Manifest Destiny

 

Manifest Destiny

In her book, ‘Manifest destiny and the American territorial expansion: A brief history with documents’, Amy S. Greenberg (2012) provides an analysis of the political, cultural, and social environments that existed during the period of American expansion and how they paved the way for Manifest Destiny. The term Manifest Destiny is used in reference to the period between 1815 and 1860 when the united states expanded its territories to regions such as Mexico and Canada (Greenberg, 2012). The events discussed in the book occurred during the period after the War of 1812 up to the start of the American Civil War which saw the United States up to the Pacific Ocean.

           The book’s credibility is great as a result of the sources used by the author to analyze the processes that occurred during the country’s territorial expansion. Some of the sources used include letters, diaries, and personal narratives from primary sources; political speeches made; newspaper reports; essays; and even a song (Greenberg, 2012). The information discussed in the book suggests that the phrase manifest destiny was used to justify the actions engaged by the United States for its expansion during the antebellum era. Through project destiny, American expansion switched from its colonial roots and sought to expand to other regions on the belief that Americans were exceptional and superior to other races. 

           The project was popularised by the notion that the United States’ occupation of North America was inevitable. The idea was popularised by President John Quincy Adams whose rule led to the expansion of the United States through the Louisiana purchase in 1803 (Greenberg, 2012). Quincy strongly believed that North America was a region that was destined to be under the control of the United States. He further believed that the oneness expressed in America in reference to language and unity in the United States as a sign that Americans were the most ideal people to occupy the region and spread their influence to the less superior inhabitants (Heidler & Jeanne, 2003). This triggered the structure of the Treaty of 1818 which pushed the United States-Canada border to the Rocky Mountains, allowing America’s joint occupation of Oregon County. He also negotiated the Transcontinental Treaty in 1819 which allowed the United States to purchase Florida from Spain which pushed the United States border to the Pacific Ocean. 

           Other than Canada, the expansion also stretched to regions in Mexico especially after Polk was elected into congress and sought to occupy a region of Texas that had been claimed by Mexico. This triggered the Mexican-American war in 1846. The success America enjoyed during the war leading to calls to annex all of Mexico in 1874 as a way to ensure there was peace in the region (Greenberg, 2012). Expansion into Mexico however faced some slight hesitation as those who advocated for project destiny operated on the ideology that United States laws should not be imposed on those who did not take them willingly. The annexation of Mexico would have been a violation of the project destiny principle as they were not willing. Another cause for hesitation was that annexation of Mexico would also mean offering United States Citizenship to over 9 million Mexicans (Hietala, 2003). Racism played a major factor in the hesitation to annex Mexico because the whites considered their race superior and did not want to change America to be inclusive of Mexicans as well especially since most were Indians.  

           The decision to annex Mexico revealed one of the contradictions around manifest destiny as it revealed the American notion that all other races were inferior. Mexicans were non-Anglo-Saxon and were therefore viewed as lesser people by the Americans to the point where occupying a region came second to the possibility of tainting the white race (Greenberg, 2012). A loophole was however discovered through the decision that, despite Mexicans being a lesser race, their race would be improved and regenerated through the influence spread by Americans under Manifest Destiny. The move was further facilitated by the Mexican Cessation which saw California and New Mexico territories become part of the United States expansion. 

           Although the United States was superior in terms of power and influence, manifest destiny was unfair and unethical as it treated other people as inferior beings that did not know how to govern themselves. The United States abused the power and influence it had gained over the years and used it to gain control over regions that had already been occupied by others, at times using force (May, 2002). Manifest Destiny operated on the belief that evolution had only occurred in the United States and that it was the responsibility of the Whites to spread its influence to other regions. It however failed to account for the developments that had already occurred in these regions and the inconvenience it caused indigenous people who were forced into adopting American policies. 

           The information from the book is quite informative and it gives a clear picture of what happened during the American expansion. From the information covered, it is clear that the popularity of Manifest Destiny is mostly as a result of the power that the United States had over the indigenous people in the regions it sought to occupy (Ferns, 2015). New Mexico for instance was occupied despite being more sparsely populated than the rest of Mexico. Attempts to occupy regions such as the rest of Mexico and all of Oregon was impossible mainly because the movement’s popularity had started to wear off. The hesitation to occupy Mexico is also an indication that manifest destiny was a project fuelled by select individuals rather than the United States (Grytz, 2007). Although the main objectives served the country’s interests, the approach used was greatly determined by those in power. The discovery that mixing of the race was an obstacle for expansion into Mexico is an indication that the movement was greatly influenced by personal opinions rather than gaining national advantage. 

           Manifest destiny is often used in reference to the achievements made by the United States when expanding into new territories. Although the expansion favored Americans, it fails to give an accurate account of the challenges it posed to indigenous people in the regions that the United States occupied. This is especially because the project was greatly influenced by the belief that whites were superior to other races. The unwillingness to occupy regions with undesirable races only went to prove that manifest destiny was only a tool used to explain the unethical activities that the United States engaged in during its attempt to gain more territory. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Ferns, n. (2015). Manifest destiny crosses the pacific: the utility of American expansion in           Australia, 1850-1901. Australasian journal of American studies, 34(2), 28-43.            Retrieved july 18, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/44779732

Greenberg, a. S. (2012). Manifest destiny and American territorial expansion: a brief history       with documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Grytz, g. (2007). [review of the book manifest manhood and the antebellum American             empire]. Southwestern historical quarterly 110(4), 554-        555. Doi:10.1353/swh.2007.0041.

Heidler D and Jeanne T. (2003) Manifest destiny. Westport, ct: greenwood press, Isbn 978-          0313323089

Hietala T. (2003) Manifest design: American exceptionalism and empire. Cornell university         press. Isbn 978-0801488467

May R. (2002). Manifest destiny's underworld: filibustering in antebellum America. Chapel         hill, Nc: university of North Carolina press, Isbn 0807827037