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.
How did the Manifest Destiny affect the lives and culture of native americans during the 1800’s? Manifest Destiny was devastating for the cultures of the majority of Native Americans tribes and even ended tribes completely. Manifest destiny was the idea that the United State would continue to expand in North America and that it “was God’s will”, that they would gain more power and and. This however affected native americans heavily because as the United States became aggressive and took more land after wars that occurred in that time period. Events such as the Trail of Tears, and the First Seminole War, and other events similar greatly affected the native
First of all, Native Americans were settled on a hotbed of natural resources which included oil and precious metals such as silver and gold. There was also much fertile land that would entice farmers and frontiersmen to move out west. On this land there was so much potential economic opportunity for farmers, cattle drivers, miners and many other occupations. The government developed the popular public misconception that the indians were misusing the land and that Americans had the right to take advantage of the opportunities that lie in the west. These ideas led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 which authorized encroachment of Indian lands by the US government in order to divide up reservations and control Indian activity.
In the 19th Century, there were strong supporters of the ideology of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was basically the belief of expansion by settlers expanding all over America because god supposedly destined the Americans for expansions by their resources. This resulted for the Americans to find a modern mode of transportation that would make traveling from the east to the west coast easier. This resulted in a mega construction known as the Transcontinental Railroad. The railroad not only helps with transportation but with trading.
During the 1840, the United States was able to access much more land in the west than previously before. The United States saw this as an opportunity to expand their territories and to settle and obtain all things the land has to offer. The United States justified their actions through the idea of Manifest Destiny, which they viewed to be a harmless and benevolent philosophy. Manifest Destiny was in fact not as benign as the United States has come to believe; it caused the colonization and imperialism of land that held many Natives who were eventually killed or sent into reservations. People in the southern region of the conquered land were greatly influenced by this expansion as well; it caused many families who were living in the Texas area
“According to the theory of Manifest Destiny, the United States was the embodiment of the City of God on Earth and European race were chosen predestined for salvation” (Acuna, 47).The U.S believe it was their faith to spread their principles to the “New World” and the land that was inhabited by Natives did not belong to them since they were a below them. These beliefs are what spark the United States to invade the lands of the Natives and to forcefully teach them “the way of living.” These beliefs are also why white colonists believe Texas belong to them and began the war between Mexico over
Throughout the 19th century European settlers in the United States were enthralled by Westward expansion, furthermore, defining the Western region of the country as the ‘frontier’ to represent the challenges and opportunities expanding West would institute. Westward expansion was significantly driven by the concept of Manifest destiny which describes the idea that Europeans have the divine power and inherent right to expand across North America (Burton, January 17th, 2023). Westward expansion was legally encouraged and endorsed by the federal government through the Homestead act of 1862. The Homestead Act encouraged Westward migration/ settlement by offering land grants to settlers from the East willing to migrate to the West to develop the land.
After the Civil War, some dramatic changes were taking place as the aftermath. The Reconstruction treaties of 1866 required the five Southeastern tribes give up almost half of their lands for the resettlement of other Indian tribes. The federal government began almost immediately to remove tribal peoples from the Southern Plains to the ceded areas because they were pressured by white leaders in Kansas, who did not want Indians living in their state. Within twenty years, twelve to fifteen thousand exiles established homes in Indian Territory (pg. 131). Some of the impacts of exiling Indians into Indian Territory included the Wyandots, the Peorias, the Ottowas, and the Miamis were all exiles from Kansas and settled on a small reservation that
The Trail of Tears left by the Cherokee Indians “Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race.” -― Martin Luther King Jr The Trail of Tears helped the Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion lead to the Civil War in many ways. The Trail of Tears caused more tension to rise in the United States.
When the Europeans began colonizing the New World, they had a problematic relationship with the Native Americans. The Europeans sought to control a land that the Natives inhabited all their lives. They came and decided to take whatever they wanted regardless of how it affected the Native Americans. They legislated several laws, such as the Indian Removal Act, to establish their authority. The Indian Removal Act had a negative impact on the Native Americans because they were driven away from their ancestral homes, forced to adopt a different lifestyle, and their journey westwards caused the deaths of many Native Americans.
Human nature for the first Americans was based on their desire for a better life than what they had in Europe. While they may have initially been looking for freedom- be it religious, political or financial- as time passed, it became more about control. Their desire for freedom put them in conflict with first the Native Americans, then the slaves, then the countries that controlled the lands surrounding their original thirteen colonies. For the Americans to maintain their freedoms, they had to suppress those of others. At the root of these conflicts was land.
It was called the Treaty of Fort Laramie. In this treaty the Native Americans claimed a territory and swore to o attack travelers. Also to allow the government to build roads. In return the U.S paid the Native Americans an annual fee and respected their boundaries.
The American Revolution lasted six years and the impacts of it were everlasting(Schultz, 2010). The effects were felt by every group of people in North America and many worldwide. Even though George Washington had all of his troops vaccinated against smallpox, the colonists were not so fortunate and as a results some estimates are that as many as one hundred and thirty thousand people died from this dreaded disease. This loss of life combined with the divisions among the colonies into those loyal to Britain and those who wanted freedom would forever change the way of life for the colonists.
The citizens of the United States felt they had the best form of government and culture and felt the obligation to expand it across the nation. Manifest Destiny had both positive and negative effects on social and political values during this time. Americans felt because they were experiencing such growth that God was blessing them and that by incorporating others into their culture they would be blessed too. However, greed eventually took over and the belief that the white man could destroy anyone or anything that got in the way of its progress led to many wars and lives lost over the acquisition of much needed land.
Native Americans were seen as warlike savages that often fought with their European counterparts; however, the reality of Native Americans was that they lived a simplistic life and had a scare population within their tribes. Native Americans were viewed as warlike savages—namely, they invaded Europeans settlements in which were built on Native Americans land—however this is a stereotypical view and not the actual truth. Manifest Destiny led to these beliefs because of the Americans concept of expanding westward. According to a source, there was a plague that had killed 90% of Native Americans before Christopher Columbus arrived to North America. Native Americans populations already faced a drastic decline, with the Europeans diseases and expansion
