The ideology of Manifest Destiny, of America’s God-given right to stretch from sea to shining sea, played (and still does play, in a way) a huge role in American introspection and movement toward the west. It pushed an extreme mentality and idea that reflected the country’s want and need to grow and expand beyond current territories, as well as shaped the American mindset of what constituted as “American.” All of the uncharted, undocumented land that existed within the nation’s borders acted as a catalyst for boundless expeditions and allowed countless explorers to brave the wilderness, causing them to impact the country’s history in their own ways. The main explorers of the time took advantage of this overwhelming interest and the new Romantic
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The entire chapter detailed his time in Oraibi, “on a mesa or little plateau 200 or 300 feet above the surrounding plain.” He gave specific geographic descriptions on top of explanations and details of the food he and his crew were served. Most of his records were analytical and objective, but cultural differences caused him to use negative descriptions of the men in the village, who had “an ugly fashion of banging their hair.” Despite these comments, though, Powell’s portrayals of the Indians and their territory were impartial and, in a way, pleasant, demonstrating how he and his crew were welcomed openly and hospitably into this new culture they had never seen before. The Indians were friendly, showing their personal ceremonies and translating words for Powell to understand and learn, consequently indicating how the explorers and Indians did not seek quarrel or tension while on expeditions. They sought peace and hoped for a sharing of cultures and knowledge, and this interaction devastatingly foreshadowed the fate of the Natives at the hands of the American government. The narrative of Manifest Destiny itself presented Americans as ambitious, as conquerors who demanded their rights to a full, explored land; however, the interactions between Powell and the Indians, as well between Lewis and Clark and the …show more content…
Manifest Destiny determined one of the main foundations of American ideology, as well as the physical shape and geographical outline of the nation itself. The west was seen as a utopian wilderness, an untouched and untainted vast paradise that was waiting for American influence and settlement; it was a new wonderland of curiosity, a playground for the voyagers and explorers of the time. Despite the warm relations the explorers had with the Natives, despite the kind gestures and open communication and friendship, Manifest Destiny equaled destruction for the indigenous tribes of the nation. The American government weaponized Manifest Destiny and used it as a reason to push and shove the Natives out of their home territories. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge warned in his poem “Kubla Khan,” “And all should cry, Beware! Beware!” as a claimed and touched area is no longer a paradise, no longer a utopia. The lands seized and claimed by American explorers opened up the Natives and environment to a world of new consequences and subsequent dangers. Beware, Coleridge said; beware the costs and effects of finding and claiming paradise, as the end result of documenting and exploring such a treasure could not go without consequence. Beware the outcomes of this expansionist ideology, and beware the effects of exploration, for, while the explorers of
The entire chapter detailed his time in Oraibi, “on a mesa or little plateau 200 or 300 feet above the surrounding plain.” He gave specific geographic descriptions on top of explanations and details of the food he and his crew were served. Most of his records were analytical and objective, but cultural differences caused him to use negative descriptions of the men in the village, who had “an ugly fashion of banging their hair.” Despite these comments, though, Powell’s portrayals of the Indians and their territory were impartial and, in a way, pleasant, demonstrating how he and his crew were welcomed openly and hospitably into this new culture they had never seen before. The Indians were friendly, showing their personal ceremonies and translating words for Powell to understand and learn, consequently indicating how the explorers and Indians did not seek quarrel or tension while on expeditions. They sought peace and hoped for a sharing of cultures and knowledge, and this interaction devastatingly foreshadowed the fate of the Natives at the hands of the American government. The narrative of Manifest Destiny itself presented Americans as ambitious, as conquerors who demanded their rights to a full, explored land; however, the interactions between Powell and the Indians, as well between Lewis and Clark and the …show more content…
Manifest Destiny determined one of the main foundations of American ideology, as well as the physical shape and geographical outline of the nation itself. The west was seen as a utopian wilderness, an untouched and untainted vast paradise that was waiting for American influence and settlement; it was a new wonderland of curiosity, a playground for the voyagers and explorers of the time. Despite the warm relations the explorers had with the Natives, despite the kind gestures and open communication and friendship, Manifest Destiny equaled destruction for the indigenous tribes of the nation. The American government weaponized Manifest Destiny and used it as a reason to push and shove the Natives out of their home territories. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge warned in his poem “Kubla Khan,” “And all should cry, Beware! Beware!” as a claimed and touched area is no longer a paradise, no longer a utopia. The lands seized and claimed by American explorers opened up the Natives and environment to a world of new consequences and subsequent dangers. Beware, Coleridge said; beware the costs and effects of finding and claiming paradise, as the end result of documenting and exploring such a treasure could not go without consequence. Beware the outcomes of this expansionist ideology, and beware the effects of exploration, for, while the explorers of