The United States enjoyed a steady expansion through its acquisition of land in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Louisiana Purchase, Treaty of Ghent, and treaties with the kingdoms of Spain and Russia. By the 1830s, the American people populated a third of the North American continent, but alas it was still not enough. A nationalistic belief coined by John Sullivan as Manifest Destiny revived American interest in westward expansion under the pretense that the United States was predestined for continental domination. Manifest Destiny painted westward expansion as an opportunity to spread American democracy to lands still wretched with tyranny, while carving out greater living space for the nation’s skyrocketing population. The issue of westward expansion
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The establishment of the Republic of Texas and the “Fifty Four or Fight!” campaign conceived an American political system heavily influenced by the ideals of Manifest Destiny. The presidential election of 1844, in which public support for James K. Polk’s aggressive expansionist platform over Henry Clay’s neutral platform showcased the American people’s desire for the West. A combination of diplomacy and war would guarantee the acquisition of the Oregon Territory, California, and “New Mexico.” In spite of these achievements, the greater inclusion of slavery in American politics would come back to haunt the United States by setting in motion internal division that would later spiral into the separation of all ties between the North and the South and the outbreak of civil war. Therefore, while the drawing of treaties and the drawing of swords had secured the prospect of American continental dominance, Manifest Destiny did not come cheap. In fact western expansion came at a very steep price, but it mattered little because the rewards were great, so great that we lost sight of our original
The establishment of the Republic of Texas and the “Fifty Four or Fight!” campaign conceived an American political system heavily influenced by the ideals of Manifest Destiny. The presidential election of 1844, in which public support for James K. Polk’s aggressive expansionist platform over Henry Clay’s neutral platform showcased the American people’s desire for the West. A combination of diplomacy and war would guarantee the acquisition of the Oregon Territory, California, and “New Mexico.” In spite of these achievements, the greater inclusion of slavery in American politics would come back to haunt the United States by setting in motion internal division that would later spiral into the separation of all ties between the North and the South and the outbreak of civil war. Therefore, while the drawing of treaties and the drawing of swords had secured the prospect of American continental dominance, Manifest Destiny did not come cheap. In fact western expansion came at a very steep price, but it mattered little because the rewards were great, so great that we lost sight of our original