Essays on Manifest Destiny

Discussion 2

Californios? Manifest destiny was a concept used by the Americans as a vision to enhance the expansion of their country regarding its exceptional behaviour, its size and regarding the general importance of the country globally. California began growing rapidly when deposits of gold were found in it. Many people came to California to trade for gold in the gold rush, and in the process, California turned from a remote, deserted land to a busy growing place. For example, San Francisco substantially grew from a small settlement of about 800 people to a big city of about hundred thousand people ...

Question 1: Mexican-American War

The battle was the first conflict that America had on foreign grounds. It introduced a political divide and portrayed the unpreparedness of Mexico in combat. The Mexican-American battle was inspired by the Manifest Destiny whereby the United States held the expansion-minded perspective that they had the power to spread out into the continent. Later on, the two nations signed the treaty of Guadalupe to end the Mexican-American War. Mexico agreed to let go of Texas, California, and the territory of Rio Grande (Daniel, 2014).

Question 2: Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase involved the acquisition of additional land by the United States that is ...

Introduction

The term Manifest Destiny was coined in 1845 by John O’Sullivan, a newspaper editor. It was the belief in divine providence where Americans people believed that they were destined to control the land by expanding their territory. In addition, they also hoped to achieve economic stability and freedom for the people (Jarnow, 2014). Even though the doctrine was taught in all sorts of gatherings, it faced numerous opposing views since some Americans doubted its veracity. In the United States, Manifest Destiny had both positive and adverse effects on the nation. Pro: The main pro of territorial expansion meant ...

1a) American Dream. It is another way to describe the way of life of the Americans. It relates to the concept of equality, as every person must have the same opportunity and status in the society (Michels). 1b) Manifest Destiny. It is a belief during the expansion period in the United States which fueled the Americans that they are not only able to expand territories, but also destined to do so (History). 1c) American Exceptionalism. It is a term rooted from socialist theories that the founding of America, which was based on religious ideologies, is different as compared to ...

1. An American who have made a difference in America and the world in the 2000s includes President Barack Obama, who has managed to change the condition of the American economy after the 2008 financial crisis, brokered Iran Nuclear deal, passed Obamacare, facilitated jobs, and brought back the confidence of investors in the American economy. 2. The positives of the reconstruction era were the reunification of the South and North, expansion of the economy, blacks started to become politically active, Freedmen's Bureau, states could not restrict the rights of citizens (Amendment 14), all men had right to vote (Amendment ...

During the mid-nineteenth century, freedom in the North and West led to significant American social, economic and political advancement. Owing to the aspect of freedom in the civilized world, various Americans invested in trade opportunities. Territorial expansion was caused by a considerable increase in the American population. Political ideologies led to the establishment of factions that would differ along the lines of administrative roles. Furthermore, free labor and slavery paved the way for the creation of lobby groups that would advocate for the protection of human rights in America.

Economic advancement

Giant economic leaps were made in America during in the ...

The concept of Manifest Destiny is a belief dated back in the 19th century. It was a belief that the United States mission was to expand its western side across the North American continent. The expansion spreads its form of freedom, culture and democracy (Jones & Rakestraw, 2007). Manifest destiny came as a result in 1828 when Andrew Jackson was elected the president. He promised to expand the territories of the United States westward sides. This idea of manifest destiny holds that America had the right and duty to develop its civilization that fueled its boundaries move into Mexico and ...

General Introduction to the church

History of the Church is seen to encounter many challenges. The early church had its roots on cemented on strict and stringently followed biblical beliefs. With time, evolution and civilization began to encroach the church values and systems. The church initially, did not believe in earthly riches, entertainment, politics, and honor. The acceptance of such in the church consequently brew divides in the church, and people started accepting and interpreting the Bible in different ways. Hence, congregation members began to cocoon in line and cohorts of what they believed was right. As declared by Jesus, “no one can serve ...

(Teacher)

In the years 1807 -1912 people settled in the western areas of the United States, and all points in between the east coast and the Pacific Ocean. This period is known as the Westward Expansion. The expansion began on the east coast and continued to the Pacific Ocean, where the pioneers settled and began to colonize the areas in between. It seemed that the land was available to be claimed and thousands of natives were pushed off their ancestral lands to make way for the white settlers. Although white civilization had been established in the Eastern United States ...

