Are There People Against the Manifest Destiny? Reviews

Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the Usa is destined—by God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism beyond the entire North American continent. The philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal of Native Americans and other groups from their homes. The rapid expansion of the United States intensified the issue of slavery equally new states were added to the Marriage, leading to the outbreak of the Civil State of war.

Louisiana Purchase

Thanks to a high birth rate and brisk immigration, the U.S. population exploded in the get-go half of the 19th century, from around 5 one thousand thousand people in 1800 to more than 23 million by 1850.

Such rapid growth—besides as two economic depressions in 1819 and 1839—would bulldoze millions of Americans westward in search of new state and new opportunities.

President Thomas Jefferson kicked off the country'southward westward expansion in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, which at some 828,000 square miles nearly doubled the size of the U.s. and stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. In addition to sponsoring the western expedition of Lewis and Clark of 1805-07, Jefferson also set his sights on Spanish Florida, a procedure that was finally concluded in 1819 under President James Monroe.

But critics of that treaty faulted Monroe and his secretary of country, John Quincy Adams, for yielding to Spain what they considered legitimate claims on Texas, where many Americans connected to settle.

In 1823, Monroe invoked Manifest Destiny when he spoke before Congress to warn European nations not to interfere with America's Due west expansion, threatening that any attempt by Europeans to colonize the "American continents" would be seen equally an act of war. This policy of an American sphere of influence and of non-intervention in European affairs became known as the "Monroe Doctrine." After 1870, it would be used as a rationale for U.S. intervention in Latin America.

Texas Independence

Cries for the "re-annexation" of Texas increased after Mexico, having won its independence from Espana, passed a law suspending U.S. immigration into Texas in 1830.

Nonetheless, there were still more Anglo settlers in Texas than Hispanic ones, and in 1836, after Texas won its ain independence, its new leaders sought to join the United States. The administrations of both Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren resisted such calls, fearing both state of war with Mexico and opposition from Americans who believed calls for annexation were linked with the desire to expand slavery in the Southwest.

But John Tyler, who won the presidency in 1840, was determined to go along with the annexation. An agreement concluded in Apr 1844 made Texas eligible for admission as a U.Southward. territory, and perchance later as one or more states.

Despite opposition to this agreement in Congress, the pro-annexation candidate James K. Polk won the 1844 election, and Tyler was able to push the bill through and sign it before he left office.

The Coining of 'Manifest Destiny'

By the time Texas was admitted to the Union as a country in December 1845, the idea that the U.s.a. must inevitably expand due west all the way to the Pacific Bounding main had taken firm hold among people from different regions, classes and political persuasions.

Ringlet to Continue

The phrase "Manifest Destiny," which emerged equally the best-known expression of this mindset, commencement appeared in an editorial published in the July-August 1845 consequence of The Autonomous Review.

In it, the writer criticized the opposition that all the same lingered confronting the annexation of Texas, urging national unity on behalf of "the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions."

Equally the phrase also appeared in a near identical context in a July 1845 article in the New York Morning time News, its originator is believed to be John O'Sullivan, the editor of both the Democratic Review and the Morning News at the fourth dimension. That Dec, another Morning time News article mentioned "manifest destiny" in reference to the Oregon Territory, another new frontier over which the United States was eager to assert its dominion.

Oregon Territory

An 1842 treaty betwixt Great britain and the United States partially resolved the question of where to depict the Canadian border, but left open the question of the Oregon Territory, which stretched from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains over an area including what is now Oregon, Idaho, Washington Land and well-nigh of British Columbia.

Polk, an ardent proponent of Manifest Destiny, had won election with the slogan "54˚ forty' or fight!" (a reference to the potential northern boundary of Oregon every bit latitude 54˚ xl') and called U.South. claims to Oregon "clear and unquestionable" in his countdown address.

Merely as president, Polk wanted to go the issue resolved so the The states could motion on to acquiring California from United mexican states. In mid-1846, his administration agreed to a compromise whereby Oregon would be dissever forth the 49th parallel, narrowly avoiding a crunch with United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland.

Impact of Manifest Destiny: The Civil War, Native American Wars

By the time the Oregon question was settled, the United States had entered into all-out war with United mexican states, driven by the spirit of Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which concluded the Mexican-American War in 1848, added an additional 525,000 foursquare miles of U.South. territory, including all or parts of what is now California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Despite the lofty idealism of Manifest Destiny, the rapid territorial expansion over the first half of the 19th century resulted not just in state of war with Mexico, but in the dislocation and brutal mistreatment of Native American, Hispanic and other non-European occupants of the territories now being occupied past the Us.

U.South. expansion also fueled the growing debate over slavery, by raising the pressing question of whether new states being admitted to the Matrimony would allow slavery or non—a conflict that would eventually lead to the Civil War.

Sources

Julius Westward. Pratt, "The Origin of 'Manifest Destiny'," The American Historical Review (July 1927).
Sean Wilentz, The Ascent of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (New York: Norton, 2005).
Michael Golay, The Tide of Empire: America's March to the Pacific
Era of U.Due south. Continental Expansion, History, Fine art & Archives: U.S House of Representatives.

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Source: https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/manifest-destiny

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