John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, “had charged the English settlers in New England with a special and unique Providential mission,” (Scott, n.d., p. 1). The belief that Anglo-Saxon settlers were blessed by God and entitled to political and economic sovereignty over the American continent would become known as Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny refers mainly to the philosophy motivating territorial expansion, but also coincided with religious ideology prevalent in the United States during the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening. Moreover, Manifest Destiny is related to other American values including those of “rugged individualism” and “domination over the wilderness,” (Tveskov & Cohen, 2015, p. 191). Manifest Destiny was also a racist philosophy, as it is characterized specifically by the perception of Anglo-Saxons as “separate, innately superior people who were destined to bring good government, commercial prosperity, and Christianity to the American continents and the world,” (Horsman, 1981, p. 2). Manifest Destiny began as an extension of religious ideology and later became more political propaganda, motivated by economic rather than spiritual reasons.
Although Manifest Destiny was the reason for initial settlement and colonization of the Americas, the term came to full fruition during the early and middle 19th century. Andrew Jackson’s encroachment into Seminole Territories in Florida, leading to Seminole Wars signaled the intent of the United States to expand its boundaries from ‘sea to shining sea.’ The term “manifest destiny” seems to have been coined by John L. O’Sullivan in 1845, when he wrote about “the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us,” (cited in “Manifest Destiny,” n.d.). The following year, on January 3, 1846 Representative Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts delivered a speech to Congress referring to the “new revelation of right which has been designated as the right of our manifest destiny to spread over this whole continent…so clear, so pre-eminent, and so indisputable…the right of manifest destiny,” (cited by Pratt, 1927, p. 795). During the 19th century, Manifest Destiny reached a peak, especially as Westward expansion became feasible and desirable for economic and political reasons. Expansion into the Oregon territories and the lands governed by Mexico were the most significant manifestations of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.
Manifest Destiny started as a religious ideology and later became more politically and economically motivated during the 19th century. The Great Awakening and religious evangelism grew as a social movement throughout the colonies, and later remained as a fundamental feature of American life. America was presented as a divinely inspired, spiritually ordained nation that was more enlightened than its European counterparts or its counterparts among the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The religious underpinnings of Manifest Destiny became less important than the political and economic ideologies that prevailed throughout the 19th century, including the issue of slavery.
Thus, the economic and political motivation for manifest destiny became much more salient than the religious motivations. During the first few generations of nationhood, it became apparent that the east coast was insufficient to contain the population of Anglo-Saxon residents, who had been immigrating from European nations in increasing numbers. A high birth rate also prompted the desire for more land. An economic depression in 1818, and later in 1839, further provided impetus for westward exploration and expansion, which led to conflict between the indigenous people living on those lands and the settlers who felt they had a moral, divine, and legal right to appropriate those lands. Because of the importance of land ownership in providing political empowerment as well as economic security, many people opted to become pioneers in the movement westward. Land parcels were deemed free, and the settlers established their own communities in which they could exercise their perceived rights as citizens of the nation in self-determination and rugged individualism.
Therefore, the concept of Manifest Destiny appealed to almost everyone who had the right to vote. It appealed to slave holders as well as abolitionists because of the Missouri Compromise. It became critical to maintain a political balance of power in Congress and the Senate through the creation of new states, and westward expansion enabled changes to take place in the federal government. At the same time, westward expansion allowed new territories and states the opportunity for self-governance that challenged the authority of Washington. Manifest Destiny appealed to a broad segment of Americans, include workers and businessmen, Whigs and Democrats, because all males of voting age stood to benefit from westward expansion. A second economic crisis in 1837 sparked the need for access to natural resources for industry and farming. Industrialists benefitted from access to natural resources and labor, while laborers of course welcomes the opportunity for self-employment.
Manifest Destiny is a defining feature of American identity, politics, and history. The idea that the United States was divinely ordained had prevailed long before the War of Independence, and continued to form the basis of American mythos and consciousness. Manifest Destiny reached a peak in the 19th century, when a new wave of imperialism took over American politics. Politicians and businessmen alike became willing to commit acts of genocide in order to acquire lands that would benefit the dominant culture and ruling classes.
References
Horsman, R. (1981). Race and Manifest Destiny. Harvard College.
“Manifest Destiny,” (n.d.). Retrieved online: http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_introduction.html
“Manifest Destiny – The Philosophy That Created A Nation,” (n.d.). American History. Retrieved online: http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/1801-1900/manifest-destiny/manifest-destiny-the-philosophy-that-created-a-nation.php
Pratt, J.W. (1927). The origin of “Manifest Destiny.” The American Historical Review 32(4), 795-798.
Scott, D.M. (n.d.). The religious origins of manifest destiny. National Humanities Center. Retrieved online: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/mandestiny.htm
Tveskov, M. & Cohen, A. (2015). Frontier forts, ambiguity, and manifest destiny. Chapter 8 in Rethinking Colonial Pasts Through Archaeology. Oxford University Press.
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
GET A PERFECT SCORE!!! 
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
Read more