Manifest Destiny Dbq Essay

In 1846 America had taken more than a million square miles from the newly independent Mexican Republic because of what they called Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the thought that Americans had the right and duty to expand their territory across North America. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. reason: One reason was that President James K. Polk was provoking Mexico to go to war with America. Document D is about Joshua Giddings announcing a speech in the House of Representatives on May 23, 1846.

Manifest Destiny is the belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable that occurred in the late 1800s. The Americans moved westward into native lands and they killed off a great percentage of the buffalo population. Was it smart to move West? What were some of the consequences of their actions? When did manifest destiny start and stop?

Much of the land that the United States owns was acquired through the bloodshed of Native Americans who were forcefully kicked off of their land. Manifest Destiny was not justified because it almost split the United States. It had a negative impact on the lives of Native Americans. It also caused a civil war to break out between the North and the South. And lastly, immigrants from around the world faced discrimination because of their race/beliefs.

Some of the negative consequences of the Manifest Destiny was conflict with Mexico and more slavery in the new acquired territory. In the Mexican American war, there were two perspectives on that issue. The Mexican perspective is that America started the war because American troops were on Mexican land and the Mexicans thought the Americans would attack them so they started defending themselves (Doc B). The American perspective was complete opposite than the Mexicans and this conflict would remain between the two countries for many years. Following the Mexican American war was the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush occurred from 1848-1855 (O.I.). Everyone would go out to California because there was abundant gold in that territory. However, people didn’t know what to expect. Many individuals became selfish and wanted to go out west to become rich. With all these people moving out westward, there needed to be a sense of order. Also, as people moved west, the Native Americans felt threatened of their land and always felt like the minority. (Doc F). With all the commotion westward, the Native Americans felt threatened. One reason being that with all the people westward, the transcontinental railroad was built to make transportation easier. This was a huge benefit in society however a very negative thing to the Native Americans. The transcontinental railroad caused many buffalo to die out which

Manifest Destiny is the belief that the expansion of the U.S. to the West was supposed to or needed to happen. People wanted more land and a fresh new start. Although, this idea may seem like a positive. Manifest Destiny is really negative. The Oregon Trail was a part of the idea of Manifest Destiny and so was the Transcontinental Railroad. However, there was both positive and negative aspects of the Oregon Trail and the Transcontinental Railroad.

Manifest Destiny is the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. Compared to other wars such as the civil war, the Mexican American war was seen as a smaller thing, but it was because of the thousands of Americans and Mexicans that were killed, territorial issues, and more. 1846 Was the starting year of the Mexican/American War. This war lasted until 1848, and was mostly driven by the idea of “Manifest Destiny”.

The phrase Manifest Destiny is a sort of controversial saying, they used it to justify that it was their god given right to move west. Extending the country from coast to coast was always an american dream since they became independent in 1776. Manifest Destiny was the cause of many bad things in american history. Most people think america is a country with no faults or problems, but that is just not true. Manifest Destiny affected america is a very negative way, america removed native Americans from their homes, Increased the spread of slavery, and added more tension between the north and the south.

Because of Manifest Destiny the United States faced potential wars and a great deal of inequality. Although it did have a few positive impacts, it mostly effected the country negatively. While Manifest Destiny brought the U.S. expansion along with immigration, it created inequity and promoted war which were not reasonable consequences for the countries progression.

The way that the concept of Manifest Destiny would have affected American politics and government in the mid 19-century would be many. The meaning of the term Manifest Destiny would be “the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable”. Due to this many people had craved the idea of expansion and as of a result, people running for president would say that they would expand the United States. Another effect for anyone running for president had a more likely chance of winning. One great example of this would be James, K Polk.

Although many Americans perceived the Manifest Destiny as a benevolent movement, it was in fact an aggressive imperialism pursued at the expense of others. The movement promoted cultural superiority and extended the already existing sectional crisis. Advocates of the Manifest Destiny envisioned a vast empire that prioritized liberty. Included in this empire would be Canada, Mexico, Caribbean and Pacific Islands, and hopefully the rest of the world.

Americans have already purchased the Louisiana territory by Thomas Jefferson and is planning to go farther west. The next move is heading to the Mexico territory. Manifest Destiny was very significant time in U.S. history because without it, the United States would not have the size it has today. It caused the Louisiana Purchase, Texas and Alaska and Florida becoming states, the west coast becoming part of the U.S., and much more.

Manifest Destiny pushed America into a new, positive light. Economics, along with the government and social classes were affected by Manifest Destiny.

Manifest Destiny took place in the US in the mid-1800. Manifest Destiny was used among the Americans in the 1840’s as a defense for U.S. territorial expansion. It is the presumption that God had destined the American people to at divine mission of American movement and conquest in the name of Christianity and democracy.

While economic interests and debates on manifest destiny were critical factors in causing the war of 1861, the most important factor to bring about the war was the problem of slavery. The division of economic interests between the North and South was an influential factor because laws and acts from the government greatly threatened and terrified the southern economy. Manifest Destiny or the expansion of the USA reigned as a more important factor of causing the war because it continued to deeply split the ideologies of the North and South in the government. Slavery was the most important factor because these issues propelled the first blood shed and fighting between the North and South before the war of 1861.

The famous phrase “Manifest Destiny” was made up by a journalist in 1844. The idea of Manifest Destiny was that the people of the east had a divine and God-given right to settle in the west. God put the land there for the taking, and so the immigrants answered His call with westward expansion. My belief is that Manifest destiny was a necessary evil. The idea of manifest destiny expanded the west and provided homes and jobs. but on the other side of the coin manifest destiny ran the Native Americans out of their land and kept pushing them further and further west.