Expansionism Under James K. Polk

Manifest Destiny arose as a belief and ideology during the 19th century, fueled by a combination of American exceptionalism and a desire for territorial expansion based on Jefferson's vision of a nation that stretched coast to coast. Americans were set on the idea of spreading American values across the continent, as it was their destiny and duty to do so. It led to the expansion of the United States through military interventions such as the Mexican-American War and the Louisiana Purchase through a treaty between France and the US. This helped America expand technologically from coast to coast. American imperialism refers to the period when the US expanded its influence and control beyond its borders with the desire to gain access to new markets and resources, ending the time of

Manifest Destiny is the idea that God intended the United States to expand from sea to sea. This means to expand and settle all land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The idea really came into light in the 1830’s and 40’s, but really you could see the American's desire to continuously expand all the way back to the 17th and 18th centuries (A Patriot’s History of the United States). However, the term itself came from an 1840s Democratic newspaper supporting the Mexican-American War.    Thomas Jefferson was the first president to have a huge impact on western expansion with the Louisiana Purchase that greatly increased the size of the United States (The Monroe Doctrine and American Expansion).

It is worth noting here that the Americans were concerned about appearances, and that they did their best to provoke Mexico into a war, without having to bear the responsibility of actually starting the war. In his Personal Memoirs, Grant explained the mission of the U.S. Army in south Texas, "We were sent to provoke a fight, but it was essential that Mexico should commence it." The plan worked. The U.S. annexed Texas in February of 1846, and Polk immediately ordered Taylor to proceed to the Rio Grande. One of Taylor's patrols skirmished with a Mexican detachment and lost over twenty soldiers, including eleven dead, five wounded, and several captured. Polk immediately called for war. In his bellicose message to the U.S. Congress, the President announced that, "American blood had been shed upon American soil." He got his declaration of war.

Consequently, Polk conceded on demands for expansion deep into Canada and set about instead to negotiated a more reasonable American-Canadian border. The Oregon Treaty, signed with Great Britain in 1846, allowed the U.S. to acquire peacefully what is now Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Reasonably certain that war in the Northwest could be avoided, Polk concentrated on efforts to claim the Southwest from Mexico… He tried to buy the territory, and when that failed, he

President Polk would have supported this justification for the war. He essentially used this to justify the war to the American people since he desperately needed the support of the public. The arguments over the border led to the signing of the Treaty of Velasco in 1836, which ended the War for Texas Independence. Santa Anna had signed the treaty with promise to return to Mexico and arrange for Texas leaders to meet with the Mexican government to discuss the possibilities of Texas independence. Upon Santa Anna’s return, he stated he had agreed to that but that the government was under no obligation to abide by his agreement. In essence, he had made hollow promises to be released from captivity. Mexico never agreed to the treaty, making it

The United States has always believed in manifest destiny, A term coined by John O’Sullivan. the belief that the expansion westward was both inevitable and justified the purchase of the Louisiana territory by Thomas Jefferson from the French in 1803 was a major deal that could not be ignored. Imperialism is enlarging a nation's authority over weaker countries using economic, or military promise. While not being exactly the same it is evident that westward expansion and imperialism are very similar with the United States expanding vastly in a range of imperial ways such as supplementing help from the U.S. military, and legal organizations into the gained territories and colonize them with nonnatives.

Mexican President Jose Herrera refused to negotiate (Stevenson 2009). After failed negotiations with Mexico, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to position his troops in the disputed territory, north of the Rio Grande River. Mexico, seeing this as an act of aggression struck first and killed several of Tyler’s men. After receiving word of the skirmish, President Polk petitioned congress, claiming Mexico “has invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon the American soil” (Tindall & Shi 2010, p. 401). In response, congress unanimously passed the resolution and on May 13, 1846, the United States declared war (Tindall & Shi 2010).

