Essay On Manifest Destiny

1336 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is Manifest Destiny? What role did this idea play in westward expansion quora

During the mid-1800s, many prominent Americans saw Manifest Destiny as a necessary and beneficial expansion of their political institutions and social values. Manifest Destiny led people to venture out west and to settle on new land, but the controversial slave issue also came to the new territories. A rift between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions was created which became linked to sectional conflict. The dispute over slavery and free-men in the north and south led to the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise of 1850 is another example of sectionalism in which the United States admitted California as a free state, while Utah and New Mexico were left with no restrictions on slavery. A third example is the Kansas-Nebraska Act in which congress decided to let Kansas and Nebraska be open to popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery. The conflict over slavery introduced sectional disputes, as the nation pursued what it called its Manifest Destiny, which, in turn, became a significant cause of the Civil War.

Manifest Destiny is the idea that the Americans were destined to settle in the new territories and connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was the belief that God supported American expansion westward, adding to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 which, under President Jefferson, had doubled the size of the United States. A journalist by the name of John L. O'Sullivan wrote an article in 1839, through which he coined the term manifest destiny and predicted a divine destiny for the United States. Not only does this destiny have to do with westward expansion, but also each state would share the same values.

In 1820, the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, in w...

... middle of paper ...

...e new territories, and these debates led to a sectional crisis between the states. The Missouri Compromise was the started debates about slavery in the new territories. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to further extending sectionalism by allowing popular sovereignty to choose whether a state has slavery or not. The Compromise of 1850 spread the idea of popular sovereignty to more territories, while increasing sectionalism and the conflict within congress. By the 1850's, there was a great tension between the states. In 1860, Lincoln, a Republican, was elected. The South feared the ideals of the Republicans, and also feared what Lincoln would do to the Southern states. The South went to war with the North over slavery. Manifest Destiny added to the existing sectional crises by introducing the problems of slavery in the new territories, thereby leading the country to war.

Show More
Related

  • DBQ on Western Front

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Summary And Slavery: The Causes Of The Missouri Compromise

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    Congress was put in a tough position when Missouri applied for statehood, for they couldn’t have an uneven number of states. If they didn’t have an even number, they would have to come up with another idea to make slave states and free states equal, such as adding a state or neutralizing an existing slave state. Instead of making one of the existing twenty-two states neutral to slavery they accepted Maine as free state. The acceptance of Maine as it’s own state did not occur until 1820, but the addition of it did even the amount of slave states and free states to twelve and twelve. The Missouri Compromise did not only ban slavery from Maine and allow s...

    Read More

  • Sectionalism Dbq

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 19th century, America had an expanding idea of Manifest Destiny, where they would claim land all the way to the east coast. While the government and the citizens were focused on exploring new land, they were able to acquire much of the new land, introducing new people and ideas. Many of these people and ideas were vastly different than the original in the thirteen colonies, which frustrated many people. When these different people and beliefs collided, many disputes and disagreements were born, which intensified the results of sectionalism, unfortunately leading up the Civil War, having a huge impact on the country.

    Read More

  • The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever since the formation of the colonies, differences stood in the way of a fundamental relationship between the north and the south. Despite these differences they were not the cause of the problems. In the 1820’s, the growth between territories and regions were increasing. This expansion went too far causing it to become a worldwide crisis. More chaos arouse since the north and the south did not agree on anything. The north strongly disagreed with the expansion of slavery, while south agreed to expand slavery throughout new territories and regions. The north's decision was based on factors such as political and economical threat instead of a moral threat, as it was depicted in the Missouri Compromise. However, the Compromise of 1850 , showed a more argument towards the morality threat, making it more united than ever.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny Dbq Essay

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through Manifest Destiny, the U.S. conquered many new territories. Ever since the U.S. became its own country, they always wanted more land. They thought that the Manifest Destiny gave them the right to expand and conquer more land. The United States were offered a deal known as the Louisiana Purchase which doubled their size. Even after they received this land, they were thirsty for more. They wanted to have Texas as their own. After Texas got their independence from Mexico, President Polk annexed it. Polk had his eye set on California next. But before he could get California, he had to deal with border dispute in Texas, leading to the war with Mexico. So, did the United States have a good reason to go to war with Mexico? The answer is simple, the U.S. was not justified into going to war with Mexico. This is proven through the Manifest Destiny, border disputes, and an American viewpoint on the war.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny: The Abolitionist Movement

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Behind the scenes of Manifest Destiny, what really transformed the country was the ability to move products across great distances and the Erie Canal was a huge turning point for economic growth in America. Opened in 1825, the Erie Canal was the engineering breakthrough of the nineteenth century: Its four waterways would connect manufacturing and eastern ports with the rest of the country. Farmers could now ship their goods, they could move out, come down the Hudson River and this way of commuting became a part of a global economy. This Moment would bring about the thought of expansion which will become the fuse to enormous economic growth that will ultimately in the next century, become the belief of manifest destiny. The nation that both reflected the pride which reflected American nationalism, and the idealistic image of social perfection through God and the Church caused the nation to separate.

