Manifest Destiny

History > U.S. Impending Crisis, 1848-1860

Manifest Destiny

This paper discusses Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States had a mission, divinely-inspired, to expand itself and its system of government to the Western frontier.

940 words () | 10 sources | APA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Manifest Destiny, which began with the New York journalist, John Louis O'Sullivan, in 1845, was held by the Democratic Republicans during the presidency of James Madison to provide a sense of mission to citizens by using the phrase to promote and justify territorial expansion across the North American continent. The author points out that another desire of the politicians and leaders was the acquisition of new lands because land represented potential wealth, income, freedom, and self-sufficiency. The paper stresses that, as the citizens of the United States spread westward, intense conflict developed with the Native Americans and with Mexicans in Texas; Manifest Destiny was one of the driving factors behind the Mexican-American War of 1846, which resulted in the loss of nearly half of Mexico's territory to the United States and the long-term destabilization of that country.

From the Paper:

"Because of economic difficulties in the United States in the 1840s, many young settlers started leaving America for the Oregon Territory. The journey was rough and difficult. Most of the people walked the 2000-mile journey. Only the pregnant women, the sick, and the elderly were allowed to ride in the wagons. There were many fights with the Native Americans along the route and the possession of land caused them to continue fighting once they arrived. During the westward expansion, the Native Americans were greatly affected and were in a constant struggle for survival. They competed with frontiersmen for the fur trade, for land with settlers moving to Oregon, and with the Mexicans farming in Texas. New settlers were encroaching on their native lands constantly and their way of life was being challenged."