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Manifest destiny and its consequences
How did manifest destiny affect foreign and domestic policies
Manifest destiny and its consequences
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During the mid 1800’s the U.S. government exerted policies that had monumental effects on the American people. The citizens had been directly put under the influence of Manifest Destiny. The attitude shown by Americans at this time marked the new era of travel and expansion westward. Manifest Destiny was a mission the people could not disregard, the policies towards Native Americans, policies that encouraged westward expansion, how the Americans profited by it all show what led up to mark history in the era of good feelings. The issue of the Native Americans resulted in a large donnybrook between the Indian nations and the U.S. government. First, the Cherokee nation sends a plea to not be removed from their homelands in 1830. In it the Cherokee …show more content…
The western frontier offered the possibility of independence and the government had intention made certain actions to promote such a monumental movement across America. Not only this but America's diplomacy skills had been proven over the course of the past half century. To begin the U.S. government's trek of expansion in the era of good feelings they peaceful obtain East and West Florida in the Treaty of Adams-Onis, “His Catholic Majesty cedes to the United States, in full property and sovereignty, all the territories which belong to him, situated to the eastward of the Mississippi, known by the name of East and West Florida…” (Doc. A). This was the first test of America's diplomacy and demonstrated that they were more than capably of acquiring land and profiting from it. It also showed that the dawn of expansion was on the horizon and Florida was just the beginning of it. America's policy was successful and James Polk only extenuates this. In James K. Polk reaffirmation of Monroe Doctrine speech, 1845 he calls for an expansion west to outline the modern American nation, “It will ultimately be wise and proper to make liberal grants of land to the patriotic pioneers,” this shows that Polk wanted to create a nation stretching across the continent (Doc. G). He wanted to protect those making the journey to Oregon and other territories west. Americans policy for westward expansion is …show more content…
This led to massive immigration from across the globe. It also added vast resources to the United States, both in terms of potential agricultural production and things like gold, silver and timber. It also stimulated the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and added new states to the country. With all of this on the horizon for America it is not surprising that they grabbed at this opportunity. The American people had a similar opinion to George A. Croffut’s American Progress from 1873, He depicts an angel leading pioneers westward, as they travel on foot (Doc. H). American Progress shows that divine beings are on their side and they should carry out ‘God’s work’. She is shown guiding the men to their destiny. This attitude towards moving not only helped the economy put positively affected the nation as a whole. In another similar picture we have Manifest Destiny personified to help show the iconic picture of the settlers moving in a covered wagon (Doc. E). This piece of art shows the treck people made to go out to the frontier, and people of all ages were willing to start a new life if that promised them a better
Many Americans packed few belongings and headed west during the middle to the late nineteenth century. It was during this time period that the idea of manifest destiny became rooted in American customs and ideals. Manifest Destiny is the idea that supported and justified expansionist policies, it declared that expansion was both necessary and right. America’s expansionist attitudes were prominent during the debate over the territorial rights of the Oregon territory. America wanted to claim the Oregon territory as its own, but Great Britain would not allow that. Eventually the two nations came to an agreement and a compromise was reached, as seen in document B. The first major party of settlers that traveled to the west settled in Oregon.
America’s Manifest Destiny first surfaced around the 1840’s, when John O’Sullivan first titled the ideals that America had recently gained on claiming the West as their ‘Manifest Destiny.’ Americans wanted to settle in the West for multiple reasons, from the idea that God wanted them to settle all the way to the West co...
