Manifest Destiny, Research Paper Example

Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American war expansion influenced the United States’ view of itself as a world power, even more so as time has progressed. The ramification of the expansion resulted in both negative and positive outcomes. The Mexican-American War was the first act of Americans under the pretense that it was our God-given right to expand our nation from sea to shining sea. This war and the Manifest Destiny had a profound act on foreign relations. Some feared the power that the United States had; other hated the country as a result of their actions. The negatives of this war were based on the pretense that they acted with power and without regard in order to gain territory for the United States. This was highly controversial and there are many different theories to the true cause of the Mexican-American War. James O’Sullivan stated, “our national birth was the beginning of a new history, the formation and progress of an untried political system, which separates us from the past and connects us with the future only; and so far as regards the entire development of the natural rights of man, in moral, political, and national life, we may confidently assume that our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity.” (O’Sullivan 1) This statement shows the positive outcomes and still holds a vast amount of truth centuries later.

Americans desired more land, so in the 19^th century the settlement began to move west. However the white settler’s quest for land came at a cost for the American Indians who were forced to sacrifice their traditional way of life. This video shows at Shawnee Indian Mission State Historical Site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLmUhT9QOlE. In 1839 to 1862 the Shawnee Mission established the manual training school for boys and girls in Shawnee, Delaware and other Indian nations. This was a direct result of the Manifest Destiny and the expansion west.

The Manifest Destiny was fueled by several different mindsets. The first belief was the religious context, or the Second Great Awakening. This was the people’s belief that God had blessed the nation, and the land, allowing the growth of the Nation. Economic factors were another mindset, seeing the potential money in the expansion westward. The fur and the gold that was found by some of the first American entrepreneurs sparked the desires for others to become millionaires as well. Finally, the Manifest Destiny sparked the belief in racial superiority. This proved that the whites viewed the Native Americans and Hispanics as inferior and taking their established territory was a right of superiority.

James K. Polk talked about the Manifest Destiny in his 1844 Inaugural address. He stated, “As our population has expanded, the Union has been cemented and strengthened. As our boundaries have been enlarged and our agricultural population has been spread over a large surface, our federative system has acquired additional strength and security.” (Ideas) Justification for the expansion was based on need and power to take over the land west of the current a territory.

In 1846 America went to war with Mexico in battle for not only territory, but also for power. The new technologies and the ideals incorporated in the Manifest Destiny all played a role in the Mexican-American War. America was a young, well-established country fighting against Mexico who was still struggling with its newly founded independence. Some believed Polk caused this war with his campaign promise to bring Oregon and California under American territory. However Manifest Destiny and Americans extensive movement to the West was the cause of this war. This video shows the progression of the war and the significant events that played out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKe2_SFwSYY.

The Mexican government left the United States with no other option for defending their interests and national security. “Mexico had crossed over the U.S. border, had invaded our territory and had cawed the shedding of U.S. blood in U.S. territory.” (Paterson 246) This shows the war to be based on territorial security verses the acquisition of land. The close of the war resulted in the Mexico ceding territory to the United States. The borderland between the countries included what we know today as California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.

The Mexican-American War was the first conflict resulting from the ideas set in the Manifest Destiny. This video shows the belief of Americans that it was their God-given right to expand the Nations border http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0tMYPa2zMM. This belief inflicted a great deal of suffering on Mexicans, Native Americans, as well as United States citizens. The ramification of the expansion resulted in both negative and positive outcomes which played an important part of American history. The Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American war set the groundwork for America’s territory as well as establishing their power as a country not to be reckoned with.

References:

O’Sullivan, John. Manifest Destiny. 1839. Print.

“Ideas and Movements, ca 1840s.” United States History. Web. 7 Jun. 2012.

Patterson, Thomas G. “President James Knox Polk’s War Message to Congress.” Major Problems in American Foreign Policy, Documents and Essays. D.C. Heat and Company, Lexington, Mass., 1984, vol. I, pp. 245-247. Print.