Artifact Analysis: Primary and Secondary Sources
Source #1
Source: Painter John Gast’s American Progress
Artifact Analysis: Primary and Secondary Sources
Source #2
Manifest Destiny
The words “Manifest Destiny” first appeared in an article in a New York
newspaper called The Morning Post. In the article, author John O’Sullivan wrote,
“It is our manifest destiny to…spread and to possess the whole of the continent
which Providence (guidance from God) has given us for the development of the
great experiment of liberty.” The phrase “Manifest Destiny” became widely used,
appearing in newspapers, debates, paintings and advertisements. It even became
a slogan (catch phrase) which was used as part of an advertising campaign that
encouraged people to move westward.
John O’Sullivan was expressing the long held belief that white Americans had a
God-given right to occupy the entire North American continent. This was not a
new idea. Any act of colonization and settlement at the expense of another race
can be considered an expression of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a
concept exercised in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. It was exercised by the
Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and also by the British when
they colonized Australia and India.
People who believed in Manifest Destiny maintained that the United States
should rule all of North America because they believed that the United States was
economically and politically superior to other cultures. Also, because the U.S.
population was growing rapidly, we needed the farmland and natural resources
which were available in the west. In addition, many Americans believed it was
God’s will that the United States should expand westward. For these reasons the
idea of Manifest Destiny was used to justify the acquisition of large parts of the
West, all the way to Oregon and California, despite its impact on native peoples.
Source: Seymour Sytes 1996