Would America have the same power we have today if we didn’t expand westward? For American settlers, the idea of Manifest Destiny is that it was their one purpose to expand the United States from sea to shining sea. This is so freedom and democracy could spread, this idea of expansion has always been present in successful civilizations in human history. Since the beginning of American settlement, people such as the pilgrims have always been driven to spread their religion and beliefs and gain more land which is their Manifest Destiny. However, the term “Manifest Destiny” wasn’t coined until 1845 by John O’Sullivan. At the time the term was used to justify westward expansion into the western frontier as the United States was growing. Americans …show more content…
The threat of other nations stopping America’s Manifest Destiny influenced Americans to expand westward in fear of their destiny being taken away. Americans believed it was destiny to take over North America and the threat of it stopping only motivated them more. A quote from John Winthrop in 1630 says “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it”. This quote is justifying westward expansion because it shows how the continent is underdeveloped and that it needs to be enlightened. This quote is saying that it is the destiny for people to expand so that the primitive creatures like the Native Americans could be exterminated. America's purpose to expand so that other nations could be exposed to their way of life. The idea of manifest destiny and the threats from other nations motivated Americans to expand westward because it was America’s destiny, and they didn't want other nations to stop their destiny.Land hunger inspired Americans to move westward because the United States needed to gain more land for …show more content…
In a lecture we saw gold Rush population statistics and it said that in one year California’s population of Americans grew from 14,000 to 100,000 people. The population grew so fast because gold provided many economic opportunities. Gold could be sold for money and there is a big gold mining market such as manufacturing shovels, pans, etc. This motivates Americans to move westward because of access to gold and other resources. Many Americans moved westward for economic benefits from being able to access new and valuable resources such as gold, otter pelts, lumber, and buffalo that could be used to establish trade.In conclusion change was unavoidable and the Americans’ hunger for land, belief in Manifest Destiny, and access to new resources only helped feed into the events that happened. The idea that America was destined to seize the whole of North America would alter the course of American history as we know it today as it would start the Civil War. After that, due to America’s hunger for land, Oregon and California’s development would go exponentially faster as thousands of people flooded these states during the gold rush and Oregon trail. And as a result of the hunger for land, the Indian Removal Acts and the Mexican American war would be put into
In the time during Westward Expansion was the time of new beginnings in America and it was time to move forward in land. America wanted to be superior to the rest of the countries around them. They went through many challegements to buy Louisiana Territory and explore its land around it as well. The country even almost went into bankruptcy and was almost sold to the French, but hopefully that did not happened. They even with success of land came trouble with greedy with expansion.
Manifest Destiny is the belief of the nineteenth century that America was destined by God to expand westward. The author of Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis believed that God established Anglo-Saxons as the superior people whose purpose was to spread Christianity. (Doc B) This idea of spreading a superior culture or religion has been a motive for expansion for decades before this. Despite this support for expansionism, there were those who were against it.
Title: Manifest Destiny: Economic, Political, and Religious Factors and the Consequences of U.S. Manifest Destiny was a belief prevalent in 19th-century America that asserted the divine right and obligation of the United States to expand across the North American continent. This expansion was driven by a combination of economic, political, and religious factors. The acquisition of territories such as the Oregon Country, Texas, and California and the Southwest was achieved through diplomacy, annexation, and war. However, the pursuit of expansionism was not without its critics, particularly in the case of the U.S.-Mexican War. Economically, Manifest Destiny was fueled by the desire for territorial expansion to secure new resources, trade routes, and markets.
Americans were focused on western expansion in the name of manifest destiny, they thought that god wanted them to have the land.
One of the main reasons was the desire for land in the United States. Many settlers wanted access to fertile lands, which were inhabited by Native American tribes: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw Creek, and Seminole. These lands were seen as valuable for agriculture and resources, and for the expansion of the American economy. Another motive was the belief in Manifest Destiny, the idea that the United States was destined to expand. This belief had fueled the idea of westward expansion and the notion that Native Americans were just obstacles to be removed in order to pursue this belief.
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.
Throughout the 19th century European settlers in the United States were enthralled by Westward expansion, furthermore, defining the Western region of the country as the ‘frontier’ to represent the challenges and opportunities expanding West would institute. Westward expansion was significantly driven by the concept of Manifest destiny which describes the idea that Europeans have the divine power and inherent right to expand across North America (Burton, January 17th, 2023). Westward expansion was legally encouraged and endorsed by the federal government through the Homestead act of 1862. The Homestead Act encouraged Westward migration/ settlement by offering land grants to settlers from the East willing to migrate to the West to develop the land.
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.
In the 1840s, America was no different from a growing child – it was getting bigger, smarter, and needed more things to achieve its full potential. But how do you get bigger and better? You need to do everything in your power to fight for it. To reach the west coast and create a full America, this so-called belief was known as 'Manifest Destiny'. America was almost there, with the East coast filled up, and the Continental Railroad near completion.
“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion.
In the mid-nineteenth century Westward Expansion seemed perfectly natural to numerous Americans. The western frontier represented the chance to start over and create a better life. The west was not corrupt nor occupied, which made it easy for settlers in the east to migrate and explore free land. This is also known as Manifest Destiny, the belief that America and its settlers were destiny to travel and expand west throughout the continent. When the Eastern settlers migrated west, they brought the most advanced technology and the smartest engineers, scientists, and architects to create the Transcontinental Railway. As portrayed in American literature, Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion had a positive effect on America and its people because
Manifest destiny was not just a concept bandied around by politicians seeking power; it was an idea that attracted many Americans and “the phrase evoked a sense of national uniqueness and superiority known as American exceptionalism” (Stansbury, “Manifest Destiny”). Many Americans thought that they were the most advanced nation in the world as they were both stable and had a democracy. This call to colonize all of the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific resonated deeply in the hearts of many otherwise average Americans. It “inspired
Jake Teran Ms. Bruno U.S 1H 3/26/23 Manifest destiny Manifest destiny is a term used to describe the belief prevalent in the 19th century and the United States that it was the destiny of the nation to expand its territorial boundaries and influence from coast to coast. The idea of manifest destiny was popularized during the 1840s, and it played a significant role in shaping US foreign and domestic policies during that time. However, the view of manifest destiny was not uniform, some supported it, and those opposed it. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the different views of manifest destiny.
The Westward Expansion consisted of almost 7 million Americans migrating west, hoping to get land and be wealthy. It is often called Manifest Destiny, because many people believed settlers was intended to expand the west. Because so many people thought this way it was also thought the U.S was physically separated from Europe. This migration of people included people from Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries. The Western Expansion had a part in the foreign policies in the expansion towards the pacific and the way the U.S treated their relationship with other
Nevertheless, without Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion, America would not be the country it is