Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Manifest Destiny

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Man has always had the desire to expand, venture forth to develop greater wealth. With the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory and the prospects of future land acquisition, Americans used the idea of Manifest Destiny to justify their actions for moving westward and their treatment of Native Americans. The idea of Manifest Destiny was created directly by the European-used Doctrine of Discovery and industrialization; this direct correlation was proven to be true from the verdict of the court case Johnson v. M’Intosh. 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. America grew into an independent government, discarding many ideals present in that of England. But was the Doctrine of Discovery ... ... middle of paper ... ...n knowledge. Besides legal title, Sullivan argued, even more strongly, that God had presented Oregon to the United States to aid in expansion and the spread of a Christian world. With this argument presented in public form, Americans began accepting the phrase of Manifest Destiny as a link between them, God, and expansion westward. The drive to expand westward, fueled by Manifest Destiny, lead to the colonization and connections that make up the America of today, influenced by the Doctrine of Discovery, industrialization, and the outcome of court cases like Johnson v. M’Intosh. Without this, the unification and might of the United States would be significantly smaller and less influential on the world. As for the novel itself, the book was actually really enjoyable and easy to read. The authors opinion came through with sufficient evidence to back up his claim.

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