A symbol of Manifest Destiny, the figure "Columbia" moves across the land in advance of settlers, replacing darkness with light and ignorance with civilization.
The religious fervor spawned by the Second Great Awakening created another incentive for the drive west. Indeed, many settlers believed that God himself blessed the growth of the American nation. The Native Americans were considered heathens. By Christianizing the tribes, American missionaries believed they could save souls and they became among the first to cross the Mississippi River.
Economic motives were paramount for others. The fur trade had been dominated by European trading companies since colonial times. German immigrant John Jacob Astor was one of the first American entrepreneurs to challenge the Europeans. He became a millionaire in the process. The desire for more land brought aspiring homesteaders to the frontier. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the number of migrants increased even more.
At the heart of manifest destiny was the pervasive belief in American cultural and racial superiority. Native Americans had long been perceived as inferior, and efforts to "civilize" them had been widespread since the days of John Smith and MILES STANDISH. The Hispanics who ruled Texas and the lucrative ports of California were also seen as "backward."
In 1840, the entire southwestern corner of the United States was controlled by foreign powers (shown in orange), and the territorial dispute over the Oregon Territory (light green) had not been settled. By 1850 the U.S. had control of lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific, covering almost all of today's continental United States.
Expanding the boundaries of the United States was in many ways a cultural war as well. The desire of southerners to find more lands suitable for cotton cultivation would eventually spread slavery to these regions. North of the Mason-Dixon line, many citizens were deeply concerned about adding any more slave states. Manifest destiny touched on issues of religion, money, race, patriotism, and morality. These clashed in the 1840s as a truly great drama of regional conflict began to unfold.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Manifest Destiny: was a slang term used in 1845 to encourage the attitude displayed within the 19th century period of Texas used after American settlement of European colonial and Indian lands in the Great Plains and the West and, more generally, as a justification of America’s empire. This term was ultimately the idea that Americans were destined, by God, to control the North American continent, and imply deep American roots into the…
- 1414 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
People think of Manifest Destiny as the official policy of territorial expansion and the idea that God had ‘blessed’ America to become an ocean-bound republic in the 19th century. The truth, however, is that presidents and secretaries of state never really used the phrase ‘manifest destiny’; it was the slogan of the journalist John L. O’Sullivan who created it in 1845 when he was writing editorials about the annexation of Texas and about the boundary dispute with Britain over the Oregon territory. He stated that it was blessed by providence – it was the manifest destiny of the country to become this continental power. It immediately sparked controversy at the time. The phrase itself ended up being used more by critics than supporters as a way…
- 257 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Newspaper editor John L. O'Sullivan first used the term manifest destiny in an 1845 article to describe the inevitability surrounding the annexation of Texas. Since then it has come to describe the belief among American settlers and political leaders that it was their God-given right and duty to expand U.S. territory, customs, and institutions throughout North America from coast to coast. The concept gained traction during the nineteenth century as immigration and land acquisitions, including the Louisiana Purchase (1803), drastically increased the feasibility and pace of westward expansion.…
- 478 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Manifest Destiny was a belief held by Anglo-Saxon Americans in the 1840s that it was their mission to expand their values from coast to coast across the United States. The ideal of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness fueled this divine obligation to expand westward. Manifest Destiny is a word that originated from a report written by John O’Sullivan. He discusses how these white pioneers felt privileged since God was giving them a mission and had angels looking over them. Also, he described how pioneers were driven to spread democracy across the United States in order to have it in the agrarian settlements.…
- 230 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The expansion of America from the thirteen colonies across the entire continent was known as westward expansion. In 1845, John O’Sullivan, a newspaper editor that was writing about the possible annexation of Texas, coined the term Manifest Destiny. “Manifest Destiny…to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (Wexler 96). Manifest Destiny inspired a 29-year old named Stephen F. Austin to talk grandly of colonizing the Mexican province of Texas with "North American population, enterprise and intelligence" (digitalhistory.edu). It led expansionists, united behind the slogan "54° 40' or fight!," to demand that the United States should own the entire Pacific Northwest all the way to the southern border of Alaska. Manifest Destiny was a 19th century view held by Americans who felt they had the right to expand across the North American continent. The events of this westward expansion did provide the United States with security and prosperity by eliminating European powers as well as the North American Indians. However, the necessary balance of the slave versus non-slave states, so essential in Congress, caused the sectional conflicts that led to the Civil War.…
- 1046 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
With Antebellum America followed a desire for Manifest Destiny. The people soon wanted to own all of the land in the country and began moving west. While this westward movement seemed euphoric for the Americans, advertised nearly as a getaway from the already crowded east, such a feeling did not exist for the Indians. Manifest Destiny was an aggressive imperialism pursued at the expense of others due to the facts that it was made out to be an expansion prearranged by Heaven when it simply was the craving of more land, it took the Indians only home that was promised to them by a previous treaty, and when the Manifest Destiny movement was created, it entitled the American people ownership of the Indian’s themselves.…