After the Mexican War of Independence, Spanish forces retreated from Mexico and left behind a vulnerable territory without any protection in its political and economic spheres. Apparently, while Mexicans had previously relied on the Spanish army for protection, all forms of trade were subject to the Spaniards. As a result, when the conflict ended in 1821, Mexico was independent but was in need of a rapid development plan and allies that would sustain the government and its people. To that end, the North provided possible solutions as the territory was not only bordering the United States but also included ...

Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion was a book written by Amy S. Greenberg of the Pennsylvania state university. Amy is a professor and historian who focused on teaching politics, culture, and gender history. She has authored other books such as the antebellum and manifest manhood. Manifest destiny is an influential ideology covered in the book. It was an American belief by which the American settlers believed that they were destined to expand throughout the continent. The central theme of the book was to discuss whether the Americans were right in using manifest destiny in justifying their territorial expansion ...

1) America is a settler nation. The majority of the United States population has always been of foreign descent. Early on this was primarily people of European and African descent, and to this day European-Americans remain probably the richest and most politically dominant group. That said, there were already numerous communities of indigenous people living throughout the lands that became the territory of the United States. Those communities, if not necessarily the individuals who made them up, had to go as political entities for the US to be born. That required an ideological justification not just for colonialism as ...

- In March 1766, Declaratory Act was passed by the British Parliament to affirm the Parliament’s right to pass laws in their colonies “in all cases whatsoever”. This news of repealing gave colonists confidence that British government respected and understood their situation regarding taxes. Few appreciated and recognized the claim of Parliament in passing laws “in all cases whatsoever” through the Declaratory Act. - Colonists wanted to be represented in the Parliament by some one of their own, whereas policies of British were determined by a sole leader. Apart from the colonial legislatures, mobs in many cities demonstrated ...

The painting “American Progress” by John Gast came to symbolize America’s role on the world stage by the end of the 19th century. The painting has come to symbolize the expansion as well as national destiny. In this painting, one sees the woman “Columbia” moving westward carrying a school book and stringing telegraph wires as she moves westward. This symbolizes the “conquest” of the United States onwards to the Pacific Ocean – one sees the Native Americans bowed as they too move westward to avoid the onslaught of the White man. Columbia is stringing telegraph wires, ...

Question 1

The U.S. policy toward Mexico over Texas and the Southwest during the 1840s was primarily motivated by the need to fulfill Manifest destiny and the nationalistic ambition to expand the boundaries of the United States. The Manifest destiny was a strongly held belief that the entire American continent was pre-ordained for the Americans and hence, had the obligation to fulfill this destiny. At this time, James K. Polk was the US president, and he had primarily intended to negotiate with Mexico over territorial expansion without necessarily going to war. His decision to wage war against Mexico was thus driven by ...

Question One: Significance of Proclamation Line of 1763

The Proclamation Line of 1763 was significant in that it asserted the Indians’ right to land. The proclamation sought to delineate the land that belonged to the Indians from the land that would be accessible and utilized by the colonists. In that vein, the line established the racial divide. In the interim, the proclamation gave the Indians a share of the land. The same should be understood in the context of the fact that the Indians would now be under the protection of the King. In addition, the colonists who had settled in the land reserved for the Indians were ...

Introduction

In the film Monsters to Destroy: Manifest Destiny, United States of America's (USA) policy has been discussed after the end of the Cold War in 1991 and disintegration of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union had broken, USA was the only super power in the world, with no major enemy. The film discusses the Manifest Destiny and its major influence on the decision of the USA. Manifest Destiny refers to a popular American belief, coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845, which implies that the Americans have a God-given right to expand across land and regions in order to ...

1. Established at the outset of the nineteenth century was Manifest Destiny, which emerged as the guiding tenet and ideology for American foreign policy. Manifest Destiny of the 1840s has been argued to be a product of American nationalism and the impulse to expand its frontier to the west coast of North America. Ultimately, the ideology of Manifest Destiny drove the territorial expansion that resulted in the outbreak of the Civil War. The history of American expansionism during the nineteenth century indeed retained a racial paradox at its core: while American conquests across the Pacific Ocean and the North American continent ...

