What American Beliefs and Values Shaped and Inspired Westward Expansion? How did Westward Expansion Cause America to Become Involved in Affairs with Foreign Powers, Including Native Americans?
Manifest Destiny was a belief that the United States was doomed to start the westward expansion because of the necessity to introduce social wellbeing to the American nation.
The supporters of the manifest believed that expansionism ideology was not only reasonable, but also inevitable and apparent for the development of the virtuous citizenry. Supported by Democrats, the Americans used this policy to justify the Mexican War.
This Manifest, however, has a deep historical and political underpinning that triggered the mass invasion and conquest of the West territories of the New World. Specifically, it was believed that the American mission is to defend and promote democratic trends throughout the world.
The westward expansion, therefore, is closely associated with such important historical events, as war with Mexico, Manifest Destiny, slaver, and Compromise of 1850, which shaped and inspired the American beliefs about economic progress, nation’s health, and social welfare.
Because of their unauthorized and violent expansion, American became involved in foreign powers, including Native Americans.
In fact, Manifest Destiny had become a popular term from 1812 to 1860, the period of North American expansions, which was also known as continentalism. The purchase of Louisiana by the President Thomas Jefferson at the beginning of the nineteenth century was the starting point of expansionist policy of the United States.
The purchased area doubled the size of the country and the President believed that the westward expansion created a favorite ground for advancing the nation’s health. He also insisted that a republic was based on independent spirit of the citizenry, which was essential for its survival.
What is more important is that the independence and virtue went in accord with land ownership, particularly that of small farms. The population of yeomen should be provided with enough land and, therefore, the United States should continue expanding the west territories.
The westward expansion is one of the core themes in the nineteenth century’s history of America, but it is not confined to Jefferson’s policy only, whose concept “empire of liberty” was practiced. In fact, the Louisiana Purchase marked the aggressive expansion in six decades later, which almost destroyed the republic.
By 1840, the Americans inhabiting the trans-Appalachian West continued the expansionism tendency in the pursuit of economic progress and development.
Similar to Thomas Jefferson, most of the supporters of this economic course believed that land ownership and farming development, and westward migration were associated with social and economic prosperity.
Many factory workers from Europe organized a permanent and dependent class. In contrast, the American owners viewed alternative opportunities of industrial and agricultural development, which are possible as soon as they crossed the western frontier.
Besides, this option opened them more chances to become independent and equal. In 1945, John Sullivan, a journalist and rigid supporter of Jacksonian democracy, was first to introduce a name to the economic and ideological course of the American Expansion.
In particular, he argued that westward migration was considered a critical part of the democratic project due to the emergence manifest destiny of the United States and its citizens adhering to the utmost values of liberty spread all over the continent. Hence, continental intrusion has become the key to the survival and sustainability of American freedom.
The new beliefs and ideologies shaped new concept and essence of slavery. Specifically, the new western states faced contradictions concerning the question of either prohibiting or accepting slavery.
To resolve the issue, the Missouri Compromise approved Missouri as a slave state whereas Main was regarded as a free state. In such a manner, it was possible to strike the balance between the political oppositions in Congress.
Moreover, it also promised later prohibition of slavery in the northern part of Missouri, as well as in the rest part of the Louisiana Purchase. However, the issue of slavery was not considered properly, because the Missouri Compromise was not applicable to the new lands of Louisiana.
Moreover, the southern economy prospered considerably because it depended on the forced labor system, as well as on “King Cotton”. These two factors were decisive in economic sustainability. As a result, Northern part of the United States considered slavery as a way to shape their own concept of liberties and, therefore, the advocates of pro-slavery interests in Congress were more concerned with the future of farmer yeomen.
They did not withdraw slavery as a part of farming, but they still considered expansion as the only method to increase their economic opportunity.
Despite the conflict between states, Americans continued moving to the western territories after the adoption of the Missouri Compromise. Many people migrated to the Oregon Territory through the Rockies, as well as to the Mexican lands of New Mexico, California, and Texas.
In 1837, Texas was joined to the United States from Mexico and was proclaimed as a slave state. The event upset the balance initiated by the Missouri Compromise and, as a result, the annexation of Mexican territories was not of primary importance until James Polk, elected to the presidency, joined the union and declared it a slave state.
In 1846, Polk stated war against Mexico, declaring that the Mexican military forces had invaded American lands and had slaved American people. Despite the strategies established by Polk, as well as justifying principles of expansion.
However, O’Sulluvan rejected to the violent and cruel conquering of the territories initiated by Polk, believing that this contradicts the Manifest Destiny because the concept of expansion was not congruent with the military invasion, but gradual and voluntary establishment of republic system and democratic ideologies.
After the Mexican-American War, the contradictions about the slavery expansion contributed to further territorial annexation. In such a manner, the concept of Manifest Destiny has turned into the attempt to sustain slavery and conquer new territories by force.
The controversies related to the manifest were aggravated by the emergence of different slave conspiracy theories. Hence, under the auspices of Manifest Destiny, invaders continue military intrusion to new territories and initiated filibustering exhibition to Mexico, Canada and Latin American countries.
Though the operations were illegal, these expeditions were highly popularized and romanticized in the American press. Wealthy Americans invested operations and were interested in the conquering of such territory as Cuba, the land of the Spanish Empire.
Polk’s attempt to annex Cuba to the United Stated failed, but his administration continued filibustering and financing illegal operations.
Whigs government, the opposition, tried to halt the expeditions. In 1850s, the policy of filibustering continued under the control of Piece, but the effort to buy the Cuban island failed because of discovery of the genuine plans of the government.
The public connected annexation with slavery expansion and, therefore, Manifest Destiny was no longer popular at that time.
William Walker was another filibuster who kept westward expansion in 1850, but his efforts failed due to the outbreaks of the Civil war, which signified the end of the Era of Manifest Destiny. Expansionism played an important role in triggering the military conflict between the Southern and Northern forces.
The point is that Manifest Destiny concept has differently perceived by the U.S. citizens, particularly in terms of slavery expansion.
At the same time, some of the supporters of Manifest Destiny believed that this concept served as unifying force for the nation, as well as for advancing economic prosperity in the country.
Apart from the values and beliefs about unified and economically health nation shaped during the westward expansion, the political ideology had a potent impact on the Native population of the New World.
The supporters of Manifest Destiny followed the European practice of acknowledging limited rights of indigenous to the land. The U.S. government encouraged Indians to sell their lands and abandon hunting to join the civilized community of farmers.
In fact, the U.S. administration sought to proceed with their policy of westward expansion and reorganize the tribe structures of the conquered territories. All these operations were connected with Jefferson’s belief that Indians’ rights and habits should be equalized with those of white population and, therefore, they should be forced to accept the norms and values of the European invaders.
This new belief was more associated with the Enlightenment thinking in accordance with which both the white population and the Native American should be united in a single nation.
This idea became known as “Indian Removal” which was based on the assumption that the Native Americans would assimilate as soon as moved to the new territories and accepted the new rules and traditions of the whites.
At the same time, Manifest Destiny expressed racial controversies because many Americans insisted that the indigenous people would fade away during the American expansion.
Moreover, Indians were regarded as the major obstacle to conquering the western territories, as well as to sustaining the new ideology of a healthy nation.
After the American Civil War, Manifest Destiny revived with greater force. The Republicans continued their expansion overseas. The President William McKinley admitted that ceasing expansion could perverse the destiny of the nation.
On the one hand, such a policy was considered as an extension of westward conquer crossing the Pacific Oceans. On the other hand, Manifest Destiny was more associated with imperialist trends.
The American Manifest Destiny was denounced as the major policy of promoting America’s destiny. Despite the fact that the continental expansion was based on the concept of preserving and promoting nation’s health and economy, its actual purposes were confined explicit and forced territorial expansion leading to enslaving and “civilizing” the indigenous population.
Because of the goal to expand the territory as a means of improving and promoting economy and democratic ideologies, the American invaders encourage indigenous population to sell their lands and more to the new territories.
In such a ways, they strived to assimilate the Native American population and prevent their interference with the policy of expansion.
By civilizing the Indian, white people removed them as an obstacle to the total control of the entire continent. Therefore, the real intention to enslave the indigenous population was disguised under the idea of Manifest Destiny.