Manifest destiny

Manifest destiny was a powerful belief in the 19th-century United States. It suggested that American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America. The term implies that this expansion was both obvious, or "manifest," and certain, or "destiny." This idea served as an early expression of American imperialism. Imperialism is when a nation seeks to expand its influence over other lands.

Historian William Earl Weeks identified three main parts of this concept. First, it assumed the United States possessed unique moral virtue. Second, it claimed the nation had a mission to redeem the world. This mission involved spreading republican government and the "American way of life." Third, it expressed a faith in a divinely ordained destiny to succeed.

This belief was not a single, official government policy. Instead, it was a general idea that grew from several different thoughts. It relied on American exceptionalism, which is the idea that the U.S. is uniquely special. It also drew from Romantic nationalism. Some proponents believed the American Anglo-Saxon race was innately superior. They thought this group was destined to bring prosperity and Christianity to the continent.

Most historians believe John O'Sullivan coined the phrase in 1845. He was a newspaper editor and a columnist. He used the term in an essay titled "Annexation." He argued that the U.S. should annex the Republic of Texas. He also believed the nation had a right to the whole continent. O'Sullivan argued this right came from Providence, which refers to a divine power.

Some historians offer different views on who first used the phrase. They suggest a journalist named Jane Cazneau might have written it. Others believe a writer named Jane McManus Storm used it first. Regardless of the exact source, the phrase became very influential. It helped justify the 1846 Oregon boundary dispute. It also supported the 1845 annexation of Texas as a slave state.

Manifest destiny caused intense political conflict and war. The annexation of Texas helped lead to the Mexican–American War in 1846.

Many people strongly disagreed with these expansions. The Whig Party and many Republicans rejected the idea. Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were prominent leaders who campaigned against these actions. Even John Quincy Adams changed his mind about expansionism. He feared that new territories would spread the system of slavery.

Ulysses S. Grant later condemned the Mexican–American War. He called it one of the most unjust wars ever fought. This conflict showed how expansion could be a struggle between a stronger and a weaker nation. Even after the Civil War, expansion continued. The U.S. acquired Alaska in 1867. In the 1890s, the nation annexed Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. These actions made imperialism a major issue in the 1900 presidential election.

This era of expansion had a deep impact on many people. The movement of settlers onto new territories displaced Indigenous Americans. They were often pushed away from their ancestral homelands. Some historians note that these ideas were used to justify the enslavement of Black people. They also noted that these ideas could lead to the loss of land for many groups. Manifest destiny was a complex mix of ideas that shaped the history of North America.