Manifest Destiny as a Belief of American People - Essay Example

Manifest Destiny: A Review or Collage Address Manifest Destiny: A Review In the context of American history and politics, the concept of Manifest Destiny was a strong belief that America and the American Government was destined to expand across the entire continent. This idea was used as a means of justification for the 1840s war against Mexico. Political parties differed significantly on their views concerning the Manifest Destiny. The Whigs denounced the concept; their focus was the strengthening of the economy rather than its expansion. The term Manifest Destiny was first coined by a reputed New York journalist, John O’Sulliavan in 1845. However, the concept itself had already been prevalent for some time. The term was meant to refer to two aspects. The first was that the expansion across the continent was something that was readily apparent (manifest), while the second aspect was that the expansion was inevitable (destiny). Woodrow Wilson defined the concept as the belief of each and every American to promote and defend democracy all over the world. Manifest Destiny was one of the popular subjects in 1840s when Democratic Republicans used the idea to justify the war against Mexico. At the same time the Whigs openly condemned this belief in 18th century, and were represented by people such as Abraham Lincoln and Henry Clay. Part of this belief, the idea in the strength of the American belief and institution continues to be important in the present day, however, for the most part, the concept fell into misuse by 1860. In 1845, America considered that it was ordained to its increase democratic institutions beyond its own borders and into North America, and Manifest Destiny was given as the support for this belief. It was considered that this expansion would give the United States a strong moral right to govern throughout North America, where the belief was not respected. One way of describing the concept is that set forth by William E. Weeks. He proposed that there were three themes within Manifest Destiny. The first was the virtue of Americans and their institutions, the second was that these institutions had a mission to aid America in restructuring the entire world and finally the third was that this was inevitable and a matter of destiny (McCaffrey, 1994). One area where the concept of Manifest Destiny played a major role was during the time in which Texas announced independence from Mexico and planned to join as a new state in United States of America. According to OSullivan, this was the crucial time in the process of expansion for the United States, as new policy had been created which meant that any state that was independent could request entry into the Union. This legislation worked in favor of those who believed in Manifest Destiny. However, the concept was not widely accepted. For example, not all American’s believed that the country should expand in such a way. In addition, the expansion of the Americans within the United States had a significantly negative impact on the Native Americans, as their land was being encroached on. The belief, Manifest Destiny, became a disputed philosophy at the time of Spanish-Americans war. America considered itself ordained to expand to west so that it could become a world power. Some newspapers and advocates suggest that this movement was focused towards the annexation of Spanish areas. James Marone clearly mentioned in his famous Marone Doctrine that all European countries should stay out of Western Hemisphere. Indeed, the Marone Doctrine focused on expansion only within the borders of the continent (O’Sullivan, 1845). Even this did not last, and the concept was increasingly disputed. By 1960, it was no longer used. Many people believe that some parts of the Manifest Destiny belief still remain in modern society and that this is a strong driver towards the superiority of United States in all aspects in 19th and 20th century. This has resulted in most American citizens considering themselves superior to other nations in the world, and their policy and actions reflect this. Experts always say that American economy has been influenced majorly by the belief called Manifest Destiny, even though it was thought to be abolished in 1960. An example of this is policies like the Homestead Act. This legislation gave American citizens a major advantage. Under this act, nearly 160 acres of land was allotted in the west for people who wanted it. This became a major revolution in those days and a huge incentive for people who suffered to earn daily bread and butter. Many migrated or immigrated to obtain the land and set up their own areas. This and other incentives have helped immigration in the states to continue, and has helped cement the concept that Americans had rights to all of the continent, regardless of the other inhabitants (O’Sullivan, 1839). Lincoln opposed the westward expansion and tried to intensify the developments in eastward, and this helped the concept of Manifest Destiny was wiped out in first half of 19th century. Though the belief of Manifest destiny is disused at end of 19th century, many historians consider that at least part of this mindset remained into the 20th and 21st centuries. Manifest Destiny is a belief of American people to acquire and expand the American Continent to the western parts of the world, both within the American continent (including North America), and into other continents. Though the belief is thought to be wiped out, many aspects of the mindset remain in the people in America and are thought to drive many of the policies and decisions of the current government. People like former business men, students, employees and politicians are all influenced by the disputed belief Manifest Destiny in contemporary world. The belief, Manifest Destiny has become a disputable notion across western countries and Europe because it made America consider that it is ordained to rule the entire world by restructuring the same. This was the reason why Whigs unanimously opposed the expansion of American Continent to more western parts of the world, instead desiring that the country solidify itself in its own territory. References McCaffrey, J. M. (1994). Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846-1848 (Vol. 23): NYU Press, O’Sullivan, J. L. (1839). The great nation of futurity. The United States Democratic Review, 6(23), 426-430. O’Sullivan, J. L. (1845). Annexation. United States Magazine and Demogratic Review, 17(July/August), 5-10. Read More