- 623 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the 19th century, Manifest Destiny, which is the idea that the United States’ expansion was inevitable and justified throughout the continent, became prevalent and was used a way to validate the nation’s acquirement of new territories. The idea brought forth a sense of nationalism and led to the nation working towards expanding and laying a foundation for an empire. However, as the US made an effort in developing a dominating country, the nation became divided as conflicts regarding the spread of slavery and the beginning of the Mexican war lead to disagreements and a lack of unity.…
- 1065 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The idea of Manifest Destiny ran through American history since the 19th century. America began to expand through the continent, because it was their destiny to expand. America wanted to become bigger and greater. Manifest Destiny not only included the idea of being destined to expand America, but it also included the idea of expanding America for economic opportunity and for the progress of Liberty. America went straight for Manifest Destiny to better its economy and strength. Imperialism degrades other nations making them oppressed by their ruling countries, however the United States did try to expand their colony into the pacific ocean for the ideology of Manifest Destiny by having people from America going to other countries, building canals in other provinces and creating companies in China to expand the American economy.…
- 586 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The general idea of Sullivan´s phrase was that God gave the United States of America territory so that the American people could travel westwards and settle on land that was rightfully theirs. We can notice that Manifest Destiny is a racial doctrine and it put forward the white supremacy. Some people say, that the idea served as a justification for the expropriation of Native American lands. This theory cost the death of many Whites, Blacks and Native Americans. O´Sullivan created the perfect excuse for politicians like Polk, to push forward their plans of expansion in the West.…
- 1876 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
All migrants were in search of a new life, but of course they all had different visions of what that entailed. Some hoped to find gold while others wanted to take advantage of the land. But still most hoped to establish themselves while some were trying to escape the disease of the cities. Even though life on the trail was…
- 5273 Words
- 15 Pages
Better Essays -
The idea that the United States had a “manifest destiny” led to more than simply acquiring land, though between 1845 and 1848, the United States would almost double in size, from 1.8 million square miles to almost 3 million. Many Americans supported versions of Manifest destiny for their own reasons. Land speculators and those promoting the extension of the nation’s railroads wanted to exploit the vast lands in the west. Farmers dreamed of starting over rich and cheap new lands. Workers believed that rapid national expansion would guarantee industrial profits and thus their jobs, or give them a chance to start over if necessary.…
- 517 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Greediness and the desire to expand more to the West, in order to acquire more lands, were the main reasons for conflict and wars between the white population of America and the Native American Indians. They could not mutually agree, as they both wanted the best for themselves. The Native Americans were sceptical towards the whites and the whites on the other hand didn’t trust the Native Americans. Many of the white population were running out of room on the East Coast of America. As the US believed in the concept of “Manifest Destiny”, which consisted in filling the whole continent with loyal white Americans, this would inevitably lead to conflict, as the Native Americans wouldn’t have anywhere to live. It must also be noted, the importance of religion in the Indian tradition, it was even considered as a way of communication with foreigners. Indeed, the Indian religion was profoundly different to that of whites, it involved a belief in the sacredness of the land. The chief of the tribe did not have a total power over the actions of his tribe. This was a good system, but the whites could not understand it. Hence, the…
- 3107 Words
- 13 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Manifest destiny means obvious fate, people believed that it was god given right for America to expand and rules the continent. The “American Progress” painting represents manifest destiny, it was the symbol of America’s expansion, people in the picture are moving west, In front of the picture, there is a bear running away because it knows people mean danger. Above the bear is a group of Indians fleeing. In the far left middle, there is a big herd of about fifty buffalo running together, disappearing. In the front middle of the painting is a big angel wearing a white dress, she is holding a coil of wire that leads to the line of telephone poles that run from east to the middle of the painting, and she is also holding a schoolbook. This painting…
- 196 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The main reason, most Americans moved to the west was to gain wealth, freedom, and to worship what they believed (Schultz, 2013). There were two periods of Americans moving west the first period transpired from 1820 and 1844 and took place regardless of the governments consent. At the beginning of the settling of the west Mountain Men were responsible for the exploration and finding the safest trails and paths to traverse. These Mountain Men paved the way for the new settlers into the western region of the United States and even assisted the army in locating and mapping out the Indian territories.…
- 381 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Manifest Destiny was a wide belief held in the United States in the 19th century, it was beliefed that American settlers were destined to expand throught the continent. Manitfest Destiny came from the idea that it was their job to reedeme the old world.…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays