Industrialization of the United States was in full swing by the 1840s. Which evidenced that the continued expansion of the states was an issue and the idea of a Manifest Destiny was of major importance. John L. O’Sullivan once stated, “Our Manifest Destiny is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (America: A Narrative History). The idea of a Manifest Destiny originated in the 1840s by the Anglo-Saxon Colonists to expand their ideal civilization and institutions across North America to become a super nation. There were conflicts during this expansion, but they only led to major successes that molded the states into the superior country it is today. The Manifest Destiny advancement was a great catalyst that encouraged the progress of liberty and individual economic opportunity,(“Manifest Destiny”). Motivation and desire for expansion are the primary reasons that America is a successful nation and this kind of determination must continue for America to maintain the success gained many years ago. The “American Dream” is the ideal life that especially appealed to people in the mid 1800s. The ideal “American Dream” involves freedom, territorial expansion, job opportunities and the ability to pursue dreams that are impossible to attain elsewhere. The philosophy of this cultural epidemic originated from the Anglo-Saxon white men that wanted the best for the country based on their superior opinion, even if it meant taking over land that had been previously acquired. These men were in the pursuit of the American Dream and fueled that dream by having a higher social standard that was achieved by acquiring more land. In “My Wood” by author E.M. Forster (Forster), Fors... ... middle of paper ... ...The Riverside reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 19811983. . Print. USHistory.org, . "Manifest U.S. History Online Textbook Destiny." . Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia. Web. 27 May 2014. . Haynes, S. (n.d.). Prelude to u.s.-mexican war. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_manifest_destiny.html Historian. (n.d.). Milestones 1830-1860. Retrieved from http://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/foreword Pletcher, D. (n.d.). Prelude to war . Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_an_ideal_or_a_justification.html Tindall, G. (2013). America: A narrative history. New York : W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. WMBB "SR 79 Expanding in Vernon.". WMBB, 16 Aug. 2007. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. http://www.wmbb.com/gulfcoastwest/mbb/news.apx.-content-articles-MBB-2007-08-16-0001.html
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.
George Browm Tindall, David Emory Shi. American History: 5th Brief edition, W. W. Norton & Company; November 1999
Eibling, Harold H., et al., eds. History of Our United States. 2nd edition. River Forest, Ill: Laidlaw Brothers, 1968.
Henretta, James A., Rebecca Edwards, and Robert Self. America: A Concise History.( Boston: Bedford, St. Martin's, 2006),
Tindall, George, and David Shi. America: A Narrative History. Ed. 9, Vol. 1. New York: WW. Norton & Company, 2013. 185,193. Print.
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
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 ...
Tindall, G.B. & Shi, D.E. (2010). America a narrative history 8th edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. p.205-212.
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
Americans throughout history have always felt that they were superior. The concept of “Manifest Destiny” has been the fuel to the fire of superiority. Manifest Destiny is the belief that it is American’s are the chosen ones and have the obvious right to conquer and own land between the eastern and western seaboards and that such expansion was inevitable. Manifest Destiny along with Christianity were two reasons that drove and encouraged both expansion within North Amer...
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.
Tindall, George B., and David E. Shi. America: A Narrative History. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2007.
... An American History of the World. 4th ed. of the book. W.W. Norton, 2012, 671. 2.)
In order to understand why the war between the US and Mexico happened, it’s important to understand what each side was fighting for. I found “Manifest Destiny: An Introduction” to be very informative and provided thorough explanations of each side’s struggle. America was in search of manifest destiny and Mexico was coping with becoming a newly independent country.
George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, America: A Narrative History, Ninth Edition, Volume One, (New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), 504.