Reflection of Manifest Destiny since it was coined.

Yanina Keltoum

Ms. Oumayma Kerthiou

Master2: Literature and Civilization

US Foreign Interventions

12/29/2017

Reflection of Manifest Destiny since it was coined.

"...wherever they go, this inferior native population, as a result of amalgamation, and that great law of contact between a higher and a lower race, by which the latter gives way to the former, must be gradually supplanted, and its place occupied by this highest of races....[The United States] will occupy the entire extent of America, the rich and fertile plains of Asia, together with the intermediate isles of the sea, in fulfillment of the great purpose of heaven, of the ultimate enlightenment of the whole earth, and the gradual elevation of man to the dignity and glory of the promised millennial day."  (Horseman 291)

Most of the Americans in the mid-nineteenth century believed that it was their mission to extend the boundaries of democracy to others by spreading their idealism to the entire world. At first, the west for them was a vacant and productive land, God had given them the mission of colonizing this (virgin) as they saw it. For them It was God’s job to provide the land, and it was their task to make it grow. this philosophy known by “Manifest Destiny”. It was the driving force responsible for changing the face of American history. The main purpose of this essay is to give an overview of the American Manifest Destiny as an ideology, and explain its reflection since it was coined, also to justify the US interventionism throughout the world depending on the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War.

Overview of American Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny is a 19th-century US political doctrine advocating territorial expansion. It was proclaimed by John O'Sullivan as "Our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions" A belief of the Democratic Party, it gained support among the supporters of the American, and later Republican interests, and played a significant part in raising popular support for the annexation of Texas (1845) and the Mexican-American War (1846-48). It was later invoked by Seward in the purchase of Alaska (1867), and re-emerged in the 1890s with the annexation of Hawaii and the acquisition of Spanish territories in the Spanish-American War.

Manifest Destiny caused war and tension with Mexico. Mexican-American War (1846-48) was a conflict between the USA and Mexico. Hostilities between the two countries began shortly after the USA annexed (1845) the Mexican state of Texas and sought to expand the boundaries of the state to include still more territory. In the ensuing war General Stephen Kearny took over the New Mexico territory and Captain John Frémont annexed the California territory almost without a fight. In northern Mexico stiffer opposition was encountered as General Zachary Taylor invaded Mexico across the Rio Grande and defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in the bloody Battle of Buena Vista (22-23 February 1847). The fiercest fighting occurred in central Mexico. General Winfield Scott's order of a mortar bombardment of Vera Cruz resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The US army then moved inland to Mexico City, where hotly contested engagements were fought at Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec Hill (12-13 September 1847). The US capture of the capital city (1847) occasioned the Mexican surrender. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended hostilities. By the terms of the treaty the USA confirmed its claim to Texas and gained control of the area, which would later become the states of New Mexico, Arizona, and California (where gold had recently been discovered). The USA agreed to pay Mexico 15 million dollars in return.

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