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Manifest Destiny Dbq Essay

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Did you know that Manifest Destiny fueled sectarian tensions over slavery, leading to the Civil War? Manifest Destiny occurred during 1812-1867. The concept of Manifest Destiny held that white Americans were naturally destined to colonize the entire region of North America. President James K. Polk of the United States was a staunch advocate of Manifest Destiny. He felt that expanding America's borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean was God's plan. Mexico stood in the way of America. The Mexican government attempted to increase the population of their northern lands by welcoming settlers from the United States. This turned out to be a bad idea, as the American settlers were mostly Protestant, pro-slavery, and largely ignored Mexican authority. …show more content…

According to Document A, the US is only taking land from Mexico since the US is more powerful than Mexico. "It is time for opposition to the Annexation of Texas to cease…. Texas is now ours.… Let their reception into the “family” be frank, kindly, and cheerful ...." Document A also shows that the US is infatuated with land. "[O]ther 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] for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions."According to Document C, Mexico had never approved Texas' annexation in the , so they were merely protecting what they believed to be their land. "The troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Río Grande, across from the city of Matamoros, thus occupying the territory in dispute and increasing the possibilities of a confrontation…. In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico. '' The evidence from Document A showed how America's conflict with Mexico was an example of imperialism in which the stronger simply take from the weak. This imperialism was motivated by bigotry and a desire for territory. America wanted to take the land from Mexico just because they knew they were stronger than Mexico. Document C showed how America ignored Mexico's response; Mexico never stated if they approved or disapproved of the annexation of Texas, but America just went off of their own beliefs and declared war. America then goes on to blame Mexico for fighting for their [Mexico's] rightfully owned

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In Chapter 8 titled “We Take Nothing By Conquest… Thank God” Howard Zinn states that the reason why the United States wanted to take the land away from Mexico was to be able to conquer and expand the territory. John Tyler wanted to initiate the war in order to make Texas a state. On the other hand James Polk wanted Texas to become a state that formed part of the United States. Polk also wanted to take over California and initiated the war by sending American soldiers into the territory.

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America’s declaration of War on Mexico had it’s pros like how much land the got from the war and with the land hungry Americans believing more in Manifest Destiny also it started the civil war which put slavery to a stop. The cons to America’s declaration of War on Mexico were how many lives were lost in this small war, and the relationship between Latin America and American Frist of all the Pros to this declaration of War on Mexico was that America got all of Texas which is a big chunk of land that Mexico doesn't have any more because on (page 376) it states, “America’s total expanse, already vast, was increased by about one third counting Texas-an addition even greater than that of the Louisiana Purchase. A sharp stimulus was given to the

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The fact from document c that proves this is “ Troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Rio Grande across from the city of Matamoros thus occupying the territory in dispute… in the eyes, the Mexican government the mobilization of the United States Army was an outright attack on Mexico as a consequence the Mexican government reaffirms the instruction to protect the border”. This fact from document c proves that in 1846, President James K. Polk ordered American troops to move into the disputed territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers. The Mexican government saw this as a violation of its sovereignty and responded by attacking American troops. The United States then declared war on Mexico. The United States had no reason to move troops into the disputed territory, and its actions were seen as aggressive by

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1622 Words | 7 Pages

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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492 Words | 2 Pages

In Document B, President Polk said, “I had ordered and efficient military force to take a position...to meet a threatened invasion of Texas by the Mexican forces….invasion was threatened solely because Texas had determined….to annex herself to our Union,... it was plainly our duty to extend our protection over her citizens and soil.” President Polk then mentioned the attack at the Rio del Norte, where the invasion in Texas happened. This evidence shows the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because Texas was invaded by Mexico, meaning that the U.S. should protect Texas by fighting

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541 Words | 3 Pages

The way they claimed annexed was by saying the Rio Grande was the southern boundary of Texas but Mexico said it was the Nueces River. In regards to the war, Americans were greatly divided. The northerners hated it because of the fact that Texas favored slavery. Those in the south liked the idea of a war because it would help expand to the west. This expansion would provide more land and opportunity.

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The belief of manifest destiny spread and took hold of the country incredibly fast. The common definition of Manifest Destiny is the “god given right to expand westward”. People wanted to expand west for new opportunities. This mass movement of people from east to west started in 1812 and ended in 1867. Although the US hadn’t been granted the land west of them specifically or bought it, because of their military power and belief in expanding patriotism and influence, they were justified in expanding west.

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After Texas won its independence from Mexico, the people who inhabited that area believed they were entitled to the entire land of, what was then, Texas. Manifest Destiny, or the belief of a God-given entitlement, was instilled in the hearts of many Americans; they believed God wanted them to expand outward. Yet the Mexicans weren’t prepared to give up all that land, and only allowed the Texans the area of land in which they inhabited. After the annexation of Texas in 1845, both the US and Mexico placed troops in the previously uninhabited land that the white Texans had believed they won. Thus began the Mexican-American war, and America, with its skilled military and greater population, easily defeated the Mexicans.

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The decision that the United States made in going to war with Mexico in 1846 was justified because we had to defend our territorial interests and expand westward in accordance to manifest destiny. With the belief that it was America’s destiny to expand across the continent, manifest destiny pushed America to annex more land. In 1845, the annexation of Texas created greater tension between Mexico and the USA, as Mexico believed Texas belonged to them, the US thought otherwise. With no agreements over the Texas-Mexico border and Mexico’s refusal to talk, war became very likely as the US desired to protect their interests in expansion and to declare their dominance in that area.

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1199 Words | 5 Pages

When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.

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763 Words | 4 Pages

In 1845, United States Magazine and Democratic View Vol. XVII had a statement on the start of the war “The 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].” The idea that God gave Americans the permission to take over the land is completely invalid as it does not give a definitive tangible reason for the U.S to take the land, it sounds more like an excuse to steal the land than an actual reason. All though the Americans used Manifest Destiny as a reason to justify their decision. The article stated “Other to start the war, for the reason stated previously it doesn’t justify why the U.S would go to war with Mexico over such a

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987 Words | 4 Pages

This shows that we were willing and ready to welcome Texas to our country. Texas applied for annexation three time and got rejected the first two times because Mexico would be mad at the US for approving it.(Background Research 317) This shows that even Texas was ready and had enough of Mexico. This evidence shows the US was justified in going to war because Mexico could not even govern Texas. Mexico just was not ready to govern such a large

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703 Words | 3 Pages

Manifest destiny was one of the most significant concepts in U.S. history. It was the belief that the U.S.’s national birth was the start of new history and that it was destined by God for everyone to follow American culture and expand their land from “Sea to shining sea.” They wanted to carry on this idea into a reality until they grew to their full potential as a nation. They wanted to spread to and gain all the land they possibly could, and take control of everything. Although there were many positives like gaining more land and resources, the negatives outweigh the positives drastically.

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself wasn’t legitimate because of the revolution in Texas, motivation for superiority, and the U.S. government’s actions. To begin, the Texans began an unreasonable war because they didn’t follow Mexico’s laws and conditions. When Mexico started selling cheap land, they set conditions for the people moving in. The people had to convert to Catholicism, learn Spanish, become a Mexican citizen, and have no slaves. Many Americans didn’t like being told what to do, and disobeyed the rules and laws.

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568 Words | 3 Pages

As stated before, the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because of three reasons, Americans were killed, Texas was already annexed, and Manifest Destiny allows it. The United states had many superb reasons for going to war with Mexico. This essay is significant because it helps explain the United States’ choice to go to war with

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