Manifest Destiny

Term expressing the idea that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent. First employed by journalist John Louis O'Sullivan in 1845 to justify the annexation of Texas, it later encompassed the entire westward expansion of the United States.

For individuals such as John O'Sullivan, the idea of Manifest Destiny embodied cherished beliefs about America's future. It expressed the feeling that American democracy was the greatest institution in the world. Consequently, many Americans felt it was their preordained mission to spread democracy across the globe. To those who believed firmly in Manifest Destiny, U.S. expansion across the continent was the crucial first stage of this mission.

The beliefs that Manifest Destiny encompassed had permeated the public dialogue for generations. In 1631, the Puritan settler John Winthrop described the Massachusetts Bay colony as a “shining city upon a hill,” an example for other nations to emulate. The colonies' victory over the British in the American Revolution, the incorporation of the original 13 states, [Page 443]and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution strengthened this sentiment. As the U.S. population and economy exploded during the 19th century, Americans viewed westward expansion as a necessary continuation of the nation's growth.

Three key events confirmed this view. First, Thomas Jefferson orchestrated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The acquisition of the entire Mississippi River valley from France doubled the size of the United States and provided an extremely fertile region to fuel the fledgling nation's development. The purchase also established a precedent for acquiring land across the North American continent. Second, the War of 1812, although a stalemate at best for the United States, showed that the United States was a viable nation. Finally, General Andrew Jackson forcefully occupied Spanish-controlled Florida in 1819. Spain, unable to defend its colony, ceded control of Florida to the United States in the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819.

Ultimately, however, two confrontations during the 1840s embodied the concept of Manifest Destiny. The first erupted in the Oregon Territory. Since 1818, the United States and Great Britain jointly occupied the territory but recognized the 49th parallel as the border between Canada and the United States. In 1844, however, proponents of expansion argued that U.S. territory extended up to the 54th parallel. The heavy influx of American settlers along the Oregon Trail exacerbated the situation and threatened another conflict with Britain. War was avoided, however, when anti-colonialists in the British Parliament and members of the Whig party in the U.S. Congress demanded a peaceful settlement to the dispute. The joint occupation was ended, the original border at the 49th parallel was accepted, and the Oregon Territory became part of the United States.

The period's second confrontation was not peacefully resolved. The Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, but the Mexican government still claimed Texas as part of its territory. Thus, when outgoing president John Tyler signed an 1844 resolution offering statehood to Texas, the Mexican government publicly objected to the annexation of the region by the United States.

In 1845, James Polk assumed the presidency. Polk, an ardent expansionist, was determined to annex Texas and acquire all the Mexican territory extending from the Southwest to the Pacific Ocean. In early 1846, Polk sent an army into Mexico, hoping to provoke a Mexican attack. His ploy eventually succeeded, and the resulting conflict ended with the capture of Mexico City by U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott in 1847. The following year, the two nations signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which the United States gained the desired territories and paid Mexico some $18 million in war damages.

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