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Man That Was Used Up” is an astounding dramatic farce involving the search for truth of an unnamed narrator to discern the true secret of a distinguished war hero, General John A.B.C. Smith. Along the way, Poe illustrates a Civil War-era society that brims with a very specific type of cultural revisionism and American exceptionalism that belies the true ugliness of the nation’s atrocities underneath. Looking at this story in the context of the Jacksonian era, in which Indian removal was a very prevalent cultural practice and the upper class lionized military might borne of a ...

Question One

Race is more deliberate than prejudice. According to the articles, the definition of racism is discrimination against someone due to first and foremost their race, differences in skin color, and/ or where they are from. According to the book, Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations, the author articulates that most of the founding fathers of the United States had slaves. They therefore knew the toll that slavery had on the slaves and the hardships that the slaves underwent, even so, the still went ahead and knowingly regarded a slave as there fifths of a human in the constitution. ...

The US revolution and absolute independence did not come cheap. It came as a result of the immense sacrifices, determination and war waged by Americans with the colonial masters. Of course, there were oppositions, several factors set the pace for the revolution and the creation of the United States of America. A number of documents and early thinkers had influential effects in the drafting of the American Declaration of Independence. The writings of Thomas Hobbes can be classified among these early literatures that helped shaped the revolution, although with some exceptions. In the book, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argued that people ...

The words “Manifest Destiny” is perhaps one of the most politically-intriguing and morally-infused phrases in the history of the American nation. It has ingrained itself in the hallowed halls of American political discourse, and has been debated – time and again – regarding its morality, political philosophy, and ethical value. It is also a prime source for reasoning behind the current turmoil within the United States regarding race and racial inequality, founded upon the notion that individuals born out of a certain stock are better human beings than others. It has thus shaped and transfigured the identity of the American nation – for better ...

Northern America had long been populated by many tribes and peoples before the Europeans settled in its eastern parts. This short paper will compare the expansion into the American West made by the American Indians, the Spaniards and finally the European-Americans via the ideology of Manifest Destiny. The strategies, motives and experiences of these groups, along with their encounters with the various actors involved, will all be explored in this paper.

Spanish Expansion into the American West

It is said that the Spanish expansion into the American West was borne out of a need for the Spaniards to find a way to move or travel to Asia. ...

1. Describe the emergence of abolitionism in American society and its significance. Give examples. 2. Describe the distribution of slavery in the South. Describe slave culture and how it helped slaves bear up under the pressures of slavery. How did southern whites defend slavery? The Southern states of America were growing in economic power through their plantation system. After the first plantations were expanding and the new were emerging, the plantation owners needed more people, in particular, slaves for work, and, thus, more slaves have been brought from Africa. Gradually, the number of slaves started rising and ...

The period from the Mexican-American War to World War I saw the rise of American imperialism. The country slowly was making its name known across the globe, and was in the throes of an Industrial Revolution of its own. Its territory now stretched “from sea to shining sea”, and thus it looked across the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in search of territories it could call as its own and from which vast natural resources could be extracted to aid in the Industrial Revolution thereat. Perhaps the first theoretical underpinning which eventually led to US imperialism is the ...

John Gast “American Progress” (1872)

Essay

Every nation is characterized by its own unique culture that is created according to the background of knowledge, religious ideas, beliefs, ethnical peculiarities. Certainly, every culture is unique in its own artifacts that help to understand this culture in the better way. These are literature works, architectural monuments and sculptures, pieces of music, etc. All artifacts of the past centuries have deep roots in the given culture, so deep that sometimes it is not really possible to understand their origin. The example of such artifacts is the painting “American Progress” by John Gast ...

The elements of Picasso’s Guernica include: As viewed the scene appears to be inside a room. To the left there is an end, its open and a bull with a wide eye is standing above a woman carrying a dead child. She seems to be grieving. At the center, is horse which falls in pain with a large wound on its side. A hidden human skull overlying the horse and a bull appearing that gores the horse from below appear hidden in the art and are formed by the horse. A soldier is seen beneath the horse. He is dismembered and holds a shuttered sword. A ...

