In David Martinez's book A City Upon Stolen Land: Westward Expansion, Indigenous Intellectuals, and the Origin of Resistance” and Sanford Wexler's discussion of “Westward Expansion in Antebellum Literature,” the concept of Manifest Destiny is portrayed in a way that shows why Western American expansion was such a sought-after concept. At the same time, the article also acknowledged the destructive consequences westward expansion had on Indigenous peoples and the environment. In this essay, I will argue that the glorification of westward expansion in antebellum literature is directly responsible for the detrimental effects on native populations and the land itself. Furthermore, the works present a complex and morally challenging narrative that disrupts the traditional celebratory view of westward expansion. The literary works …show more content…
This belief, often described as a 'God-given right,' fueled westward expansion and significantly shaped the nation's identity and character. However, the concept of Manifest Destiny also led to conflicts with indigenous peoples and other countries and raised important questions about the ethical implications of territorial expansion. It was a complex and multifaceted ideology that profoundly affected the Indigenous peoples and the nations they inhabited. One of the critical aspects of Manifest Destiny was the idea of American exceptionalism, a belief in the unique qualities and destiny of the United States. This belief, often tied to the notion of the superiority of American institutions and culture, justified the expansion of the United States and provided a moral framework for territorial acquisition. Proponents of Manifest Destiny argued that the spread of American democracy and civilization was beneficial and inevitable and that the United States had a unique role to play in the
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.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
This historical document, The Frontier as a Place of Conquest and Conflict, focuses on the 19th Century in which a large portion of society faced discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and religion. Its author, Patricia N. Limerick, describes the differences seen between the group of Anglo Americans and the minority groups of Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics Americans and African Americans. It is noted that through this document, Limerick exposes us to the laws and restrictions imposed in addition to the men and women who endured and fought against the oppression in many different ways. Overall, the author, Limerick, exposes the readers to the effects that the growth and over flow of people from the Eastern on to the Western states
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...
"Chapter 2 Western Settlement and the Frontier." Major Problems in American History: Documents and Essays. Ed. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde. 3rd ed. Vol. II: Since 1865. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 37-68. Print.
Approaching the mid-1800’s, a movement coined as “Manifest Destiny” took over the American nation. Manifest Destiny was the overall idea that Americans had the “divine right” to expand towards the west. Many reasons were considered when talking about settling west, reasons such as cheap land, economic growth, and job opportunities, etc. Americans wanted to expand the national territory from ocean to ocean and express their superiority. Overall, the purpose of Manifest Destiny was to spread American values and expand the geographical borders of the nation.
The underlying message across many of the documents read, and during discussion in class on 9/22, is the disadvantage that many peoples faced during the westward expansion in North America (Manifest Destiny), of the mid-19th century. This narrative was illustrated in a painting by John Gast, titled “American Progress”. Our class’s interpretation of this painting was one of negativity – as if settlers traveling west were under the assumption they were traveling into the dark, with the necessity to bring along with them the light of American prosperity. Along with our interpretation of this painting, we analyzed the work of John O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan further propagates the notion that our movement into westward lands is entirely acceptable,
Over the years, the idea of the western frontier of American history has been unjustly and falsely romanticized by the movie, novel, and television industries. People now believe the west to have been populated by gun-slinging cowboys wearing ten gallon hats who rode off on capricious, idealistic adventures. Not only is this perception of the west far from the truth, but no mention of the atrocities of Indian massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in fact, A Century of Dishonor.” The frontier thesis, which Turner proposed in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition, viewed the frontier as the sole preserver of the American psyche of democracy and republicanism by compelling Americans to conquer and to settle new areas. This thesis gives a somewhat quixotic explanation of expansion, as opposed to Helen Hunt Jackson’s book, A Century of Dishonor, which truly portrays the settlement of the west as a pattern of cruelty and conceit. Thus, the frontier thesis, offered first in The Significance of the Frontier in American History, is, in fact, false, like the myth of the west. Many historians, however, have attempted to debunk the mythology of the west. Specifically, these historians have refuted the common beliefs that cattle ranging was accepted as legal by the government, that the said business was profitable, that cattle herders were completely independent from any outside influence, and that anyone could become a cattle herder.
Since the early 1800s the United States began a mission of westward expansion. Americans believed that they were entitled to North America which brought upon Manifest Destiny. The concept of Manifest Destiny encouraged Americans to spread their civilization all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and even down into Mexico. Manifest Destiny was the starting point of the development of America in many different aspects.
Manifest Destiny was the commonly held American attitude during the 1800s that there was a god given obligation for Americans to expand throughout the natural borders of the continent. Manifest Destiny is generally perceived by Americans to be a benevolent movement due to the positive economic conditions it had created. However, ever since the inception of the concept of Manifest Destiny, many have viewed it not as a movement of benevolence, but rather as a movement of aggressive imperialism. This is because Manifest Destiny resulted in the mass destruction and forced migrations of Native American tribes as well as the Mexican-American War, a long standing statement of American Imperialism. It is clear that through the negative consequences
In the 19th century, the U.S. experienced a major change. This change was the Manifest Destiny, an ideology first expressed in 1845 that the expansion of white settlement across the continent was inevitable and ordained by God, a means to spread protestant Christianity and Jacksonian Democracy to more people. It was this belief that fueled westward expansion, Native American removal, and war with Mexico. The U.S. reliance on Manifest Destiny permanently altered the geographical, social, and political visage of the nation.
In 1845, the term ‘Manifest Destiny’ was seen in a newspaper editorial on the invasion of Texas in a United States Magazine and Democratic Review. John L. O’Sullivan The writer used the Manifest Destiny to give details about what the greater part of Americans at the time thought their mission was from God and to expand to west and to pass the United States government to unenlightened people. More than a few Americans understood that God blessed the expansion of the American nation and even demanded Americans to vigorously work on it. Since they were sure of their cultural and racial superiority, they felt that their fate was to increase their rule around and enlighten the nations that were not so fortunate.
Another issue with Mexico was Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the belief that Americans had a God-given destiny to expand across the American Continent. This ideal contributed to the westward migration of Americans as they traveled in search of economic gain. The best example of this was seen in the United States' desire to acquire California to establish markets and a base in heavily populated parts of Asia.
Manifest Destiny was a very prevalent axiom in the 19th Century to the inhabitants of the United States. It was thought to of provided justification for the
Manifest destiny, the idea that America had a divine right to expand her territory from coast to coast, fueled and justified expansionism in America during the 18th century. One of the events during the Romantic era that was the product of manifest destiny was the Mexican-American War (1846-48) under the Polk administration. President James K. Polk invoked the ideology of manifest destiny in order to justify sending General Zachary Taylor to tempt Mexico into a war after they refused to sell Mexican territory to the United States, which presently includes California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Obviously, there were many drawbacks to the entitlement American’s felt to the Western frontier and inevitably cause much harm to “the Other” that got in the way of American expansionism, namely