Manifest Destiny
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Manifest Destiny
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
Download Links:
• Manifest Destiny.pdf
• Manifest Destiny.doc
One of the largest and most wealthy countries in the world, the United States of America, has gone through many
changes in its long history. From winning its independence from Great Britain to present day, America has
changed dramatically and continues to change. A term first coined in the 1840s, "Manifest Destiny" helped push
America into the next century and make the country part of what it is today. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny
played an important role in the development of the United States by allowing the territorial expansion of the
1800s. Without the expansion of the era, America would not have most of the western part of the country it does
now.
Manifest Destiny, before becoming nationally known, started very meagerly. The term "Manifest Destiny" was first
used by Congressman Robert Winthrop before being made popular by John L. O'Sullivan in 1845 (Manifest
Destiny). O'Sullivan first used the term, "Manifest Destiny" in an article he wrote for the Democratic Review in the
July-August edition of 1845. O'Sullivan wrote to other nations who had, "the avowed object of thwarting our
policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to
overspread the Continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions"
(Adams 332). He was actually talking about the annexation of Texas but the term was stolen from him and used by
expansionists of the time to justify other annexations (Adams 332).
Many causes fueling America's need to expand and acquire new lands existed. One of the reasons was Americans
were experiencing "a large birthrate increase due to immigration. And because agriculture provided the primary
economic structure, large f...