Asian immigrants were, for many years, the silent victims of American westward expansion. When Americans were expanding westward in pursuit of Manifest Destiny, they were not doing all the work themselves. Manifest Destiny was the widely-held belief by many Americans that America was destined to expand across the current-day United States. During the 1820s all the way through the 1860s, Americans from the east coast of the United States expanded across the United States, seeking a variety of different things-- some sought land, others new experiences or natural resources. Everyone who participated in the American westward expansion carried some kind ...

Introduction

The Mexican-American war of 1846-1848 was a continuous bloody conflict that was the result of Mexican resentment to the USA, and is still considered to be one of the most essential moments in the US history, being the first war to be fought on an international soil. The importance of this military act for the America is impossible to be overestimated, the country’s territory being stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific as the result.

Causes of war

The act of annexation created uproar in Mexico, who had not accepted the independence. Multiple efforts to avoid war were made by the Mexican ...

As a country America has always been seen as a unique unit of states with a common goal and a common destiny. This has always been her allure and her selling point. But as a nation America too had to evolve and grow from a smaller unit to the super power she is today. This expansion came about in various ways and some of the most common were via purchases and treaties. But just like other countries America too had to engage in warfare in a bid to expand her shores. America has been involved in many wars over the period of her existence and they ...

Many historians argue that the manifest destiny was a concept that was coined in the late 19th century in the United States. The concept of the manifest destiny was based on the idea that America was an exceptional territory that was composed of unique people in comparison to other parts and peoples of the world. According the architect of this term, the American people had a divine responsibility to expand their territory and change both the structure and the governance of the conquered territories. Many scholars have also referred to this attitude as the west-ward expansion (Garfield 47). The expansionists ...

Manifest destiny is a term coined by newspaper editor John O’Sullivan in 1845 to describe the moral, ethical, religious, patriotic, and financial reasoning behind the United State’s expansion of territory from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans (“Manifest”). Many Americans believed that it was God’s intent for them to do this; their Christian faith was seen as superior to that of the “heathen” native Americans who already occupied the land. The rapid expansion westward was driven in part by the feeling that the American people were special and in some ways remains a part of today’s foreign policy. ...

Manifest Destiny: US Ideology of Expansion and the US Foreign Policy

Terms Used: Manifest Destiny, Polk, Texas, Mexico, Louisiana Introduction The term ‘Manifest destiny’ is coined by an American writer John L. O'Sullivan in 1845. It signifies the ideas and beliefs of American nation (in 19th century) that they have the rights of expansion; rights to expand towards westward in order to extend the continent of United States. O'Sullivan used this term in the support of President James Polk plan of expansion towards westward. President Polk assumed the office of President in 1845 and he immediately expressed his vision to expand the US boundary towards southwest and taking ...

Section one:

Question one Anne Hutchinson claimed that if God had predetermined the salvation or damnation of a person, their behavior on earth would then not change their fate. This line of thought was triggered by the conflicting behavior of the church members with the doctrine of predestination. In accordance to her understanding of the Biblical law, she viewed the Massachusetts ministers as having lost their way. The claim threatened to reduce the powers of the ministers as the members would ignore the church authority.

Question two:

After Andrew Jackson was elected as the seventh president of the United States, many of the ...

Book Review - Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America

In Harry L. Watson's Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America, the second party system era is examined on a national level (following up from his regional study of Cumberland County, North Carolina, during the same period of time), providing a rough overview of Jacksonian politics in general. Issues such as nullification, the Bank War, and Andrew Jackson himself are addressed in a detailed, yet unspecialized way, providing the reader with a passing glimpse at the entire era and how its politics affected the cultural and social landscape of America. Watson's thesis is that, despite the typical challenges that Jacksonian Democrats presented ...

