Manifest Destiny Research Paper

Manifest Destiny is the term for the attitude that was prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only was able to, but was actually destined to, stretch from coast to coast and expand its territories, even if it was at the expense of others. While terrority would expand and progress, it would also be liberty and economic opportunities for individuals that would expand as well. The term Manifest Destiny actually originated sometime in the 1840s, when the common belief was that the Anglo- Saxon’s mission was to have their civilizations all across America. There were three main components of manifest destiny, divine right, historical inevitability, and religion. Manifest destiny also composed of
The first example of which being the Mexican American War. The war lasted from 1846 to 1848. On April 25, 1846, a Mexican cavalry unit of 2000 men crossed the Rio Grande and ambushed an American unit of 70 men that were led by Captain Seth Thornton. Sixteen men were killed,five men were injured, and 50 men were taken prisoner. Polk saw his golden opportunity to ask Congress to declare war against Mexico, stating "But now, after reiterated menaces, Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil. She has proclaimed that hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war." Only two days later on May 13, 1846, Congress declared war against Mexico. It was the first conflict that was put into motion by Manifest Destiny. The war ended with an American victory gave us a treaty that increased the nation's size by more than five hundred thousand square miles. The subsequent diplomatic settlement of a controversy over the boundaries of the Oregon Territory added another quarter million square
Most obviously, The United States has 3000 thousand miles stretching from Maine all the way to California. Manifest destiny is also given credit for the rapid growth of industry, especially railroads. It was necessary for people to travel across distances faster, and with this necessity came the first transcontinental railroads, a booming and prosperous time in America’s history. The success of manifest destiny also shaped and changed religious views as well. The settlers believed that because of the wide success of their expansion, they truly must be a nation blessed by God. While some might think that manifest destiny is a thing of the past, destined to live only in books and history lectures, its influence can still be seen today in the modern world. Perhaps the most pressing example of this is the space race. Outer space is often called the final frontier. There is buzz and excitement over the colonization of the moon, mining operations on distant planets, and exploration of galaxies unfathomably distant. On this planet however, manifest destiny can be seen in iraq. Granted, iraq is not being colonized by the united states, but it is being put into conflict over oil prices. This is mostly the United States holding the belief that the oil prices are entitled to be low for them. The United States is also seen to be pressing beliefs and ways of governing onto other