Manifest destiny. These two words were the reason America fought and defeated Mexico. These two words caused thousands of deaths, and was one of the biggest steps in making America what it is today. These two words are no longer the defining goal of America; however, that is only because this goal was accomplished in the 1840s. President Polk, a man who was elected because he swore that he would serve for only one term, managed to extend the country’s boundaries to the Pacific Ocean. This was only possible because of the Mexican - American War, which began with the annexation of Texas and ended with America emerging as the largest power on the continent and a major player in the world. The growing belief in Manifest Destiny and the annexation …show more content…
This term was coined by John L O’Sullivan in 1845, and soon spread across America and was used as an argument by the expansionists of the time, who believed in manifest destiny even before the term was created. These people often believed that America was the most socially advanced country in the world, and that others such as the Native Americans and Mexicans were all inferior. Some of these people further justified manifest destiny by pretending that they wanted to help these “backward cultures” or “savages” become civilized, like the Americans. “However, Manifest Destiny was primarily a justification for satisfying the United States’ lust for land” (Moriarty, 5). This new land was acquired with four different methods: war, purchase, appropriation, and diplomacy. Manifest destiny was not just a concept bandied around by politicians seeking power; it was an idea that attracted many Americans and “the phrase evoked a sense of national uniqueness and superiority known as American exceptionalism” (Stansbury, “Manifest Destiny”). Many Americans thought that they were the most advanced nation in the world as they were both stable and had a democracy. This call to colonize all of the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific resonated deeply in the hearts of many otherwise average Americans. It “inspired …show more content…
immigrants to settle in its northern state of Texas, yet many of those settlers refused to comply with the Mexican laws that they had promised to obey” (Crawford, “Mexican - American War”). The most important three of those laws were: become a Mexican citizen, convert to Catholicism, and an immigrant could only own the land after seven years of farming it. These Texans also traded with America and did not contribute much to the Mexican economy. The Mexican government had just finished subduing several other rebellions in the country and so decided to preemptively send soldiers to Texas in an attempt to enforce the law. However, just like the Americans in the 1760s and early 1770s, the Texans viewed the arrival of these soldiers as an invasion force. The stationing of these soldiers “invariably lead to confrontations between Mexican forces intent on upholding the honor of the republic of Mexico and Anglo-Texans who saw such garrisons as an alien occupying force” (Rohrbough, “Texas Revolution”). Much of the war was fought before Texas formally declared independence on March 2, 1836, but the battle that ended the war was in April of that year - the battle of San Jacinto ended, and the Republic of Texas was established. The Republic of Texas only lasted from 1836 - 1845, but in those years, its goal was to be “a unique experiment in creating a multiethnic state in the New World” (Powell, “Republic of Texas”). During the
Manifest Destiny is the belief of the nineteenth century that America was destined by God to expand westward. The author of Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis believed that God established Anglo-Saxons as the superior people whose purpose was to spread Christianity. (Doc B) This idea of spreading a superior culture or religion has been a motive for expansion for decades before this. Despite this support for expansionism, there were those who were against it.
The phrase “manifest destiny” was in the air, exciting United State citizens. President James Polk declared that it was America’s right to expand to the Pacific Ocean. However, the land west from Texas was Mexican soil. As a result, the United States asked to buy the California territory. When Mexico declined their offer, President James Polk needed an excuse to go to war with Mexico to steal California right from underneath them.
Throughout the 19th century, the United States’ population significantly increased. Mexico looked towards the United State’s booming population and offered Stephen Austin the prospect of colonizing the “old three-hundred” American families in present-day Texas in order to populate the otherwise desolate region. Mexican officials, however, weren’t aware of the implications such colonization would have on the union’s longevity. In spite of Mexican provisions requiring colonists to become “Mexicanized” and be non-slave owning catholics, many Texans did not follow such terms facilitating the development of an independent Texan-American identity ultimately culminating in the Texan Revolution. After the Texan Revolution, Texas applied for statehood in the United States raising questions as to how such expansionism might upset the balance of free to slave states.
Mexico attempted to kick them out only for Texas to hold a revolution against them making Texas, American land.
In the year 1821, Mexico had won independence from Spain. They allowed for Americans to settle in Texas, they were given the land that no Mexicans had yet to claim. The only catch was for Americans to become Mexican citizens, learn Spanish and convert to Catholicism. They never really became “Mexican”, they kept speaking English and were still the same Americans as before arriving in Texas.
O’Sullivan, has introduced both the idea and coined the term Manifest Destiny. At the time when the article was written, many people supported the idea of territorial expansion, for they believed that they were destined to manifest under the will of God. According to John L. O’Sullivan, or at least it is understood that he has written the article, believed that the nation should arise above all other nations and create an excellence on divine principles and to establish on earth the noblest temple ever dedicated to worship the “Most High.”8 Six years later, John O’Sullivan has written “Annexation” where he officially coined the term, “Manifest Destiny.” In “Annexation,” the writer urged that all parties should unite, especially since other nations have intruded themselves between the U.S and the appropriate parties, have interfered and hampered over America’s power, and limited the greatness and checking the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent by Providence for the free development of the
“Manifest Destiny,” written by John L. O’Sullivan, explains how expansion is needed for america and how it could better our nation. The painting “American Progress,”supports expansion by displaying what it looked like when the settlers moved in. The text, “Reporting to the President, September 23-December 31,1806,” by Stephen Ambrose, supports westward expansion by talking about how lewis and Clarke did good things to help westward expansion. What do you think about westward expansion?
This was unfair to the Tejanos because they let the Texans in their land to farm and the Texans agreed in the beginning to adapt to the Tejanos customs but later started to want more independence and use their own culture’s language and customs. This caused lots of war and conflict like the Texan Independence War against Mexico. The Texans and Tejanos were in great turmoil during this period of time from 1835 to 1836. Eventually the Texans won and Texas was annexed into the United States after a vote which overall took away the Tejanos’ original
Then, The Florida Territory bordered only Mexico. In the Flordia Territory, the United States claimed the area in 1821 from Spain called the Adams On-is Treaty. Adding to that, The Texas Territory was acquired by allowing American settlement under 3 conditions, All settlers must learn to speak Spanish and become Mexican citizens, they must convert to Catholicism, and settlers must obey Mexican laws. Soon the Americans had outnumbered the Mexicans and in 1820, Mexico stopped US immigration into Texas. In 1845 Texas was annexed by the United States and became the 28th state in the Union.
Manifest destiny is something that went down in the early 19000ths. It was an expansion on the U.S To basically expand the states of the U.S.American continents was both justified and inevitable. It started in 1840. But it was mostly recognized in the 19000ths. It made states like california join the union.
Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845.
“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion.
Jesús Velasco-Márquez, a modern-day Mexican professor of studies wrote an article in 2006 about the Mexican-American War. He said, “US historians refer to this event as ‘The Mexican-American War’, while in Mexico, we prefer to use the term ‘The U.S. Invasion... From Mexico’s point of view, the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons. ’’’ (Velasco-Márquez, 12). During the time of the independence of Texas, Mexico was ruled by the dictator General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.
Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South. One of the groups of people affected greatly by Manifest Destiny were the Native Americans. Manifest Destiny affected the American Indians by spreading foreign diseases to them as they moved Westward, through the Native American territory.