Manifest Destiny - The Philosophy That Created A
Nation
By Michael T. Lubragge
Source: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/manifest/manifxx.htm
This paper takes a philosophical view of the Manifest Destiny phenomenon
and attempts to provide logical evidence that Manifest Destiny can be argued as
the sole reason for why America itself has a history.
Few Americans had ever assumed that the boundaries of the United States would stand forever
unchanged. Manifest Destiny was the driving force responsible for changing the
face of American history. It was the philosophy that created a nation.
American history was built on a chronological record of
significant events, each event having a cause and subsequent effect on another
event. Historical events are presented in history as being tangible, being tied
to a date, or an exact happening. Manifest Destiny on the other hand, is a
phenomenon. It can not be tied to a date, event or even a specific period of
time. Manifest Destiny existed and still exists as the philosophy that embraces
American history as a whole. Manifest Destiny is an intangible ideology that
created American history. In its simplest form, Manifest Destiny can be defined
as, "A Movement." More specifically, it would be the systematic body
of concepts and beliefs that powered American life and American culture.
In 1845, a democratic leader and influential editor by the name of
John L. O'Sullivan gave the movement its name. In an attempt to explain America's thirst for
expansion, and to present a defense for America's claim to new
territories he wrote:
"....
the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of
the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great
experiment of liberty and federaltive development of
self government entrusted to us. It is right such as that of the tree to the
space of air and the earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and
destiny of growth." (Brinkley
352)
Manifest Destiny became the rallying cry throughout America. The notion of
Manifest Destiny was publicized in the papers and was advertise and argued by
politicians throughout the nation. The idea of Manifest Destiny Doctrine became
the torch, that lit the way for American expansion.
Although the movement was named in 1845, the philosophy behind
Manifest Destiny always existed throughout American History. For example, in
1818 Andrew Jackson,
while taking a broad interpretation of vague instructions from President Monroe, led military
forces into the Floridas during the Florida crisis. In a
systematic and ruthless way, he punished the Seminal Indians for taking up arms
with the Spanish, destroyed Spanish forces, and captured several cities and
forts. (Demkin, Chapter 8). Americans
who had moral reservations about the rough tactics of Jackson, soothed their
consciences with a familiar, but not yet named philosophy. Their reasoning, the
Floridas were part of American
territory; therefore, destiny intended that America should have them.
The reason why Americans where in Florida in
the first place, is yet another example of Manifest Destiny. The people of the deep South, wanting more fertile land, exercise what they
considered to be their right. The planter class, without any political approval
or permission, just took over and started settling and planting the Florida territories. This move
was an example of the arrogance that the Americans had towards expansion.
Americans believed that they had a right to any land they wanted.
First used in
1845, the term Manifest Destiny conveyed the idea that the rightful destiny of
the US included imperialistic
expansion. This idea certainly contributed to several wars. For example, in
1846 the United States declared war on Mexico and proceeded to win
much of what is now the Southwestern United States. The war with Mexico was
just one out of a series of aggressive acts that can be tied to America's Manifest Destiny.
Manifest Destiny emerged naturally and inevitability out of fundamental want and need to explore and conquer new lands and establish
new borders. With this growth came moral, cultural, social ideological and
economical differences between people, states and countries. Were these
differences not the reasons why America fought for their
independence in the Revolutionary
War? Were these differences not the primary cause for the American Civil War?
The idea of
Manifest Destiny is as old as America itself. The
philosophy sailed with Christopher
Columbus across the Atlantic. It resided in the
spirits of the Jamestown
colonist and it landed at Plymouth
Rock with the Pilgrims.
It also traveled with the fire and brimstone preachers during the Great
Awakening and built the first national road. Throughout history there are
numerous examples of Manifest Destiny. However, in early American history,
synonyms were used to explain the not yet named Phenomenon. American history
books are filled with words such as, Explorers, Frontier, Territories,
Expansionism, Settlers, Idealism, Sectionalism and Immigration. Without
Manifest Destiny, phrases and terms such as "Beyond the Great American
Desert," "The North West Passage," and "The Oregon
Trail", would be just empty examples of white man's travels.
Much of the talk about Manifest Destiny had many people suggesting
that America should assume the
role as a world power. James Monroe in 1822 echoed this idea in his famous Monroe Doctrine
when he warned Europe and the rest of the world to "Stay out
of the Western Hemisphere" (Demkin Chapter 8).
