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Manifest Destiny is known as the idea that the United States will control the continent from the east coast all the way to the west coast. However, this idea took time to happen, which is shown through the first sixty years of the idea when territorial expansion was the primary goal. This may not have been able to happen if it weren't for several key factors. Factors such as Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, along with the Louisiana Purchase were able to personify Manifest Destiny due to its push westward on the boundaries of the United States.
To begin, Thomas Jefferson was the first factor that took place to personify Manifest Destiny. While he was president Jefferson’s main goal was to avoid any foreign entanglements with other countries who controlled land in North America. As a result of this, Jefferson decided to purchase the Louisiana Territory from the French after the Spain gave the territory to France. Jefferson did such in an attempt to avoid any conflicts with France due to the threat this brought upon the American people and their dreams of expansion. On the other hand, this purchase allowed the colonist to come extremely close to their idea of Manifest Destiny.
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This was a enormous leap towards Manifest Destiny due to the large mass of land it provided the United States with. When Jefferson first purchased the land he made the senate aware that it was indeed all theirs and they may do as pleased with it. However, the people of America had no idea what to do with the land due to the fact that they virtually knew nothing about it. So to discover what was in this land the United States planed an exploratory mission through the
This transaction would come to be known as the Louisiana Purchase and nearly doubled the size of the new nation. While George Washington and John Adams made efforts at westward expansion, Thomas Jefferson secured the Louisiana Purchase and initiated the Lewis and Clark expedition. According to Wulf, “maybe Lewis would find the huge mastodon roaming across the plains; discover profitable crops, flowers in exotic shapes and sizes, and trees that would soar even higher than those already encountered. Jefferson planned this expedition in the name of science, but it would also be the beginning of a distinctly American glorification of the wilderness” (Wulf, 157). The Lewis and Clark expedition and the Louisiana Purchase had such a significant impact on America’s identity.
One of the central pillars of American history and idealism is the concept of manifest destiny. Which according to the Random House Dictionary is the nineteenth century belief and doctrine of the United States, that it was their God given destiny to expand its territory over North America, thereby enhancing their sovereignty and increasing their political, economic and social influence on the world stage. This term was not created until later in the century, post Lewis and Clark expedition. However it was most certainly one of the main goals of the expedition. Lewis and Clark were not the first group of white men to explore areas of the west, though none were quite as influential or as important to supporting manifest destiny. However these two explorers, Lewis and Clark not only supported manifest density, they also made significant contributions to scientific and cartographical knowledge of the western frontier. Their voyage across the United States stands out from other explorations of the west, due to the numerous journals that Lewis and Clark as well as their expedition team wrote in, almost every day. These journals represent first hand records of everything they encountered, thus preserving their journey for hundreds of years to come and allowing for their additions to the scientific community of the United States to be preserved.
The year of 1803 significantly changed our nation eternally. It stunned many people. In no way, shape or form, did we ever believe that our nation would expand so rapidly. What started with the small purchase of New Orleans led into the substantial purchase of the Louisiana Territory. This was a purchase that will make Thomas Jefferson a man to be remembered. Although, he wasn’t the only man who impacted the United States during this time period. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are the two men that are greatly known for their expedition across the Louisiana Territory. These two subjects, the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, altered our nation immeasurably.
...ver had the resources nor Polk's true imperialist nature. Polk's idea of "Manifest Destiny" was simply a way to rationalize the United States practice of imperialism in North America. Little of the land gained in the 19th century was given to the U.S.; most of it was taken using force and often violence. Financial compensation for the land was irrelevant considering the wars that took place to complete acquisition of the southwest. The motives of the United States government and President Polk were not only that of expansion. They had also wanted to gain new natural resources, land for agriculture, and the power that would be attained by the country's increased size. The country's belief in Polk's imperialistic form of expansion was the key to attaining a western seashore. The power gained by this expansion helped make America into a world powerhouse it is today.
The term “Manifest Destiny” was never actually used until 1845, but the idea was always implied from the Doctrine of Discovery. Without understanding the Doctrine, it is impossible to understand the reasons and fundamentals behind why Manifest Destiny began.This Doctrine was a set of ten steps and rules that European nations followed in order to avoid conflict over land holdings, created in the early 1400s. The first few steps give the discovering country full rights to buy the land from the native peoples. This is important, since it gave the discovering country the power of preemption. Conquered Indian peoples lose sovereign powers and the rights to free trade and diplomatic relations, and the land they occupy is said to be vacant. Religion played a massive role in the regulations of the Doctrine, since “non-Christian people were not deemed to have the same rights to land, sovereignty, and self determination as Christians”(Miller 4). These rules were all meant to favor the ethnocentric, with full understanding of the repercussions on those who lived in the places being conquered.
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 is 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.
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.
to Europe to try to persuade the British to accept a military alliance should the
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.
Though initially his decision was criticized, Thomas Jefferson 's pursuit of the Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, as well as impacted the economy, religion, and race of the nation.
In 1845, a fellow named John C. Calhoun coined the term "Manifest Destiny." The term Manifest Destiny was a slogan for westward expansion during the 1840's. In the west there was plenty of land, national security, the spread of democracy, urbanization, but there was also poverty out west. People moved out west in search for a new life such as a new beginning. Moving out west, settlers from the east were taking a risk of a lot of things. The climate was different and there were more cultures that lived out west because of how much land was available.
In the year of 1803, America’s territory was expanded by nearly double its original size. Such an acquisition turned out to be very beneficial, but much like a rose, such a feat did come with its thorns. The Louisiana Purchase posed several moral dilemmas for President Thomas Jefferson, but overall the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. The weakened country of Spain returned the Louisiana Purchase back to France, which at this time was led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Purchasing this land would protect the United States’ ability to ensure the ownership and use of the vital port of New Orleans. This buy also proved to be beneficial in that it not only prevented a war between America and France but also eliminated France’s presence as an enemy in North America. The Louisiana Purchase perhaps opened the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’ to the United States and its citizens. With all of these advantages, the end certainly justifies the means.
The Louisiana Purchase was the largest land transaction for the United States, and the most important event of President Jefferson's presidency. Jefferson arranged to purchase the land for $11,250,000 from Napoleon in 1803. This land area lay between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. The purchase of this land greatly increased the economic resources of the United States, and proved Jefferson had expansionist dreams by doubling the size of the United States. Jefferson believed that the republic must be controlled by ambitious, independent, property-holding farmers, who would form the incorruptible bedrock of democracy (LaFeber 179). In order to complete his vision the country needed more land.
In 1803 the United States would make the largest and possibly most controversial land purchases in American history, the Louisiana Purchase. During the years leading up to this event the United States was still trying to solidify a national identity. There were two subjects that were causing for division of the new national identity, one being westward expansion. The Northern states and Federalists opposed the idea of westward expansion while the Southern States and the Jeffersonians backed this purchase. Although there was a struggle for a single national identity and this controversial purchase did not aid in finding that single identity, it was still the right decision for the United States. By purchasing this land from the French the United States would not share a colonial boundary with the French who were continuing to gain power under Napoleon. Purchasing the Louisiana Territory would prove to be beneficial for the United States for more reason than one.
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.