Manifest Destiny is a term coined in the 1840s. It meant that the United States could, and was destined to, have all the land from coast to coast. The term “Manifest Destiny” was first used in an article by John O’Sullivan in 1845. O’Sullivan stated in his article “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” This sentiment helped to fuel additional western settlement in the Oregon territory, increased desire to annex Texas, and war with Mexico. United States President Polk was a supporter of Manifest Destiny. Consequently, his presidency aw the greatest territorial expansion to dare.

The United States began its life as a small nation consisting of only thirteen states. Over time the leaders of this county recognized that in order to prosper the nation would need to expand beyond the current set borders. Westward Expansion was the only solution, to adopt such a large endeavor meant that the population had to have a reason to migrate west. Expansion had appeal to the Southern land owners for the fact that the Missouri Compromise did not affect territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, while those who did not have land moved west with the promises of land of their own to farm and own, yet congress continued to battle over “slave states” and “free states” to keep the balance. Westward expansion had many contributions to make to the Unites States.

Polk had said that Mexico were planning on an invasion and declared war on Mexico. This didn’t show that we show not be afraid or fear military ambition. It showed how selfish man can be just to gain more territory because they believed that it was their right to expand the country. Mexico only wanted what was theirs after claiming independence from Spain, and not have it taken away. Texas was under Mexico law, and Mexico banned slavery. Many Americans settlers did live in Texas at the time and knew it was against Mexico’s law but still had slaves anyways. The war lasted for three years, but soon Mexico decided to sign a peace treaty that gave territories to America. America paid Mexico 15 billion for lands that are known today as California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and

By the time James Polk became president in 1845, an idea called Manifest Destiny had taken root among the American people. The belief that the U.S. had a God-given right to occupy and expand gained favor as more Americans settled to the west. Manifest Destiny was

In 1845 Texas was annexed as a state, however disputes between America and Mexico remained concerning where the border would be located. President Polk at the time had no choice but to send troops due south to defend Texas and the Thornton affair, won by the Mexicans, would force congress to declare war on Mexico.

The westward expansion saw the emergence of major cities, railway networks, more interactions and improved agriculture which kept on improving in the 1800s. In the interactive map helped me realized a few important things. For instance. there are several ways through which the United States experienced a huge growth during the 1860–1890 westward expansion. Increased population, development of railroads, as well as large-scale agriculture are amongst the decades' major achievements as indicated on the decade base maps. Furthermore, the map showed as some of the natural barriers that prevented growth as well as the indigenous populations which existed prior the expansion (Billington, Allen, and Martin 2001, 201).

At the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the United States was ready for a new beginning. Almost immediately, Manifest Destiny saw a revival once the war between the Union and Confederacy ended. The nation reinforced the Monroe Doctrine, the assertion that the European nations could not intervene in the Western Hemisphere, and restarted the quest for expansion in the North American continent. In the excitement to extend the national land holdings, the United States looked beyond America and towards foreign countries, specifically in Asia and the Caribbean, where there was instability in transportation, communication, and, most importantly, trade. “To the extent that Americans wanted to extend their influence overseas they had two primary goals: pursue favorable trade agreements and alignments and foster the spread of Christian and democratic ideals as they understood them” (“Imperialism and War: American Foreign Affairs 1865-1920”). Revolving around the idea of Manifest Destiny, the United States extended this mindset from its home continent to a more global outlook. Manifest Destiny has always been prevalent in American history, despite the fact that this term was coined in 1845. There was a common belief in the United States that the nation had the duty to go on a land conquest, as John O’Sullivan wrote, “…the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which

The Manifest Destiny was the belief that Americans had during the nineteenth century. It was the belief that it was America’s “God- given right” that the nation expanded westward and occupy the entire continent. It was the idea that fueled the Louisiana Purchase during Jackson’s presidency. It was also the reason why during James Polk’s presidency, America went to war with Mexico. The idea that America was destined to expand westward was controversial and created sectional tensions between the North and the South as conflicts concerning slavery arose. These problems would eventually lead to the Civil War.