In the months
following the Spanish-American
War, the idea of expansionism grew stronger across the United States. In Congress,
legislators called for the annexation of all Spanish territories. Some
newspapers even suggested the annexation of Spain itself. Expansionists
such as Roosevelt,
former President Harrison,
and Captain Mahan argued for creating an American empire. However, others,
including Grover
Cleveland, Andrew
Carnegie, and Mark
Twain, opposed these ideas.
Manifest
Destiny became a disputed philosophy. The following are two examples of the
different views of the American people. This is evidence of the opposing
attitudes towards the Manifest Destiny ideology. In a
1837 letter to Henry Clay, William E. Channing wrote:
"Did
this county know itself, or were it disposed to profit by self-knowledge, it
would feel the necessity of laying an immediate curb on its passion for
extended territory.... We are a restless people, prone to encroachment,
impatient of the ordinary laws of progress... We boast of our rapid growth,
forgetting that, throughout nature, noble growths are slow..... It is full time
that we should lay on ourselves serious, resolute restraint. Possessed of a
domain, vast enough for the growth of ages, it is time for us to stop in the
career of acquisition and conquest. Already endangered by our greatness, we
cannot advance without imminent peril to our institutions, union, prosperity,
virtue, and peace..... It is sometimes said, that nations are swayed by laws,
as unfailing as those which govern matter; that they have their destinies; that
their character and position carry them forward irresistibly to their goal;....
that ... the Indians have melted
before the white man, and the mixed, degraded race of Mexico must melt before the Anglo-Saxon.
Away with this vile sophistry! There is no necessity for crime. There is no
fate to justify rapacious nations, any more than to justify gamblers and
robbers, in plunder. We boast of the progress of society, and this progress
consists in the substitution of reason and moral principle for the sway of
brute force....We talk of accomplishing our destiny. So did the late conqueror
of Europe (Napoleon) ;
and destiny consigned him to a lonely rock in the ocean, the prey of ambition
which destroyed no peace but his own." (Blum 276)
As an example
of the opposing attitude and the attitude that was voiced by the majority of
Americans at the time, the following article appeared in the Democratic Review
in 1845.
"Texas has been absorbed into the Union in the inevitable fulfillment of
the general law which is rolling our population westward.... It was
disintegrated form Mexico in the natural course of events,
by a process perfectly legitimate on its own part, blameless on ours.... (its) incorporation into the Union was not only inevitable, but the
most natural, right and proper thing in the world.... California will, probably, next fall away
from...Mexico.... Imbecile and distracted, Mexico never can exert any real
governmental authority over such a country.... The Anglo-Saxon foot is already
on its borders. Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of
Anglo-Saxon emigration has begun to pour down upon it armed with the plow and
the rifle, and markings its trail with schools and colleges, courts and
representative halls, mills and meeting houses. A population will soon be in
actual occupation of California, over which it will be idle for Mexico to dream of dominion... All this
without agency of our government, without responsibility of our people- -in
natural flow of events, the spontaneous working of principles, and the
adaptation of the tendencies and wants of the human race to the elemental
circumstances in the midst of which they find themselves placed." (Blum 277)
The Components of Manifest Destiny
From The Beginning of Time
Manifest
Destiny, in its many forms, existed throughout history. It controlled America's destiny and was
responsible for man's travels throughout history. With this said, America would not be America without the
phenomenon of Manifest Destiny. The philosophy that built American history was
the rationalization that expansionists everywhere used to justify territorial
growth. Some used the Manifest Destiny Doctrine as a political philosophy
stressing tradition and social stability, while others used it as a simple
reason to explore new lands. Expansionist experienced minimal interference of
governmental institutions in private economic activities with Manifest Destiny
leading their way.
Americans
used Manifest Destiny as their proclamation of superiority and insisted that
their conquests merely fulfilled the divine mission that man is impelled by
forces beyond human control. Manifest Destiny was responsible for creating
American history. Without it, American territory would be as big as the
property surrounding its first settlement. It was the movement responsible for
American Independence and American expansion. Because of the notion of Manifest Destiny, America's drive to explore
and conquer new lands will never die.
The notion of
Manifest Destiny had many components, each serving people in different ways. Manifest
Destiny reflected both the prides that characterized American Nationalism in
the mid 19th century, and the idealistic vision of social perfection through
God and the church. Both fueled much of the reform energy of the time.
Individually, the components created separate reasons to conquer new land.
