Impact Of Manifest Destiny On America

“We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march?” (Denial) noted writer John O’Sullivan in 1839, but in fact, there was one limit: territory. Some people believed that in order to spread democracy, it was America’s manifest destiny, or obvious fate, to inhabit the entire North American continent. It had a major impact on American society by it being the cause of social change in the US, it economically revamped America, and lastly, it altered America politically. Manifest destiny caused the change of America socially due to the economic transition from a local market economy to a national market economy. Manifest destiny has also impacted America’s society economically by the large increase in territory gained to profit off of. But, it also altered America politically by causing further division of the North and South which led to a great drama of regional conflict. These social, political, and economical changes in the United States were certainly results of the initiation and usage of manifest destiny.

America was socially and economically changed from the transition from a local market economy to a national market economy. Thus shifting society from rural to urban which was facilitated by three components. The workforce was changed from fabrication by hand to industrial fabrication; this change was one fuelled by new industrial machinery. This means that the manufactured goods were now produced in small factories that allowed for mass production of goods outside the home by hired workers. These technological advancements were just the beginning of what was to occur. “The invention of the cotton gin [in 1793] allowed cotton production to dominate the economy and made its exportation ...

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...economic transition from a local market economy to a national market economy was caused by the concept of manifest destiny which altered the US socially. Manifest destiny has also impacted America economically by the large increase in land gained that the citizens were able to make a profit off of. It also affected America politically by causing further division of the North and South which led to the Civil War. But this concept did not end with the American Civil War. Throughout the late nineteenth century and well into the recent history of the United States, many Americans continued to believe that it was their nation's duty to spread the American political and economic system around the world. With all of the advancements, transitions, and conflicts in America caused by manifest destiny, it certainly did have a major impact on the American society and its people.