From the late 18th early 19th centuries, Westward expansion dominated the United States of America. Westward expansion was the push towards going to the west coast whether it was for new job opportunities, a better home life, or safer living options or pull factors. This changed American ways and views of life as well as altered other cultures' ways of life. Westward expansion and industrialization negatively affected America's political views, social views, cultural views and overall economic development of the United States due to the amounts of discrimination and assimilation that different groups faced, the amounts of capitalism in the work industry, and the idealization and spread of Manifest Destiny. The first example of how Westward …show more content…
Manifest Destiny was the cultural belief that America as a whole was destined to move west and expand across America. When talking about the views of manifest destiny, it often takes on two sides of a story. The side that often believed that it was a natural outcome of American economic state,politics, and trends supporting western expansion, or the side that thought it was a clear example of American imperialism driven by land hunger, cultural superiority, and racism. The country at this point in time was described to be “entirely based on the great principle of human equality.” But this was not true. Like mentioned previously, the country was built up and established by wealthy, white powerful men, for these certain types of men. Different races such as African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian backgrounded people did not get treated as equals. Manifest destiny was built primarily on the focus for land hunger. Individuals looking to claim land for one's own benefit did not consider the vast majority of people that they could have been affecting at this point in time. An example of this could have been how the Native Americans were pushed out of their country during the Indian Removal Act of 1830. These individuals were pushed out of the land, and not able to be considered American citizens until about 1924. Even upon entry back into the United States, Native Americans were forcefully assimilated into American society using resources like boarding schools and were blocked from voting until the 1950’s. This shows that even while claiming things like “equality for all”, it was still not
The Manifest Destiny is a movement that justified American expansion with a sense of mission and purpose. The American expansion led to the adding of Texas and Oregon to the union, but also created wars with Mexico. As Americans moved west, many of the Indians did not appreciate the expansion and were either forced to leave or fight for their area leading to many massacres and wars. More specifically, Americans wanted to grow from "shining sea to shining sea" and take control of the entirety of North America. They would also fight any force that would attempt to stop them.
Manifest Destiny was a nineteenth century concept of American expansion. This concept gave Americans the belief that they were destined to move United States territory into the West, and that America should fulfill its duty of settling and civilizing all the land that was available to them. There were many different aspects of Manifest Destiny, such as its overlying racist ideology, as this concept gave citizens of the United States a mindset that it is America’s duty to civilize the “uncivilized” world to the West, inhabited by the Native Americans. American expansion West oppressed the cultures of the Natives, and replaced them with forced conversion and adaptation of American culture. The system of expansion Manifest Destiny brought about also had a positive influence on the economic culture of America, expanding its borders, allowing for railways to be built, trade to expand, and new goods to be discovered.
Manifest Destiny was the ideology, which held that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast on the North American continent. Manifest Destiny was a substantial factor in the expansion of the United States and its conflicts with Native American’s over land. The advancement West was also propelled by the end of the Civil War, the Homestead Act, wagon trails, and the discovery of gold and other non-precious metals. By the mid-1700s Native Americans leave their farms to lead a nomadic life roaming the Great Plains hunting buffalo on horseback.
Manifest Destiny was a controversial movement from the 1820’s to the 1850s. Manifest Destiny is the belief that Americans have a god given right to pursue liberty and happiness. The movement included pushing Mexicans and Native Americans out of their homes and their land to make way for American settlers. Manifest Destiny’s influence on Westward Expansion fostered change due to the expansion of slavery, the Gold Rush, and populating the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Westward Expansion had significant political, economic, and social effects on the United States. While it brought economic growth and new opportunities, it also led to significant economic upbringings with women and the assimilation of Native Americans. Most political issues tied in with some of the other effects, economic and social. Firstly, white people thought that one of the only ways to stop future conflicts with Native Americans was with assimilation (Doc B). White settlers believed that the Native American way of life was unethical and that it’s lower and worse than their culture (Doc B).
Manifest destiny was the belief in which America was destined to expand through the entire continent. Tragically, hidden behind this God-driven and rightful duty, America tried to justify their violent and cruel actions towards Native Americans. Under religious purposes and political principles, the United States erroneously justified the brutal treatment done to the first inhabitants of America. Immorally Americans felt superior and filled with pride they became blinded to the pain of their neighbors. The government unlawfully took their lands and forced them to leave what belonged to them.
Westward expansion was segregated in that only white people benefited from it. The speech by Thomas Benton confirmed this when he said that the command was given to white people only. The land that getting taken over was only for white persons and gave people of color an even bigger disadvantage. Manifest destiny also caused the Mexican American War. This wars fire was stoked by the integration of settlers into Texas due to westward expansion.
The concept of Manifest Destiny was not widely accepted and many people in the United States and other countries thought of it as a “flimsy justification” for imperialism. The fact that the United
Manifest Destiny is a unique, yet mysterious fundamental series of events in American history. No other country’s history contains such an eventful history as the United States. Amy Greenberg’s book, Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, provides documented evidence that settlers believed they were destined for expansion throughout the continent. In other words, many religious settlers believed that it was a call from God for the United States to expand west. On the other hand, people believed that Manifest Destiny vindicated the war against Mexico.
David Moline Mr. VanRuyven Social Science 27 April 2023 Westward Expansion “Manifest Destiny is the idea that the United States is destined—by God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. ”(History, 1). This belief that America was destined by God means they could do no wrong. This caused westward expansion in America to be a time of war, struggle, death and new opportunity. Although this was a violent time it also allowed for positive change; opportunity for money, a new life, and a chance to build a legacy from nothing.
The Westward Expansion had a negative effect on the U.S. by moving people from their homes and starting
The birth of Westward expansion and Manifest Destiny in the United States can be traced back to the early 19th century when the country was still in its infancy. Manifest destiny is the belief that it was America’s mission to expand from coast to coast, and to spread its political, social, and economic systems to new lands. This belief evolved into the driving force behind westward expansion, and the American government adapted many policies and actions to make it a reality (Policarpo). One of the most significant events that marked the beginning of westward expansion was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The idea that it was the destiny of the American people to expand and conquer new lands was viewed as a divine mission, and it became a popular rallying cry for politicians, intellectuals, and common citizens alike.
Manifest Destiny The concept of Manifest Destiny originated in the United States in the 19th century, when Americans believed that it was their divine mission, their manifest destiny, to expand their territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This belief, which was rooted in notions of American exceptionalism and a sense of cultural and religious superiority, played a significant role in shaping the American policy and the territorial expansion of the US. First of all we need to know what manifest destiny is. In an article written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica it says: “Manifest Destiny, in U.S. history is, the supposed inevitability of the continued territorial expansion of the boundaries of the United States westward
The time of Manifest Destiny was a time of true American brotherhood and comradeship. With Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk being the leading presidents of the cause during this time, it not only led to continental expansion but homicide as well. While the Americans believed they were expanding into free land, Native Americans had already settled the land centuries earlier. This led to the dark side of Manifest Destiny. Native Americans were forced to pick up their homes and resettle in areas that were less than sufficient to meet their basic needs.
Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.