Together they exemplified Americas ideological need to
dominate from pole to pole.
To some, the Manifest Destiny Doctrine was based on the idea that America had a divine providence.
It had a future that was destined by God to expand its borders, with no limit
to area or country. All the traveling and expansion were part of the spirit of
Manifest Destiny, a belief that it was God's will that Americans spread over
the entire continent, and to control and populate the country as they see fit.
Many expansionists conceived God as having the power to sustain and guide human
destiny. "It was white man's burden to conquer and christianize the land" (Demkin, Chapter 8). For example, the idea that the
Puritan notion of establishing a "city on a hill" was eventually
secularized into Manifest Destiny--a sort of materialistic, religious, utopian
destiny.
While some were driven by what they considered God's will, others
saw Manifest Destiny as the historical inevitability of American domination of
North America from sea to sea. It
was an altruistic way to extend American liberty to new realms. North West expansion started
with the American fur trappers. In their search for new reserves of beaver,
they blazed new trials and passages through the mountains. In doing so, they
traversed new and fertile valleys of the Far West. Their exaggerated
stories and accounts of their travels publicized the newly found region of the
West and aroused interest in people contemplating agricultural possibilities.
It also gave the land an air of romance and adventure.
By the
1840's, expansion was at it highest. The Santa Fe Trail
went from Independence to the Old Spanish
Trail, which went into Los Angeles. The Oxbow Route headed from Missouri to California. Others headed out on
the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest. In 1845,
approximately 5,000 people traveled the Oregon Trail to Oregon's Willamette Valley. The Oregon Trail was the longest of
the pioneer trail that went West. It traversed more
than 2,000 miles' trough prairie, desert, and rugged mountain land from Independence, Missouri to the Northwest. In
its short life, 300,000 settlers traveled this trail, marking their path by the
landmarks first identified by Lewis and
Clark. Thirty thousand graves mark the trial of these pioneers. In the wake
of continual death and hardship the allure of Manifest Destiny continued to
drive expansionist interests. Beginning with the first wagon in 1831, to the
formation of the territorial government in 1848, Manifest Destiny was
responsible for making America grow.
Manifest
Destiny was the reason for the revived interest in territorial expansion. With
a sense of mission, people were tempted by the boundless tracts and sparsely
settled land lying just beyond the borders of their country. There was also the
growing desire to develop trade with the Far East. Going West would eventually open new trade routes. Last but not
least, there was a renewed fear that the security of the United States might be impaired by
foreign intervention in areas along its borders. The easiest way to conquer
those fears was to conquer land beyond its borders and expand American
territories.
For all the positive atmosphere and grand spirit Manifest Destiny
created, it also created the dark side of American History, non darker than the
plight of the American Indian. While the positive side of Manifest Destiny was
a surge of enthusiasm and energy for pushing West, the
negative side was the belief that the white man had the right to destroy
anything and anyone -- namely Indians -- who got in the way. Tracing the path
of Manifest Destiny across the West would highlight mass destruction of tribal
organizations, confinement of Indians to reservations, and full blown genocide.
The dark side of Manifest Destiny revealed the white man's belief that his
settlement of the land and civilization of its native peoples was preordained.
The
settlements that extended across the Western territories promised the American
dream: the freedom and independence of a seemingly limitless land. This,
coupled with the Agrarian spirit produced an attitude that nothing was gong to
stand in the way of progress, the progress of Manifest Destiny. In the name of
this doctrine, Americans took what ever land they wanted. With a belief that
Manifest Destiny gave them a right and power to do so, many simply settled,
planted and farmed Indian land.
The
large-scale annihilation and movement of Native American onto Indian
reservations reached its peak in the late 19th century. The U.S. government intended
to destroy tribal governments and break up Indian reservations under, what was
then considered, the progressive Manifest Destiny Doctrine. The arrogance that
flowed from the Manifest Destiny philosophy was exemplified when Albert T. Beveridge rose before the U.S. Senate and announced:
"God has not been preparing the English-speaking and Tectonic
peoples for a thousand years for nothing but vain and idle self-admiration. No!
He has made us the master organizers of the world to establish system where
chaos reigns... He has made us adepts in government that we may administer
government among savages and senile peoples. Theodore Roosevelt,
John Cabot Lodge, and John Hay, each in turn, endorsed with a strong sense of
certainty the view that the Anglo-Saxon [Americans] was destined to rule the
world. Such views expressed in the 19th century and in the
early 20th century continues to ring true in the minds of many
non-Indian property owners. The superiority of the "white race" is
the foundation on which the Anti-Indian Movement organizers and right-wing
helpers rest their efforts to dismember Indian tribes." (Ryser).
