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Manifest Destiny Essay

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Manifest Destiny

The concept of Manifest Destiny originated in the United States in the 19th century, when Americans believed that it was their divine mission, their manifest destiny, to expand their territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This belief, which was rooted in notions of American exceptionalism and a sense of cultural and religious superiority, played a significant role in shaping the American policy and the territorial expansion of the US.

First of all we need to know what manifest destiny is. In an article written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica it says: “Manifest Destiny, in U.S. history is, the supposed inevitability of the continued territorial expansion of the boundaries of the United States westward …show more content…

In an article written by Joshua Beatty and Gregg Lightfoot it says: ”American action in Florida seized Indigenous people’s eastern lands, reduced lands available for freedom-seeking enslaved people, and killed entirely or removed Native American peoples farther west. This became the template for future action. Presidents, since at least Thomas Jefferson, had long discussed removal, but President Andrew Jackson took the most dramatic action. Jackson believed, “It a “speedy removal” will place a dense and civilized population in large tracts of country now occupied by a few savage hunters.” This tells us that the desire to remove Native Americans from valuable farmland motivated state and federal governments to cease trying to assimilate Native Americans failed and they instead planned for forced removal. The forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and the ensuing Trail of Tears resulted in the deaths of thousands of Native Americans and the destruction of their cultures and way of life. Additionally, Manifest Destiny was used to justify the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War, which resulted in the acquisition of a vast new territory that included present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. This expansion had significant consequences for the balance of power in the United States and strained relations with

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