Manifest Destiny Essay

The phrase was found throughout the texts and readings, in particular we read the document in which the term/phrase was first used. John L. O’Sullivan a writer coined the term in 1845 in an article on the subject of the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the US. Manifest Destiny has deeper tidings however, thought its name is recent (as recent as 1845 can be), the overall sentiment of the term has existed since before the nation was found in the 1770’s. Similar to the house on the hill, Manifest Destiny as an ideology based in religious superiority, a ‘destiny’ that the United States was and is endowed by ‘providence’ to prosper, therefore, the nation needed to expand from “sea to shining sea.” The painting “American Progress”

Wars were fought and won, and President after President had a different perspective on how Manifest Destiny was to be implemented. The expansion of the West brought with it other qualms: the meaning of slavery and states’ rights. While Manifest Destiny can be viewed as ending with the final state added to the lower forty-eight, Arizona in 1912 brought an end to Western expansion; the rise of industrialization can be seen as another part of Manifest Destiny, though, that mainly deals with the Eastern parts of the US. California is a key part of Manifest Destiny, the argument of slavery, the gold rush, the US War with Mexico in the 1840’s being key examples of American expansion. Not to be forgotten is the acquisition of the Oregon territories as well, they were purchased from England with little ramifications, though symbolically it spoke volumes about how precocious the US was/is. Manifest Destiny is an ideology, a near religious belief in the inherent right of American expansion, however, Manifest Destiny lends more to a