America in the 19th century was a time of conquering and exploring new lands. The philosophy behind manifest destiny has fuel the motivation of many Americans, to expand and change our nation. Manifest destiny is a concept or belief and it’s not an event. Manifest Destiny has served as a justification that Americans could and is destined to expand our land. I certainly believe that because of manifest destiny, our country is the way it is. That being said, manifest destiny is not perfect and negative consequences were caused because of manifest destiny. By exploring different perceptions towards this phenomenon, we can see all of the positive and negative outcomes that manifest destiny have contributed to American history. The term “Manifest Destiny” was first used in 1845 and the ideology behind it includes that Americans are destined to find and have the right to take over new land from the pacific to the Atlantic. Imperialistic expansion was a method that the Americans used during this time and many wars were caused by this belief. A lot of successful territorial expansion was caused by manifest destiny such as, the Mexican war of 1846 which won us most of what is now southwestern United States.
Even though we saw most of manifest destiny after 1846, events earlier in American history proved that manifest destiny was effective as early as America itself. Manifest destiny has brought enthusiasm and a sense of adventure to the American people. For this reason, many pioneers have set out on trails such as the Oregon Trail, and old English trails to explore new lands. For all the positive outcomes that manifest destiny has created, there were negative consequences that followed. The strong belief of Manifest Destiny that progress of expansion must not be stopped by anything and that includes killing Native Americans in order to further our agenda. During the expansion of the U.S. to the west, mass destruction of tribal organizations, confinement of Indians to reservations, and genocides were all caused by Americans. Manifest destiny is a very complicated phenomenon, belief and concept. Looking back into historical events, Manifest destiny has truly shaped American ideals and traditions. It has caused many negative consequences but the overall outcome was significantly positive towards the growth of our nation.
The Essay on Destiny Manifested United State
The United States of America has never been content with stagnation. The landmass of the Thirteen Colonies was enough to rival that of the Mother country from which they separated. The forefathers believed that it was the manifest destiny of this nation to eventually claim the expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. By 1890, nearly a hundred years following the original claim of Manifest ...