From The Beginning of Time
Manifest
Destiny, in its many forms, existed throughout history. It controlled America's destiny and was
responsible for man's travels throughout history. With this said, America would not be America without the
phenomenon of Manifest Destiny. The philosophy that built American history was
the rationalization that expansionists everywhere used to justify territorial
growth. Some used the Manifest Destiny Doctrine as a political philosophy
stressing tradition and social stability, while others used it as a simple
reason to explore new lands. Expansionist experienced minimal interference of
governmental institutions in private economic activities with Manifest Destiny
leading their way.
Americans
used Manifest Destiny as their proclamation of superiority and insisted that
their conquests merely fulfilled the divine mission that man is impelled by
forces beyond human control. Manifest Destiny was responsible for creating
American history. Without it, American territory would be as big as the
property surrounding its first settlement. It was the movement responsible for
American Independence and American expansion. Because of the notion of Manifest Destiny, America's drive to explore
and conquer new lands will never die.
The New Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is an enigma. Yet, it is the philosophy that
built American history. Manifest Destiny is un-definable; however, it is often
used to define how America actually became America. Manifest Destiny is
a dispute, where historians argue about, not only what it is; but, when it
started and when it ended. Did the Manifest Destiny Doctrine reach an end?
Echoing the thoughts of America in the late 1800s, Stephen Demkin said, "Land is a finite commodity."
Having conquered the land spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific, most
historians agreed that the Manifest Destiny Doctrine was complete. After all,
land has a definite and definable limit. There was a specific amount of land
that needed to be conquered in order to complete America's Manifest Destiny.
Having successfully done this by 1890, Manifest Destiny ended.
However,
those who argue the end of Manifest Destiny from this point a view tend to
dismiss one very important factor that proves the immortality of the Doctrine.
Those who argue a definable end to Manifest Destiny must qualify the meaning of
the word "land." Does the word land refer to only the area of North America?
"Most people believed that there was an endless amount of
land. It took 200 years to reach the Mississippi; therefore, people
believed that it would take a life time to reach the Pacific. In reality, it
only took forty years." (Demkin Chapter 11). Think about it, for 250 years, man
climbed, hacked, swam, walked, and plowed their way across America. Are we to believe
that when this task was complete they also considered their Manifest Destiny
complete? Is it logical to suggest that while standing on the shores of the Pacific ocean they had no interest in the world beyond?
Were these frontiersmen not the ancestors of the colonists who stood on the
shores of England peering out onto an
unknown ocean in the 1500's?
Not only did
the idea of Manifest Destiny not end in 1890, it took on a whole new face. The
Manifest Destiny Doctrine can be divided into two distinct parts. One part
could be defined as National Manifest Destiny. This is the drive behind
building the American Main Land. The
America
whose borders are between Canada and
Mexico on
the North and South and the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans on the East and West.
The other
part could be defined as International Manifest Destiny which started in 1867
when America purchased Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000.
Although this acquisition could fall into the example of National Destiny, it
was the first time America went beyond its
immediate border to acquired land. In fact, the acquisition of Alaska was a second thought.
The purchase of Alaska was only approved
after the senate rejected plans to purchase the Virgin Islands from Denmark (Blum 403).
America had a presence in the
Hawaiian
Islands since 1810 (Demkin 20). But this presence came from only a few
shipping pioneers who dared to leave the safety of the American shores to pursue
their own personal destiny in the unknown waters of the Pacific. America's International
Manifest Destiny came in 1898 when America decided that it
wanted total control of Hawaii and walked in and
took it. The idea of Manifest Destiny specifically related to Hawaii came full circle in
1959 when America made Hawaii its 50th state.
There were
some who truly believed that the Manifest Destiny Doctrine was based on the
idea that America had a divine
providence that was destined by God to expand its borders. Others believed that
America simply had a mission,
the altruistic right to extend its liberty to new realms. Both reasons could be
considered the most classical of definitions. Whether a
person believed that America's
expansion was driven by God or a sense of mission, those promoting Manifest
Destiny were certainly not in short demand or variety.
The Many Shades of Manifest Destiny
Manifest
Destiny had its share of promoters. But, rather promote the Doctrine under its real
name, several aliases were used.
