Manifest Destiny

Manifest destiny refers to an expansionist ideology, spearheaded by powerful political and cultural actors in the 19th century in the United States. The ideology attempted to rationalize western expansion efforts and initially advocated the broadening of American boundaries past the initial 13 colonies, west toward the Pacific Ocean. Manifest destiny provided the rationale and political motive for annexing western territories making up the modern-day U.S. states of Texas, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and New Mexico, as well as much of the modern American midwest and northwest.

Manifest destiny was more than just the expansion of one culture; by definition, it involved the displacement, eradication, or assimilation of native cultures as well as the European settlements that predated American expansion, from the Russians in Alaska to the Mexicans in the southwest and in California. In the modern, postcolonial American era, manifest destiny is often referenced as an archetype of American colonialist attitudes. Although generally referred to as a representation of bygone cultural attitudes, some scholars suggest that the cultural tradition of manifest destiny continues to be relevant in American politics and international affairs.

Historically, colonialist political attitudes in the United States were employed by prominent politicians to rationalize the forcible taking or “annexing” of western territories. Many of these territories were inhabited by indigenous North American populations prior to the westward expansion, whereas others were Spanish or Mexican territories. Following the Mexican-American War, the United States took ownership of a large portion of the newly independent Mexican state [Page 1400]and subsequently granted citizenship to the Mexicans who chose to remain, adding significantly to the country's Hispanic population. The doctrine was similarly utilized to add legitimacy to the colonization of island territories such as Hawai'i and the Philippines.

Journalist John L. O'Sullivan, sketched in 1874, was an influential columnist as a young man but is typically remembered for his use of the phrase Manifest Destiny. He wrote of a “divine destiny” for the United States based upon values such as equality and rights of conscience.

The term manifest destiny was originally coined in 1845 by American journalist John O'Sullivan, an advocate of the imperialist philosophy that the expansion of U.S. boundaries to the Pacific and beyond was an inevitable and positive force for good. The nascent period of boundary expansion by the U.S. government actually preceded the coining of the term manifest destiny, and scholars have noted that the terminology exemplified and galvanized an already existent cultural mind-set.

O'Sullivan's terminology was intentionally suggestive of a divine “ordainment” to the end of U.S. boundary enlargement, although subsequent use of the term often focused more on the economic, cultural, and political benefits of westward expansion. A number of scholars have noted that manifest destiny also incorporated notions of racial, religious, and cultural superiority—as well as economic incentives derived from increased land resources and natural resource acquisition—as validation of efforts to expand regional influence.

The doctrine was articulated at a time when the county was undergoing one of its religious Great Awakenings—a period of greater spiritual revival in which new religious movements were formed. The term manifest destiny invoked religious concepts of Americans as a chosen people, without aligning itself with any specific religious creed, allowing Americans of various faiths and denominations to adopt the ideology.

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