Manifest Destiny
Essay by Maxi • January 7, 2012 • Essay • 251 Words (2 Pages) • 1,726 Views
The 1840's America was a quickly broadening and developing country. With this growth came the concept that America should spread its free form of federal government around the world. This enthusiastic creed was the foundation of the theory called Manifest Destiny. If divulging the world was the main ambition, then enlargement was the resolve. Though the generic agreement among Americans was that Manifest Destiny was a helpful movement, it was in fact belligerent, biased, and imperialistic. Manifest Destiny was compelled by these antecedents and badgered at the cost of others. Manifest Destiny can be seen as both an enlightening movement of American nationalism or a retrograde, intolerant movement of American imperialism. Some examples of this warped outlook are the American possession and establishment in the Oregon country, America evoking the Texan revolution from Mexico, and the war between America and Mexico.
One should exploit the roots of what has become the basic description and justification of American expansionism. There are however multiple outlooks on American expansion. The catchphrase "Manifest Destiny" is a belief that territorial development in the United States was not just fated but celestially consecrated. It was initially thought up in the 1840s, perhaps originating before then, and rightly appeared with the first white men, the Puritans, who set up their colonies along the New England shore. Their deep belief in being the appointed ones and lacking the problems of the Old World accompanied their assumption of becoming the "renovator of the world", guiding others down their path as well.
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