“Perhaps no other president during the first half of the 1800’s exerted as much of an impact on U.S domestic affairs regarding land acquisition as the eleventh chief executive, James K Polk. As president he finalized the annexation of Texas, and created a war with Mexico that transferred over 1.2 million acres of land to the U.S., now five states of the American Southwest. He also brokered a deal with Great Britain to purchase the state of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Polk is thus credited with expanding the domestic terrain of the United States, but at the expense of Native Americans who lost their land, and African Americans who were taken as slaves to these new states and territories.” I rate president Polk as a high president. He did the necessary to expand Southwestward. With political forcefulness, President Polk pursued his ambitious goals. Texas joined the country as the 28th state during his first year in office. Tense negotiations with Great Britain concluded with American annexation of the Oregon Territory. Following a controversial two year war, Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the United States. The Polk administration also achieved its major economic objectives by lowering tariffs and establishing an independent Federal Treasury. “He felt that government plans to fund internal improvements was
Permissiveness coupled with a self-righteous entitlement is not considered very flattering on anyone, much less a developing young country. The loose handle the US government had in the 1800s on its land-hungry constituents contributed to the worst (but among the most overlooked) genocide in recorded history. The few preventative actions taken by the federation to slow the quickening roll of excessive expansion were overruled or overlooked by the citizens. Deciding that the east coast was no longer enough to satiate their appetite for possession, they looked to the west. Imagining themselves to be Moses, claiming their promised land, the settlers surged westward, citing Manifest Destiny, a concept that suggested providence had intended the
During the years surrounding James K. Polk's presidency, the United States of America grew economically, socially, and most noticeably geographically. In this time period, the western boundaries of the Untied States would be expanded all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Many Americans in the 19th century believed that the acquisition of this territory to the west was their right and embraced the concept of "Manifest Destiny". This concept was the belief that America should stretch from sea to shining sea and it was all but inevitable. Under the cover of "Manifest Destiny", President Polk imposed his views of an aggressive imperialistic nation. Imperialism is the practice of extending the power and dominion of a nation by direct territorial acquisitions over others, and clearly America took much of this land by force rather than peaceful negotiations with other nations. Polk acquired three huge areas of land to include: the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico under the Mexican Cession.
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...
The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. Now that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable.
Overall, American Progress purpose was to convince Americans that it was their destiny to stretch across the land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in order to make the society a better constructive place. 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.
In the early nineteenth century, most Northerners and Southerners agreed entirely that Americans should settle Western territories, and that it was God’s plan, or their “manifest destiny.” Northerners and Southerners who moved west were in search of a better life and personal economic gain; were they had failed before in the east, they believed they would do better in the west. The Panic of 1837 was a motivation to head
Westward movement is the populating of lands, by the Europeans, in what is now known as the United States. The chief resolution of the westward expansion is economic betterment. The United States story begins with westward expansion and even before the Revolutionary war, early settlers were migrating westward into what is now known as the states of Kentucky,Tennessee, parts of the Ohio Valley and the South. Westward Expansion was slowed down by the French and the Native Americans, however the Louisiana Purchase significantly improved the expansion efforts. Westward expansion was enabled because of wars, the displacement of Native American Indians, buying land, and treaties. This paper will discuss the effects of westward expansion on domestic politics and on American relations with other nations.
How do you see progress, as a process that is beneficial or in contrast, that it´s a hurtful process that everyone at one point of their lives has to pass through it? At the time, progress was beneficial for the United States, but those benefits came with a cost, such cost that instead of advancements and developments being advantageous factors for humanity, it also became a harmful process in which numerous people were affected in many facets of life. This all means that progress is awsome to achieve, but when achieved, people have to realize the process they had to do to achieve it, which was stepping on other people to get there.
Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...
John Gast’s painting titled American Progress perfectly portrays the idea of manifest destiny that was engulfing the minds of Americans. In the right side of the painting you see western influence with the boats, a bridge in the distance, and trains with little or no track in front of them allowing the mind to think they are pushing west. In the middle of the landscape are horses, buggies, covered wagons, showing a slight increase in modernity compared to what is to the far left of the painting, the Indians, savages. Gast also places that of western influence in the light and the old primitive way on the dark. This is not coincidence, the idea that primitive behavior is improper and in the dark of what it could be is precisely what Gast wanted to present. You also see in bottom left corner an animal showing its teeth, another signal of the danger that the move west is. What is probably noticed first is the woman in the center of the painting. The angel is the guiding light of manifest destiny, the one who is bringing the light that you see so prominently in the right side of the pa...
The early 1800’s was a very important time for America. The small country was quickly expanding. With the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, America almost tripled in size by 1853. However, even with the amount of land growing, not everyone was welcomed with open arms. With the expansion of the country, the white Americans decided that they needed the Natives out.
Beginning in the 1860s and lasting until the late 1780s, government policy towards Native Americans was aggressive and expressed zero tolerance for their presence in the West. In the last 1850s, tribal leaders and Americans were briefly able to compromise on living situations and land arrangements. Noncompliance by Americans, however, resumed conflict. The beginning of what would be called the "Indian Wars" started in Minnesota in 1862. Sioux, angered by the loss of much of their land, killed 5 white Americans. What resulted was over 1,000 deaths, of white and Native Americans. From that point on, American policy was to force Indians off of their land. American troops would force Indian tribe leaders to accept treaties taking their land from them. Protests or resistance by the Indians would result in fighting. On occasion, military troops would even lash out against peaceful Indians. Their aggression became out of control.