The Manifest Destiny

The Manifest Destiny was a term first used by John O Sullivan in 1945 which
suggests that through expansion, the United States could become a superpower in terms
of political and economic levels. He believed that God had given America a mission to
spread democracy, not by force but by simply spreading it. In addition, it conveyed the
idea that the rightful destiny of America included imperialistic expansion. This concept,
however, was a great influence to American international policies during the 1800s. It
was publicized in the papers and was advertised in the media. At the heart of this It was
this idea that motivated the decision of American to rapidly expand into the West and
East. Manifest Destiny likewise was an intangible ideology that helped create the history
of America and significantly paved the way for American expansion.
During the 1840s, there was a remarkable growth in territories in the United
States. This was reflected in the marked increase in the national domain by 1.2 million
square miles. Many Americans believe that their nation had the manifest destiny to
dominate the rest of the world. However, the idea of expansion was never clearly defined
and in fact it was opposed by the members of the Whig Party leaders. There were some
supporters to this idea, although they were against the use of force to be able to achieve
their goals toward expansion. Although the United States had more than enough
unoccupied lands to conquer, the supporters of this idea thought that American should
continue to grow in order to survive. They believed that having abundant lands is needed
to become a prosperous republic. The expansionists also believed that through Manifest
Destiny, territorial growth would further strengthen them, because it will provide
unlimited economic opportunities for the future generations. In addition, they were also
motivated by the practical side of the issue, and the Southerners were among who were
advocating for expansion. More lands would eventually result to more slave states which
would greatly enhance the Souths political power and serve as an outlet for the slaves
growing population. The most important reason for the expansionists was the fact that
America had always been suspicious of Britains activities in the western hemisphere.
This constant fear of Britains plans changed the face of the Manifest Destiny, and
converted many advocates of gradual expansion into a new and more militant method of
imperialism.
Manifest Destiny played an important role in several events in the history of
United States. One of these was the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain. The British
rejected a proposal to divide the region along the 49th parallel. Presidential candidate
Polk sought a compromise and renewed the earlier offer to divide the territory in half
along the 49th parallel. Later in 1846, the British finally conceded to divide the territory,
keeping Columbia as part of the US. It likewise played a significant role in the expansion
of the Texas and American relations with Mexico. After Polk was elected, Congress
approved the annexation of Texas, which proved to be a controversial one because of
some racist ideas that Mexicans were an inferior race and so, they are not qualified to
become Americans. This was however, ended by the Mexican Cession which added the
territories of Alta California and Nuevo Mexico to the US. This idea likewise had serious
consequences for native Americans as they were encouraged to sell their vast tribal lands
and abandon hunting to become farmers.
In conclusion, Manifest Destiny was seen as a major factor that influenced and
shaped various developments and changes in the history of the United States. It was
interpreted and widely used, but often, it conveys three important concepts which are, the
virtue of the American people and their institutions, the mission to spread these
institutions and the destiny under God to do His work. Supporters of this idea claimed
that they should expand, dominate and at the same time spread democracy. They
supported this idea for its political, economic, patriotic, moral and religious reasons.
Others however, believed that the US should remain as a role model for other countries.
Whatever opinions different people have regarding this idea, it was most associated with
the idea of territorial expansion of America from 1812-1860.

Citation:

"29. Manifest Destiny." Manifest Destiny [ushistory.org]. Web. 09 June 2012.

<http://www.ushistory.org/us/29.asp>.