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Manifest Destiny
The Philosophy
That Created A Nation
By Michael T.
Lubragge
Introduction
This
paper takes a philosophical view of the Manifest
Destiny phenomenon and
attempts to
provide logical evidence that Manifest Destiny can
be argued as the sole
reason for why
America itself has a history. Few Americans had
ever assumed that the
boundaries of the
United States would stand forever unchanged.
Manifest Destiny was
the
driving
force
responsible
for
changing
the
face
of
American
history.
It
was
the
philosophy that created
a nation.
Manifest Destiny
-- The Intangible Of American History
American history was built on a
chronological record of significant events, each
event
having
a
cause
and
subsequent
effect
on
another
event.
Historical
events
are
presented
in
history
as
being
tangible,
being
tied
to
a
date,
or
an
exact
happening.
Manifest
Destiny
on
the
other
hand,
is
a
phenomenon.
It
can
not
be
tied
to
a
date,
event or even a
specific period of time. Manifest Destiny existed
and still exists as the
philosophy
that
embraces
American
history
as
a
whole.
Manifest
Destiny
is
an
intangible
ideology
that
created
American
history.
In
its
simplest
form,
Manifest
Destiny
can
be
defined
as,
Movement.
More
specifically,
it
would
be
the
systematic
body
of
concepts
and
beliefs
that
powered
American
life
and
American
culture.
Coining
the Phrase
In
1845,
a
democratic
leader
and
influential
editor
by
the
name
of
John
L.
O'Sullivan gave the movement its name.
In an attempt to explain America's thirst for
expansion, and to present a defense for
America's claim to new territories he wrote:
the
continent
which
Providence
has
given
us
for
the
development
of
the
great
experiment of liberty and federaltive
development of self government entrusted to us.
It is right such as that of the tree to
the space of air and the earth suitable for the
full
expansion of its principle and
destiny of growth.
(Brinkley 352)
Manifest
Destiny
became
the
rallying
cry
throughout
America.
The
notion
of
Manifest
Destiny
was
publicized
in
the
papers
and
was
advertise
and
argued
by
politicians throughout the nation. The
idea of Manifest Destiny Doctrine became the
torch, that lit the way for American
expansion.
A Movement As
Old As America Itself
Although
the
movement
was
named
in
1845,
the
philosophy
behind
Manifest
Destiny always existed throughout
American History. For example, in 1818 Andrew
Jackson,
while
taking
a
broad
interpretation
of
vague
instructions
from
President
Monroe, led military forces into the
Floridas during the Florida crisis. In a
systematic
and
ruthless
way,
he
punished
the
Seminal
Indians
for
taking
up
arms
with
the
Spanish,
destroyed
Spanish
forces,
and
captured
several
cities
and
forts.
(Demkin,
Chapter 8).
Americans who had moral reservations about the
rough tactics of Jackson,
soothed
their
consciences
with
a
familiar,
but
not
yet
named
philosophy.
Their
1
reasoning,
the
Floridas
were
part
of
American
territory;
therefore,
destiny
intended
that America should have them.
The
reason
why
Americans
where
in
Florida
in
the
first
place,
is
yet
another
example of Manifest
Destiny. The people of the deep South, wanting
more fertile land,
exercise what they
considered to be their right. The planter class,
without any political
approval
or
permission,
just
took
over
and
started
settling
and
planting
the
Florida
territories.
This
move
was
an
example
of
the
arrogance
that
the
Americans
had
towards expansion. Americans believed
that they had a right to any land they wanted.
First used in 1845, the
term Manifest Destiny conveyed the idea that the
rightful
destiny of the US included
imperialistic expansion. This idea certainly
contributed to
several
wars.
For
example,
in
1846
the
United
States
declared
war
on
Mexico
and
proceeded to win much of
what is now the Southwestern United States. The
war with
Mexico was just one out of a
series of aggressive acts that can be tied to
America's
Manifest
Destiny.
Manifest
Destiny
emerged
naturally
and
inevitability
out
of
fundamental
want
and
need
to
explore
and
conquer
new
lands
and
establish
new
borders.
With
this
growth
came
moral,
cultural,
social
ideological
and
economical
differences
between
people,
states
and
countries.
Were
these
differences
not
the
reasons why America
fought for their independence in the Revolutionary
War? Were
these differences not the
primary cause for the American Civil War?
The idea of Manifest
Destiny is as old as America itself. The
philosophy sailed
with
Christopher
Columbus
across
the
Atlantic.
It
resided
in
the
spirits
of
the
Jamestown colonist and it landed at
Plymouth Rock with the Pilgrims. It also traveled
with the fire and brimstone preachers
during the Great Awakening and built the first
national road. Throughout history there
are numerous examples of Manifest Destiny.
However,
in
early
American
history,
synonyms
were
used
to
explain
the
not
yet
named Phenomenon. American history
books are filled with words such as, Explorers,
Frontier, Territories, Expansionism,
Settlers, Idealism, Sectionalism and Immigration.
Without
Manifest
Destiny,
phrases
and
terms
such
as
the
Great
American
Desert,
North
West
Passage,
and
Oregon
Trail
would
be
just
empty
examples of white man's travels.
A Disputed Philosophy
Much
of
the
talk
about
Manifest
Destiny
had
many
people
suggesting
that
America should assume the role as a
world power. James Monroe in 1822 echoed this
idea in his famous Monroe Doctrine when
he warned Europe and the rest of the world
to
In
the
months
following
the
Spanish-American
War,
the
idea
of
expansionism
grew
stronger
across
the
United
States.
In
Congress,
legislators
called
for
the
annexation of all Spanish territories.
Some newspapers even suggested the annexation
of
Spain
itself.
Expansionists
such
as
Roosevelt,
former
President
Harrison,
and
Captain Mahan argued for creating an
American empire. However, others, including
Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, and
Mark Twain, opposed these ideas.
Manifest Destiny became a disputed
philosophy. The following are two examples
of
the
different
views
of
the
American
people.
This
is
evidence
of
the
opposing
attitudes
towards
the
Manifest
Destiny
ideology.
In
a
1837
letter
to
Henry
Clay,
2