Manifest Destiny Essay - 1207 Words

Introduction Many Americans in the early 1800s believed that it was the destiny of America to control all of the North American continent. This belief was called Manifest Destiny. The term originated from a New York newspaper editorial of December 27, 1845, which declared that the nations manifest destiny was to over spread and to possess the whole continent, to develop liberty and self-government to all. In the eyes of the Americans, it meant that it was Gods will that Americans expand their territory from coast to coast. This idea of Manifest Destiny strongly influenced the attitudes of the people and the policies of the U.S. government. Americans believed that they were bringing God, technology and civilization to the lands†¦show more content†¦Napoleon Bonaparte offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million. President Jefferson agreed and purchased 830,000 square mile of land west of the Mississippi. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory gave the United States valuable new land and doubled the young countrys size. The Louisiana Purchase opened the way for westward expansion and the realization of fulfilling the idea of Manifest Destiny. A great nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The Lewis and Clark Expedition President Thomas Jefferson knew very little about the territory acquired with the Louisiana Purchase. He wondered if one of the rivers in the newly acquired territory flowed westward to the Pacific Ocean. He chose two men to explore this new territory. One was Meriwether Lewis, his secretary and the other was William Clark, an army officer. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a journey of discovery. They were supposed to travel up the Missouri River and eventually make their way west to the Pacific Ocean. They were responsible for drawing maps of the area they traveled through. They were also supposed to find out as much as they could about the different plants and animals that lived in the territory. The Lewis and Clark Expedition began on May 14, 1804 in St. Louis and ended on September 23, 1806 in St. Louis. Both Lewis and Clark kept meticulous notes in their journals about their journey andShow MoreRelatedEssay On Manifest Destiny1709 Words   |  7 Pagesone of many seminal even ts in the history of the United States. However, it began the debt we are still in today; the Louisiana Purchase gave us the land that began the Manifest Destiny. â€Å"The term Manifest Destiny originated in the 1840’s when John L. O’Sullivan said in an article that it was the American colonist’s Manifest Destiny to spread over the continent and that God had given them the land for the sole purpose of multiplying and free development.† (History.com staff). It was this philosophyRead MoreThe Manifest Destiny Essay1076 Words   |  5 Pagesfull swing by the 1840s. Which evidenced that the continued expansion of the states was an issue and the idea of a Manifest Destiny was of major importance. John L. O’Sullivan once stated, â€Å"Our Manifest Destiny is to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions† (America: A Narrative History). The idea of a Manifest Destiny originated in t he 1840s by the Anglo-Saxon Colonists to expand their ideal civilization and institutions across NorthRead MoreManifest Destiny : Ideal Or Justification Essay883 Words   |  4 PagesManifest destiny: Ideal or Justification The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of U.S in 1803. But it is not enough for ambitious Americans, we are not satisfied, we wanted more territory. So western expansion did not end, it actually keep moved. Westward Expansion is a very significant part in U.S history. It operated perfectly based on the ideology called manifest destiny. However, the creation of this theory is on purpose. It was used to push U.S territory to further west. When the idea of manifestRead MoreManifest Destiny Is An American Philosophy Essay2281 Words   |  10 Pages Manifest Destiny is an American philosophy with which it is to justify how that country has understood their place in the world and how to relate to other people. It is a doctrine, phrase or idea that expresses the belief that the United States is destined to spread to the four winds as supports the idea that is, to expand on the territories conquered North America and, in general, on the Western Hemisphere. This doctrine was not free of racism, considering that the American people wereRead MoreManifest Destiny Research Paper :1382 Words   |  6 Pages2014 Manifest Destiny Research Paper: The 1840’S were years of unprecedented growth for United States; in a mere four years, the national domain more than doubled with an additional 1.2 million miles being added to the country. (PBS) This was due to a movement called Manifest Destiny that suggested that the United States was â€Å"destined† to stretch from coast, sea to shining sea, uninterrupted by anything or anyone. (History.com) However, complex and underlying motives guided Manifest Destiny advocatesRead MoreManifest Destiny And Westward Expansion Essay1447 Words   |  6 Pages1) OUTLINE: I. Topic sentence. Manifest destiny and westward expansion was a tremendous key component to the growth of the nation economically because of the impact it had on native americans, women empowerment, and expanding the population of the country. II. Significance of topic. Americans looked towards the western lands as an opportunity for large amounts of free land, for growth of industry, and pursue the manifest destiny. III. List of evidence related to topic. The railwaysRead MoreManifest Destiny: Term or Reality Essay1315 Words   |  6 PagesThe three authors that describe Manifest destiny have very different beliefs but all use one person with vastly different views on Manifest Destiny and his beliefs on the term. The person that first used the term in any form of writing was John O’ Sullivan and is accredited with coining the phrase but much of this time had this strong belief in expanding the territory and states of the United States. Their views on this term were different because some believed that the United States should expandRead MoreExplain The Background, And Repercussions Of Manifest Destiny1956 Words   |  8 PagesExplain the background, and repercussions of, Manifest Destiny. In 1845, John O’Sullivan wrote an Article in the ‘United States Magazine and Democratic Review’ in favor of the annexation of Texas. In this article the term ‘Manifest Destiny’ was created. O’Sullivan wrote â€Å"the fulfilment of our Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.† Thus supplying the American people with the idea that it was their God-givenRead MoreManifest Destiny, By John L. Sullivan1491 Words   |  6 PagesIt is hard to read anything about the history of the United States without coming across the term â€Å"Manifest Destiny†. Manifest Destiny is a term, which was first coined by John L. Sullivan in the summer 1845 issue of the Democratic Review. â€Å"Hence it was carried into the debate on the Oregon question in the House of Representatives and proved to be such a convenient summing up of the self-confident nationalist and expansionist sentiment of the time that it passed into the permanent national vocabularyRead MoreInsight about the Mexican War and the Manifest Destiny Essay1046 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Mexican War and how did it begin? or What is Manifest Destiny and who came up with it? Those are all very good questions, so let me take the time to give you some insight about the Mexican war and Manifest Destiny. The Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast. It was the concept that which heavily influenced American policy in the 1800s. Americans supported the manifest destiny because the Southerners wanted more land and Northerners