If God and mission were the road to
Manifest Destiny, imperialism was the light that lit the way. Between the late
1800 early 1900, the American business man fueled the notion of International
Destiny. This group strongly believed in America extending its
authority over other lands. This authority can be done by either
political, military or economical means. But, no matter what the method,
imperialism was the reason to extend Americas interest beyond the Pacific.
"One
popular way of thinking, however, was to attribute imperialism to a determinism of some sort: the hand of God, the instinct of
race, the laws of Darwinism, the force of Economics and trade - anything but
reasonable decision. Though many Americans deemed willing to surrender to
imperialist policies, few would admit that they did so because they wanted
to" (Blum
536).
As a result of imperialism, the US took control of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico via the Spanish-American War.
Although
there was still an abundant amount of land throughout the world that applied to
the Manifest Destiny ideology, acquiring land on opposite sides of the globe
required new methods. It would not be as easy as building roads and displacing
a few thousand American Indians. Controlling colonial possession thousands of
miles away required a new military commitment. This commitment came by way of a
modern Navy. The US steamed into oversees
expansion when the Federal Government commissioned the building of several
cruisers and battleships between 1883 to 1890. It was
clear to the US that those countries who controlled the seas, controlled their own destiny.
Yellow Journalism served as an influential means to get those
Americans on the cusp, to join the Manifest Destiny movement. Nowhere was
Yellow Journalism more effective then with Cuba's war with Spain. At the time, William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph Politzer were in fierce competition for
readers of their respective newspapers. In an attempt to gain distribution,
they sent correspondents to Cuba to cover the fighting
between Cuba and Spain. The field
journalist's over exaggerations of events, sensationalism reporting and graphic
details of the brutality and atrocities being committed by the Spanish, created
a new form of journalism. It also helped aroused popular sentiment of the
American people. Yellow Journalism coaxed the American public to rally behind Cuba and America's involvement. When president McKinley asked for a
declaration of war against Spain in April 1898, he had
the majority backing of the American public.
Another way to disguise Manifest Destiny was to promote the
philosophy of White Man's Burden. Rodyard Kipling
made this philosophy famous in his poem of the same name. In his poem Kipling
urged the United States to follow in the
footsteps of Great Britain. He stated that, as a
world power, the US had the burden to
help the inferior people of the world adjust to Christianity. He also warned
the United Sates that it would not be an easy task to take on the role of a
world leader but, the rewards will outweigh the trouble. (Demkin Chapter 11). In addition to Kipling influencing
the masses, president McKinley also took up
the notion of White Man's Burden. In defense of America's presence in the Philippines he said, "Duty determines
destiny."
Monroe Doctrine / The Roosevelt Corollary
The greatest promotion for Manifest Destiny came from a passing
reference made by President Monroe in 1822. This
passing reference became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
During one of his political speeches he warned Europe to "Stay out of the Western Hemisphere" (Demkin Chapter 8). This simple statement established
the US as the protector of
all the lands in the Western hemisphere. With the Monroe Doctrine blazed on its
chest, America could expand its
involvement and control in foreign affairs throughout the Western Hemisphere. Manifest Destiny
received an additional promotion when President Theodore Roosevelt
added to the Roosevelt Corollary. In addition to being the military protector
of the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelt wanted the US to be the Business
protector as well. The Roosevelt Corollary stated that even if a country had a
legal contract agreement with a smaller, uncivilized country of the Western Hemisphere, the US could step in and
interrupt that contract if the US thought the deal was
not in the best interest of the smaller countries. This "Iron Fisted
Neighbor" mentality was yet another example of manifest destiny. By the US controlling its
neighboring countries it controlled its own destiny.
To The End Of Time
The phrase
Manifest Destiny was first used by the American journalist and diplomat John
Louis O'Sullivan, in an editorial supporting the annexation of Texas. The phrase appeared
in the July-August 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic
Review. (Encarta)
The phrase was later used by expansionists in all political parties to justify
the acquisition of
California, and the Oregon Territory. By the end of the 19th century the
same phrase was being applied to the proposed annexation of various islands in
the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Manifest Destiny was
what the United States saw when it looked at
Asia and the Far East.
Manifest
Destiny has no end. It is perpetual and everlasting. Without Manifest Destiny
the world would be flat and the earth would be the center of the solar system.
Whether divinely ordained or not, expansion is inevitable and without limit.
Yes, land is a finite commodity...on earth.