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How Did Manifest Destiny Affect The Annexation Of The United States?

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Winning the Independence War against the Great Britain, the United States severed the umbilical cord with his motherland. However, the Americans did not enjoy the liberty and happiness declared in the Constitution. The young republic not only continuously encountered the long-suffering conflicts between the federal and state governments, but also faced potential threats from the major European powers, whose political ambition and economic dominance might once again devour the republic forever. Not until the victory of the War of 1812 did the United States truly unify as a nation. It also gradually grew from a pygmy to be a giant at the stage of international relations as President Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had crafted the Monroe Doctrine that significantly influenced the …show more content…

policy towards the Mexican War of 1846. Dominated by the editors who strongly believed the concept of Manifest Destiny, the United States Democratic Review justified the war with Mexico. In the article titled, The Mexican War - Its Origin and Conduct, the author listed several reasons to war against Mexico such as the annexation of Texas, boundary dispute, the threat to the U.S. economic interests in the region and above all, the U.S. expansionist policy towards the West.
Deeply influenced by the ideas of Manifest Destiny, President Polk framed his foreign policy in his presidency and successfully fulfilled the God-given mission to stretch the U.S. territory as far as the Pacific region, negotiate with the Great Britain to acquire the Oregon territory and sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico in 1848. Without the ideas of Manifest Destiny, the U.S. expansionism would not thrive, the newly born democratic nation would not increase his territory astronomically and the young republic would not have enough political and economic power to be a giant at the stage of international

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