Americans have always held the notion that they have a unique mission. They have always believed that they were destined to do extraordinary things and achieve exceptional feats. No other place is the complacent belief more evident than in the concept of Manifest Destiny (Burge, 2016). Manifest Destiny not only assumed the role as the foundation and motivation for the unification of Americans and nationalism, but it is also accountable for the horrendous maltreatment of Indigenous Indians and bloody wars, such as the American Civil War (History, 2010). While a detached notion, Manifest Destiny has had an unmatched impact on the course the United States has taken. Therefore, in that context, this paper will analyze the most critical effect Manifest Destiny had on the U.S.
The description of Manifest Destiny is an issue of much significant disagreement and contradiction, but it is hugely accepted that Manifest Destiny implies that the Americans were destined by God, to rule the Northern American Content to grow further and increase its establishments and democratic values. The word Manifest Destiny first surfaced in writing in 1845 in an article entitled Annexation by John L. Sullivan. In his report, Sullivan urges the U.S. to annex Texas not only since the residents of Texas wanted America to do so, but also because it was Americans Manifest Destiny to annex regions and expand their democratic values (Sullivan, 1845). Sullivan thought, along with other imperialists, that it was unavoidable that the United States would settle throughout North American, as the land was bequeathed by destiny to the U.S. and that it was normal that the area must be a part of the nation.
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According to Gobat (2008), the concept of westward growth and Manifest Destiny had both positive and negative impacts on the politics, the social order and the economics of the U.S. and the Native Indians. For example, some of the cases of its effect on the United States are that is assisted spur western settlement, and repelled Indigenous Americans out of the country. Manifest destiny resulted in the seizing of Texas, and this occurred in 1845 when the American President James K. Polk, supported the idea of annexation, and ensure it took place by negotiating with Texas, making this the pilot expansion for the United States (Jones, 2018). Later, in 1846, the Northwest established borders at the 49 th parallel. This was achieved when Britain and America signed an agreement to increase the border, which also set the existing border between the U.S. and Canada. The Treaty of Guadalupe was the subsequent initiative, which was between the United States and Mexico after the U.S. defeated Mexicans in 1846 (History, 2010). In this pact Mexico consented to the Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and Mexico, surrendering the New Mexico and California regions to America, which the United States decided to pay $15 million. These newly acquired territories comprised what is today California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, parts of Colorado and Wyoming (History, 2010). Evidently, Manifest Destiny had a massive effect on the U.S., spurring its expansion and growth all the way to the Pacific, making American what it is now (Darren, 2013).
Manifest Destiny also had an essential impact on the American residents, as it is what made Americans choose to “Go West.” Manifest Destiny motivated individuals to explore and settle in the West. The richness of land in the West, on top of new markets, and personal economic difficulties of residents in the East were the reasons that they favored this notion because it was a solution at the heart of their problems. Individuals were persuaded that they would improve their standard of living by seeking out a fresh start in the West. Following the final spread, gold was discovered at Stutter’s Mill, attracting more people of the United States from the East, and profiting them a great deal. As a result, this revolutionized the U.S. economy (Gobat, 2008).
The dark side of Manifest Destiny was that the U.S. had not regard for the Indians who were the original owners of the land before any other population. The vulnerable Indians had to get used whatever Americans did to them. They were pushed away from their land, killed, and suffered great losses (Darren, 2013). The negative side that this had on Indigenous Americans were longstanding effects. Manifest Destiny also resulted in combats and tension with Mexico for the same reasons.
In conclusion, it is clear that manifest destiny was as a phenomenon that created America’s history, a crusade that would represent the United States beliefs and American culture. It also implied expansionistic development that the American people thought was right there, and this right resulted in numerous battles and hostilities amongst countries and even between individuals occupying the American territory. However, it is significant to bear in mind that, as initially perceived, Manifest Destiny was an unabashedly prejudiced concept. It relied on the sidelining or eradication of Native Americans. The peoples who were expected to conquer the continent were whites, and predominantly males, with an insatiable appetite for free enterprises. These are significant ideas worth remembering considering the enduring importance of Manifest Destiny as a thought in American culture. Manifest destiny was the ideology that formed a nation (Burge, 2016). Irrespective of the adverse impact of Manifest Destiny, this country would not be the great nation that it is today without the positive and negative implications that expanded this country from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean (Jones, 2018).
References
Burge, D. (2016). “Manifest Mirth: The Humorous Critique of Manifest Destiny, 1846– 1858.” Western Historical Quarterly , 3(1), 283-302.
Darren, D. (2013). “Manifest Destiny and the Ecological impacts of Westward Expansion.” Finders Journal of History and Politics, 29, 41-69.
Gobat, M. (2008). “Rethinking Manifest Destiny Expansionism.” Diplomatic History, 32(5), 981-984.
History. (2010). Manifest Destiny . Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/manifest- destiny
Jones, S. (2018, July 8). American Manifest Destiny and Modern Foreign Policy. ThoughtCo . Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/american-manifest-destiny-3310344
Sullivan, J. (1845). Annexation (1845). Retrieved from https://pdcrodas.webs.ull.es/anglo/OSullivanAnnexation.pdf
