Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is a term that refers to the desire of United States to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean that began in the mid-nineteenth century, used to justify the U.S. annexation of Oregon, New Mexico, and California and later U.S. involvement in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Philippines. This notion had both its supporters, claiming that it was America's right to do so, and its dissidents, who argued that it was just an example of American imperialism. The phrase Manifest Destiny was first introduced into the American vocabulary in 1894 by John O'Sullivan in an article entitled "Our Manifest Destiny," which was written to justify the annexation of Texas. He stated that opponents to Texas's annexation were seeking to limit the power of the United States, the
Divine preordination was the main argument of those who supported Manifest Destiny, meaning that it was the will of God for the United States to spread westwards and over the entire continent, an argument that appealed to the basic values and ideals of a majority of the American people, since many were religious. In fact, O'Sullivan cites this in his article, stating that the annexation of California was an inevitable consequence of America's population expansion, which was not done at the prompting of the government, therefore it had to be because of America's inherent destiny. Furthermore, Mexico was considered to be a weak country, so it would have to submit to American superiority and give up the lands it possessed. "Imbecile and distracted, Mexico never can exert any
Some common words found in the essay are:
Manifest Destiny, Destiny Beginning, God United, Furthermore Mexico, Christianity God, United Oregon, Hawaii Philippines, manifest destiny, Providence O'Sullivan, Pacific Ocean, Morning Dec, justify annexation, population expansion,
Approximate Word count = 527
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
