Manifest Destiny Dbq Research Paper

Manifest Destiny is defined as the belief that God wants America to expand, which is exactly what happened (Kinsey Notes). The widespread assumption that pioneers had the divine right from God to expand from the east to west coast of the United States was motivation to explore new terrain and territories. The concept of Manifest Destiny had aided the westward expansion (Doc. 3), thus resulting in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The government and those who held a higher power had a large say on the idea of Native Americans abiding in the United States. Because of Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion, our country received the shape and size it is today. To begin, most government officials and those of a higher power had supported the idea of Manifest Destiny. Author John O’Sullivan had suggested that those who possessed the attributes of Manifest Destiny should act upon them (Doc. 3). For example, believers could accumulate an abundance of land land and power through their expeditions. President James Polk had also been advocate of the concept. Polk wanted to expand the U.S borders for citizens who lived beyond the territory (Doc. 5). He believed the traveling pioneers should have the same benefits and laws that protected the initial U.S territories, therefore deeming the concept of Manifest Destiny as popular in the government. …show more content…
Though more land had been explored, the pioneers had been facing several hardships. One specifically had been starvation on the Oregon Trail (Doc. 4). The animals were affected by the lack of food, which resulted in mass amounts of death. Pioneers showed their disparity as they were forced to eat the carcasses of dead oxen. Through the hardships, the pioneers had still traveled, thus expanding the map and westward expansion of the country in search of new land and millions of acres (Doc.