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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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After the War of 1812, neo-colonialism started to decline within the United States and a whole new approach to foreign and domestic policy began with the ushering in of a new political culture. With the war over and European interests shifted from the Americas to Africa and Asia it left the United States with the ability to focus on internal affairs such as building the economy, reform, and expansion within the continent. (Nash, et al., 2007. , p. 270) The War of 1812 also had the effect of strengthening American nationalism and when Spain seemed to renew its interest in rebuilding it’s American empire with the help of other European powers the Monroe Doctrine was born.

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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.

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During the year leading up the war with mexico the united states used major disputes and reasons for going to war being manifest destiny, Rio grande boundary dispute, and slidell 's mission. Manifest Destiny was the word used throughout the 1840s which is the belief that Americans had the right and the duty, to expand westward across the North American, from the Ocean to Ocean. In order to have this destiny, Americans would have to go to war with Mexico. so in 1844, James K. Polk who won the election, He and the Democrats went with Manifest Destiny, a concept that stated that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent and get as much land as possible. In Polk prestindestce he promised in his four step plan to get land westward and he did getting california and oregon.

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Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845.

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As mentioned earlier, Polk was a strong supporter of “manifest destiny”, but the concept was merely a belief that stemmed from religion. It wasn’t strong enough to act as a foundation of international decisions. In addition to its lack of strength, it increased the gap between the two nations because Mexico was Catholic and the US was Protestant. The religious and personal beliefs of Polk caused the US to become egoistic. To prove this point, John L. O’Sullivan stated, “Other nations have undertaken… hostile interference against us,… hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence (God)...”

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Polk spread the rumor that it was their “manifest destiny” to extend America’s territory to the Pacific Ocean. Historians today ask the question: Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? The United States was not justified, because the United States were greedy for land, “manifest destiny” is weak excuse, and because of the human cost. The United States had its eye on expand its territory and started with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

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Topic: Encountering New Spain: Manifest Destiny & the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Mexican-American War was the first American military that fought on soil and the first to be closely chronicled by the press; the time the war ended with American victory and a treaty that increased the nation’s size. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo brought peace and an official end of a defective war between Mexico and the United States after Congressional ratification. Mexico surrendered California, New Mexico, and Texas for the Rio Grande River for over 15 million dollars also as more than half of prior to the war Mexican land had lost.

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American foreign policy during the years 1845-1900 was Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny describes what most of the Americans believed in the 19th Century that, it was America’s responsibility to expand westward, and occupy the whole continental nation including Mexico and Canada. This foreign policy turned into American Imperialism, and how America acquired Hawaii, Alaska and led to Cuban Revolution 1953-1959. Manifest Destiny was first used by John O’Sullivan; he supported expansionist agenda of President James K. Polk from 1845-1849. President James K. Polk wanted to expand America westward, “He wanted to officially claim the southern part of Oregon Territory; annex the whole of the American Southwest from Mexico; and annex Texas” (Jones 1).

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Exemplified in John O’Sullivan’s concept of Manifest Destiny, President Polk believed that it was America’s duty to spread American Exceptionalism throughout the entire North American continent. Resultantly, Polk sought to acquire California through peaceful methods at first, and later through more deceptive means. Ultimately, Polk moved troops to a disputed region between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers in order to provoke a war with Mexico, consequently expediting America’s Manifest Destiny. A justifiable war is one which is undertaken for defensive purposes only, and although misguided by the nationalistic, expansionist precepts of Manifest Destiny, and although he first attempted to acquire southwestern territory peacefully, President Polk failed to satisfy this burden, instead choosing to sacrifice “American blood” for the offensive expansion of his

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In 1846 The Mexican-American War began lasting till 1848. The United States acquisitive need for more land was their only motive for starting a war with Mexico. The United States started an unjustified war with the newly independent country just more territory. Polk stated that “The Mexican Government not only refused to receive him [the U.S. envoy] or listen to his propositions, but after a long-continued series of menaces have at last invaded our territory and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil.

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California which was a part of Mexico’s territory at that time began overpopulating with American settlers. At first California had a scarce population but overtime it became over populated by white settlers which distressed Mexican officials since they knew that President Polk was not satisfied on just conquering Texas. They knew that Polk’s appetite for new territory was going to expand. Therefore, on March 6, 1845, the Mexican government broke off relations with the US to protest the annexation of Texas. Polk was prepared to go to war with Mexico so that he could acquire California and New Mexico, but he did not want Americans to attack

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Then James K. Polk and congress has declared war with Mexico. James K. Polk was a huge fan and strongly supported “Manifest Destiny.” It was a theory that America was told by God to spread out west to become a nation that connected the two great oceans. Doc A: John O’Sullivan feels that we did well in taking Texas and letting them join

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Have you ever been so hungry for land that you accidently set of a war with Mexico when you were just trying to buy their land in the first place? Land in the eighteen hundreds was very valuable and so when you're the president of a country you want your followers to be happy. So with president J Polk being in charge, he sets foot and says a whole speech about “manifest destiny”, which later on results in many things like, Mexico rejecting 30 million dollars for land, General Zachary Taylor leading troops up to the Rio Grande, the Mexican - American war taking place, and the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. So president James k Polk always did believe in this thing called Manifest Destiny which stood for, let's head westward across the north american continents. By doing so it would allow his american people to expand in a less crowded area.

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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.

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“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.

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