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny and the Genocide of the Native American Indian

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Reginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.In the early 1840s John L. O’Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review, inaugurated the expression Manifest Destiny to depict American expansionism. O’Sullivan described the nation’s extension as inevitable and criticized those that delayed that progression "for the avowed object of thwarting our policy, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions."(Horsman 219) Horsman notes that even though O’Sullivan laid claim to the phrase manifest destiny, the idea was embedded in Anglo-Saxon heritage. In chapter one of Horsman the concept of ...

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny and American Politics

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion Thesis

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    John L. O’Sullivan, an editor, coined the term “Manifest Destiny” and gave the expansionist movement its name in 1845. The “Manifest Destiny” was the belief that Americans had the divine right to occupy North America. The Americans believed they were culturally and racially superior over other nations and other races such as the Native American Indians and Mexicans. The notion of the ‘Manifest Destiny’ was that the Americans were morally superior and therefore morally obligated to try to spread enlighten and civilization to the less civilized societies. According to World History Group, “The closest America came to making ‘Manifest Destiny’ an official policy was The Monroe Doctrine, adopted in 1823, it put European nations on notice that the U.S. would defend other nations of the Western Hemisphere from further colonization” (World History, 2015). This divine American mission caused Anglo-Saxon Americans to believe they had the natural right to move west and bring blessings of self-government and religion, more specifically-

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Irrepressible Conflict Between The North And South

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The new territories and the discussion of whether they would be admitted to the Union free or slave-holding stirred up animosity. The Compromise of 1850 which offered stricter fugitive slave laws, admitted California as a free state, allowed slavery in Washington D.C., and allowed new territories to choose whether they wanted to be slave-holding or free was supposed to help ease tension between the North and South. Yet Southern states wanted more new territories to be slave-holders so the institution of it would continue to grow. They believed slavery was a way of life and as Larrabee said in his senate speech, “You cannot break apart this organization and this system that has intertwined itself into every social and political fiber of that great people who inhabit one-half of the Union.” (“There is a Conflict of Races”).

    Read More

  • Manifest Destiny: Western Expansion of America

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Manifest Destiny was a progressive movement starting in the 1840's. John O'Sullivan, a democratic leader, named the movement in 1845. Manifest Destiny meant that westward expansion was America's destiny. The land that was added to the U.S. after 1840 (the start of Manifest Destiny) includes The Texas Annexation (1845), The Oregon Country (1846), The Mexican Cession (1848), The Gadsden Purchase (1853), Alaska (1867), and Hawaii (1898). Although this movement would take several years to complete, things started changing before we knew it.

    Read More

  • The Civil War Was Inevitable

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    Correspondly, the senate passed the Missouri Compromise in February 1820, which allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free state, making the free and slave states balanced once again. Another amendment was passed to prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern border of Missouri. This event envisioned a possible threat to the relationship between the North and South. Moreover, the United States began to believe in a manifest destiny, a god-given right to expand its territory until it had absorbed all of North America, including Canada and Mexico.... ...

    Read More

  • Causes of The American Civil War

    2128 Words  | 5 Pages

    After winning the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States gained the western territories, which included modern-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, as well as parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. However, controversial topics, that helped cause the Civil War, arouse with the addition of these new territories. Primarily, the people of the United States wanted to know whether the new territories would be admitted as free states or slave states. In order to avoid fighting between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North, Henry Clay (Whig) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) drafted the Compromise of 1850. Although the compromise was created to stop conflict ...

    Read More

  • Sectionalism and Slavery: America's Westward Expansion

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    The period from 1800 to 1865 marked a time of immerse sectionalism in American history. Sectionalism grew more intense due to the added conflict of how to embrace new territories gained during Western Expansion. Westward Expansion began with the Louisiana Purchase made by President Thomas Jefferson. The Louisiana Purchase stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (Give Me Liberty! 304). The most controversial issue was whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories acquired by the United States. As the philosophy of Manifest Destiny spread among the whole country, the South wanted new slave territories while the North wanted to stop the spread of slavery. According to John O’Sullivan,

    Read More

More about Essay On Manifest Destiny

Open Document