers in the regions beyond the appalachian mountains. they brought their entire families.
- Explains how manifest destiny plays a key role in further expansion by relocating others and purchasing territories to increase the speed of expansion.
- Explains that the mineral wealth of the west was largely unknown until the california gold rush beginning 1848.
- Explains that mormonism had its origins in central new york, but because of its radical beliefs, they were driven out of this area. they settled in northern ohio, then in western illinois, and finally in utah.
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In this essay, the author
- Explains mexico's political instability in the first four decades of independence. the population suffered a decline of 360,000 people, the labor force declined, and the banking system was destroyed.
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