More handpicked essays just for you.
Why did manifest destiny motivate western expansion in the united states
Expansion & manifest destiny essay
Impact of westward expansion and manifest destiny of united states
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Throughout the 19th century the United States expanded westwards, slowly expanding across North America until eventually stretching from the Atlantic till the Pacific Ocean. The belief that the United States and its settlers were destined to spread across North America became known as Manifest Density, and it became a focal point of US politics in the pre-civil war era. However, despite Manifest Destiny leading to territorial gain for the U.S., it also led to deaths of millions of Native Americans and continued the problems leading to the civil war. At the time of the Constitutional Convention the United States territory extended only up to the Mississippi River. However, by 1850 the nation would stretch from California to Maine, effectively tripling its original size. The U.S. also gained access to the Pacific Ocean, and therefore to Asian markets. The U.S. economy was able to grow immensely from the abundance of natural resources and the ability to have access to both the Asian and European markets. By gaining this territory the U.S. also guaranteed that it would never be invaded from the west by a rival power, and assured that no nation would attempt to colonize the western seaboard. …show more content…
When the U.S.
purchased California and New Mexico from the Mexican government following the Mexican-American War, there were more native americans residing in the region than white settlers. However, the United States considered Native Americans inferior and the California State Constitution of 1850 limited civil participation to whites. In addition, Native Americans were forced off of their land if it had any mineral value, and some Native American children were sold into slavery. Manifest destiny often meant displacement or death for the thousands of Native Americans that lived in lands claimed by the United
States. Manifest Destiny also meant the expansion of slavery. Many of the regions that were gained through Manifest Destiny became open to slavery in the years before the civil war. In fact Manifest Destiny opened the territories of Texas, Kansas, and the New Mexico territories. Manifest Destiny also continued the policies leading to the civil war and was used by the Northern States to appease the South. For the country to succeed in the long run it was vital that slavery was outlawed, but by allowing the issue to go on for such a long period of time, it made it much more polarized. Manifest destiny caused millions of African Americans to spend extra decades in bondage, because of its continuation of slavery. In the 19th century Manifest Destiny transformed the United States, for better and for worse. The territory of the United States grew by 3 times due to manifest destiny and the economy was able to expand, due to the increase in territory. However, thousands of Native Americans were killed and displaced due to Manifest Destiny, as well as thousands of African Americans who were enslaved due to Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny created the modern United States, both literally and symbolically. The United States would simply not function the same way without California, the nation's largest state by population. Manifest Destiny created the United States, but it also destroyed what was there before.
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.
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.
Expansion of a nation was nothing new in terms of history. The fighting, buying and selling of land in North America was a common event during the 1800s. The United States had started expanding in 1803 with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory whose borders where not clearly defined. After the War of 1812 with the British, the northern border of this territory was defined at the 49th parallel. Then in 1819, Spain sold its claim to Florida to the United States. The United States wanted to continue to expand itself westward to the Pacific Ocean, a territory then owned by Mexico. The acquirement of this territory occurred after the Mexican War. How the territory was acquired by the United States is the topic in question.
The departure from previous expansionism (up to 1880) developed alongside the tremendous changes and amplifications of United States power (in government, economics, and military.) The growth in strength and size of the United States' navy gave the country many more opportunities to grow, explore, and expand both in size and money. The better range and build of ships allowed the U.S. to enter the far-east "trade and money" lands of the Philippines (eventually a territory) and China. Because of the huge production of agricultural goods and the need for outputs and markets for these goods, the United States needed to find other places for shipping, trading, buying, ...
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...
Reginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism explores the evidence and reasons for racial prejudices in America and discusses one of the most controversial topics in American history. The book also navigates the subjects of white superiority, and the creation of Anglo-Saxonism. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean; it has also been used to advocate for or justify other territorial acquisitions. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was not only good, but that it was obvious and certain. Originally a political catch phrase of the 19th century, "Manifest Destiny" eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the expansion of the United States across the North American continent.
Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States’ destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Most of the public was in favor of territorial expansion, though some politicians felt it contradicted the constitution.
The Civil War, a devastating conflict amongst the American North and South in the mid to late 1800s, was caused by growing tension between the opposing sides for many reasons but also because of territorial expansion of America. In determining the impact of territorial expansion in the mid 1800’s on the sectionalism that led to the civil war, one would first have to look at the tactics for territorial expansion in America. Americans began to entertain the idea of heading west in the early 1800’s, which then brought forth the acts and events of the United States spreading its boundaries from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Historical events involving the expansion of America such as Manifest Destiny, the War with Mexico, and popular sovereignty in the west, all contributed to the growing tension between the North and the South, ultimately starting the Civil War. 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.”
In 1811, the future U.S. President John Quincy Adams advocated the concept that the United States should include all of North America. Americans in the 1840s embraced the notion and named it “Manifest Destiny.” It was used to justify annexing Texas from Mexico in 1845, thus starting the Mexican-American War. The United States prevailed and, by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , Mexico ceded a vast amount of land. Ownership of the future states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and part of Colorado were conveyed to the U.S.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the United States expanded its territory westward through purchase and annexation. At the end of the century, however, expansion became imperialism, as America acquired several territories overseas. This policy shift from expansionism to imperialism came about as a result of American's experience in the Spanish American War and the Congressional debates that followed the American victory.
The departure from previous expansionism (up to 1880) developed alongside the tremendous changes and amplifications of United States power (in government, economics, and military.) The growth in strength and size of the United States navy gave the country many more opportunities to grow, explore, and expand both in size and money. The better range and build of ships allowed the U.S. to enter the Far East, lands of the Philippines and China, all to increase trade and to create an influx of commerce. Because of the huge production of agricultural goods and the need for outputs and markets for these goods, the United States needed to find other places for shipping, trading, buying, and selling, and these areas of interest were just the place. The idea of Manifest Destiny and placing faith in God also allowed the United States to expand farther out into what once were unattainable lands. Document C, written by Mahan the naval writer, explains the three necessary obligations of sea power, as well as expressing the extreme importance of the navy during late 1800’s expansionism. During this time period and before, it was believed that whoever retained control of the seas would maintain control over the lands. Additionally, the speech by Senator Albert Beveridge (Document E) further states the importance of the U.S. expanding into the Pacific Ocean (especially the Phillipines) and trading with eastern countries: “the pacific is the ocean of the commerce of the future...the power that rules the Pacific is the power that rules the world… forever be the American Republic.
One 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.
Manifest Destiny is a term that was used during the 19th century to demonstrate the expansion of the United States. (history.com)The territorial expansion due to the Manifest Destiny united and divided the United States from 1830 to 1860. One of the significant divisions that arose during the Manifest Destiny was the controversy of slavery. Another controversy that caused division was the thought of expanding the United States territory further. A work that helped to unite the United States during this time was the US’s expansion into Texas.
In the time between 1860 and 1900, many American settlers made their way across the western plains in search of a new future for generations to come. This experience was deemed the Western Expansion. Also another term that would describe this period would be Manifest Destiney. The term Manifest Destiney was coined in the 19th-century and is the belief that the expansion of the US and exploration of natural resources was justified under the US constitution. As more Americans settled the West, the lands they inhabited were established in territories. Both before and after the Civil War, people were exploring and settling in the Western parts of the United States. Settlers were pouring into California and Oregon discovering new sources of
It was not very easy for the United States to expand like they had in mind. The division of land had been a rising problem since the Revolutionary war. Two of the main issues during the time of the Articles of Confederation were the pricing and land measurement (Potter and Schamel 1). Throughout the course of over fifty years, the government had tried many different attempts to get people to want to expand to the west. They just didn’t really know the right way of how to go about it. Trying to sell the acres did not go over well, considering the price seemed outrageous for what they were getting. Untouched soil was very hard to start on and be successful from the beginning, which caused some problems with people not wanting to buy the land (Weiser 1). So again, a different political group tried a different approach.