The History Of Manifest Destiny

The event itself: Although the phrase, Manifest Destiny, was coined in 1845, the philosophy behind this movement was prevalent throughout all of American history. This philosophy was present as Columbus claimed America, as the colonist arrived in Jamestown, and as the missionaries of the Great Awakening spread their religion.

In the first half of the 19th century Americans were confident that greatness would soon fall upon their country. Although their nation had been around for only 60 years, it was already the world’s largest and oldest nation run by and run for the people. This confidence lead the American people to yearn for more land to expand their “Empire of Liberty.” During this time America was growing drastically. In 1840 the census

O’Sullivan. The term was first used in his essay, “Annexation”, where he argued the United States had to annex Texas not only cause the Texans desired it but also because it was America’s “Manifest Destiny” to expand and take land that is part of American territory. Despite Texas becoming a state, O’Sullivan’s first time using the phrase was passed over by most. The term gained attention the second time when O’Sullivan used it while addressing the ongoing boundary dispute in the Oregon County with Great Britain. He believed the U.S. had the right to all of Oregon, since, according to Manifest Destiny, the U.S. had the right to the whole continent. O’Sullivan’s justification was that God had given the United States the undertaking of spreading republican democracy. Since Great Britain would not use Oregon for this purpose, he argued that British claims to Oregon had no real weight. Despite the way it was used, O’Sullivan originally did not intend for Manifest Destiny to be a call for expansion by force, criticizing the Mexican-American War’s use of the term. He believed that the immigration of whites to new regions would make the spread of democracy

As the expansion of the U.S. usually meant the acquiring of Native American land, the United States continued to uproot Native American lives and take their homes. While some Americans believed that the natives would be better off moving away and creating new homes, a new solution was generated that encouraged Indians to sell their lands and become “civilized”, or to drop their old lifestyle and adopt an American one. Thomas Jefferson, believing that the Indians were the intellectual equals of white people, advocated this solution of “civilization.” This process eventually became known as Indian Removal. Many radicals however only say the Indians as savages that were only obstacles in the path toward expanding America. The growth and expansion of American power had the side effect of essentially wiping the Native Americans out of the United