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Manifest Destiny Essay Manifest destiny was a huge issue in American society and although it is hard to put its events and issues in a set date rage, most of the action occurred from the early 1800’s through the 1850’s and 60’s. Although a big issue itself, the idea of manifest destiny also involved many other aspects of American culture that were cause for attention such as race, religion, immigration and foreign relations. In my opinion the idea of territorial expansion in the west was always in the backs of Americans minds.

This idea was most likely not during colonization because when ou are a weak little colony it is hard to imagine being a large independent nation, let alone think like one. However, during and after the fght for independence I feel it would be hard not to think of the land and possibilities lying in the west and wanting to go after it. In general, manifest destiny is the idea that westward expansion of America to the Pacific was a clear purpose that the nation was destined to fulfill.

The term “manifest destiny’ was first used in and article published in a Journal called The Democratic Review in 1845. This idea gave Americans a hunger for land with the reasoning ehind it being that it was meant to happen but what that land was used for and why people would settle there, however, was up to individuals to decide. Being a farmer was an American ideal during the 1800’s, and westward expansion contributed to this ideal. Much of the east consisted of cities where as farmers looked to the open unsettled lands in the west as perfect places to fulfill their “American dream”.

I believe the land out west held new and exciting opportunities for pioneers and people Just looking for a change of pace, especially when workers in cities often lived in crowded tenements and worked in harsh dangerous conditions. They often worked extremely long hours with no breaks, and worked with tools and dangerous equipment. Another important aspect of manifest destiny was population growth. Between 1840 and 1860 four and a half million people immigrated to the United States from Europe. Cities in the east were rapidly growing with the influx of these immigrants and overcrowding was becoming an issue.

I feel expansion westward was inevitable if people were going to keep pouring into the country as they were because there was Just not enough room. Religion also was mixed into the issue of expansion. First of all, in the early 1800’s here was a spark of protestant fervor resulting from the creation of many different Protestant denominations. Resulting from roots in Puritanism, many Protestants believed that America was chosen by God to lead the world into moral order and that it was this nations destiny to span the continent.

Having this religious Justification, it was all too easy to take land claimed by natives and even wage war strictly to gain territory, such as the Mexican-American War or in 1818 when Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida. Both of these incidences resulted in the gaining of much were also an issue in terms of American westward expansion. The Natives that inhabit American land were here before European settlers of any kind and survived perfectly fine and functional on their own. However, Native Americans did not understand the concept of land ownership the way Europeans did.

Native tribes did have claims over certain lands but ultimately the land was there to be used by everyone. Also Native Americans didn’t cultivate their land into farms, so from the European perspective, the land was being wasted. To Europeans, the use of land for agriculture was key to being civilized. Also, if the Natives had no real “claim” on the land then it could be taken by anyone. When Americans started moving into western territories, Native Americans felt as if it was an encroachment onto their land and as a result Natives attacked many pioneers.

In an attempt to solve issues such as that, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, giving the government permission to seize Indian land and relocate the inhabitants to reservations further west in unsettled territory. Some tribes went along with this peacefully but others were forced out of their homeland. For instance, the Cherokee people of Georgia were forcibly marched all the way to a reservation in modern day Oklahoma. Thousand of Natives died along the way and the march became known as the Trail of Tears. Actions such as these against Native Americans are terrible and one of the ugly aspects of manifest destiny.

Native Americans were viewed as inferior because their culture was different from Europeans and their technology was not as advanced. However, that clearly does not give a government the right to forcibly relocate thousands of people to a different home when the land technically belonged to the Natives to begin with. The Natives were treated as a nuisance to be eliminated rather than a community of people who had lives and homes to leave behind. The issues of Native Americans can ultimately be boiled down to a race issue.

The Europeans felt that they were superior to the Natives and that Justified the seizing of their land and the Natives forced removal. Other race issues with manifest destiny had to do with slavery. I feel as though westward expansion made slavery a competition between pro- and anti-slave groups and when new states were admitted into the union, it was always a huge debate whether the state would allow slavery or not. Generally, people in the north were more opposed to slavery or at least, new erritories allowing slavery and people in the south were more pro-slavery.

Thus northern states were “free states” and southern states were known as “slave states”. In 1820 the Missouri compromise was passed and prohibited slavery in new territories north of the 36 30 parallel, in an attempt to keep the distribution of free and slaves states fair and even. However, there were some radical abolitionist groups who did not want slavery to exist anywhere in the United States. On the other hand, slave owners argued that they played a protective paternal role to their slaves and rgued that slaves were uneducated and inherently so.

Therefore, if slaves were freed and then were to participate in free labor, they would be exploited by the people who they worked for and end up living in slums. Ultimately, finding a proper place for non-whites in the expanding nation was difficult and cause for much debate when new territories were being added to the country. Although the idea of westward expansion can seem like a romantic one in the went along with it. Racial hierarchical thinking was used as a Justification to take Indian land and relocate tribes and also caused a divide between the north and outh over the issue of slavery.

Religious fervor added fuel to the burning fire of expansion giving it divine Justification for all of the not so pleasant side effects such as war and discrimination. I feel as though Professor Greenburg presented the issue of manifest destiny in a way that showed its many dimensions and the other issues that it brought about. And I feel as though she portrays it as something that was good and bad which I agree with. For instance, westward expansion definitely made the U. S. what it is today in terms of strength, power, and influence, but it was at the xpense of people like the Native Americans and Mexicans.