The name manifest destiny was coined by a newspaper editor John O’ Sullivan in 1845. This was a term used to explain how United States should stretch from coast to coast. For the Americans expansion seems like it was natural cause for them. They had the intent of spreading all the way to the Pacific Ocean and they had achieved independence from the revolution. Many Settlers believed that God himself had blessed the growth of the American Nation. They considered Americans natives’ heathens so turning tribes into Christians would save souls and they crossed Mississippi river. At the same ...

The Mexican American War began in the area known today as the state of Texas. Mexico had recently received its independence from the nation of Spain and was having difficulty controlling its new vast area of land. Americans kept moving into the Territory known today as Texas. The United States government supported and defended these settlers due to the concept known as Manifest Destiny. The desire to expand progress and increase patriotism among the members of the nation was expressed through gaining more land. This had recently occurred with the purchase of the Louisiana Purchase and just to the ...

Book Review: Race and Manifest Destiny: Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism

In Reginald Horsman's Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism, the author studies racism in America in a manner that contributes significantly to the historiography of the Jacksonian Era. In this work, Horsman links racist ideologues to political events that have happened throughout history, Jim Crowism and Reconstruction being of particular focus. Horsman's thesis in this work is that the ideological elements of manifest destiny go hand in hand with the tenets of American racism; in essence, racism is a decidedly integral part of American ideology, one which provided a vital symbolic language that framed issues ranging from the ...

- Describe how the population growth in Europe from 1800 on fit conveniently' with the spread of early industrialization in that same period. The significant growth in Europe was mainly due to improvement in medical services, which reduced the havoc caused by diseases. Famine was also reduced due to the availability of food like potatoes for the poor. The combination of these factors meant there was reduced death rates hence increase in population. Early industrialization was mainly characterized by horse-drawn equipment, proper drainage project, and scientific breeding of agricultural products. This was fueled by the fact that the ...

The Mexicans called it "The US Invasion". The Americans called it "The Mexican War". Sо, let's try to understand what exactly happened. What was it that put the flame to the fire in an already smouldering situation? The Mexican-American war lasted almost 2 years - people say that "Mexico was ripe for a takeover" and others say it was America's "manifest destiny" and their land-grabbing greed that made them arrogant enough to send troops into Mexico. In addition, the Americans saw the border of Mexico at the Rio Grande, while to the Mexicans, the border was located much further away ...

John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government

Disproportionate and Unequal Possession of the Earth: John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government

In John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, Section 50 says that “by a tacit and voluntary consent,” men “have agreed to a disproportionate and unequal possession of the earth” (Locke, 1690, p. 19). Whether or not gold or money is a good representative of real wealth in goods or services and that man has made this tacit and consensual agreement for “disproportionate and unequal possession of the earth” is a debate that scholars continue to debate. Locke’s writing invites inquiry; his ideas concerning possession, consent, wealth, ...

Arguably, in the early 1900s and late 1800s numerous changes and events took place that helped United States to rise to global power. United States was once primarily an isolationist’s nation it later became one of the strongest nations in the entire world. Isolationism policy did not mean disengagement from the globe; it was reluctance of America in going to war and forming European alliance. The economy of United States largely depended on agriculture, but during this period it rapidly developed to be an industrial superpower. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, lots of reforms and development ...

In his day Richard Harding Davis (1864 – 1916) was a celebrated journalist who specialized in covering natural disasters and wars, often putting himself in dangerous situations in order to get a good story. He also wrote several novels and plays, and many short stories, based on his experiences outside the USA, covering wars and traveling in Central and South America. He was commercially very successful. ‘A Charmed Life’ is set in the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the male protagonist, Chesterton, is an American journalist in Cuba covering the action. As as story it is typical of his work: it has ...

Why were the battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg significant? How did they change the tide of war strategically?

The Battle of Vicksburg was significant due to the important role it played in restoring dwindling morale in the Union Army. Before that point, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg had ended in defeat for the Union, but Ulysses S. Grant saw a chance to make up for that in Vicksburg. Once there, one Union Army handled two Confederate armies at once, defeating them after a pitched battle. Tens of thousands of prisoners were taken, the Mississippi River fell under Union Control, and the Confederate army became bisected, cutting their effectiveness in half. This made them a lot easier to defeat for the remainder of ...