The Impact Of Manifest Destiny

In total Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery documented 178 unknown species of plants and 122 unknown species of animals as well as being able to successfully map a route beyond that of the Mississippi River and into the once uncharted West. (U.S. Army Center of Military History) With this new habitable land the Louisiana Purchases and the Corps of Discovery helped to fuel the idea of Manifest Destiny in American minds. Though the idea of Manifest Destiny did not take hold until nearly 40 years after the purchase and exploration of the Louisiana territory the fact that it still remained unsettled made American citizens believe that it was their God given right to expand and began to move out west. With it Manifest Destiny brought with both

Through Manifest Destiny and the land from the Louisiana Purchase Americans were able to travel further than they had ever before. However, most of the land was already inhabited either by other countries or Native Americans. By expanding and continuing to push American society across the country there were huge losses to the native tribes. As more and more Americans began to move westward native people were killed and/or removed from their land and placed in reservations. As of 2010 22% of the US’s 5.2 million Native Americans live in reservations in which poverty levels are exponentially higher than the rest of the country. In many of the reservations adequate health care may not be available directly and as result health issues are much more prevalent. (Native American Aid) It is because of the rise of Manifest Destiny that Native Americans still live in reservations possible hundreds of miles from where their original tribe may have once existed. Even though a lot of pain arose from the expansion of Americans and Manifest Destiny a lot of great did as

The Cult of Domesticity became the dominate outline for how women should be and act in society through this women were seen as the holders of morality and teachers of morality to their husband and children, a great leap from the views of the Salem Witch Trails which made women out to be sinful and puppets of the devil. The Cult of Domesticity was also revolutionary because it allowed women some say over their body when it came to sex and reproduction though women were expected to be submissive to their husbands they could limit how much sex they had and in turn limit the amount of children they had. With this it then meant that there were more expectations created for men as well. They were expected to participate as well making them less in control than they had previously been and while women would still not gain the right to vote until 1919 the Cult of Domesticity and similar ideas help to make that possible. Now in the 21st century while women may still face a few issues or societal norms most women have the ability to vote and full control over their bodies with the choice when, if it all, to do things like marry or have