Introduction
When European settlers started arriving at New England’s newly-discovered lands, many claimed that the new nation had a unique divine purpose. This vision was called Manifest Destiny, which appeared in the 1840s, resulting in the United States’ territorial expansion and desire to dominate the geopolitical arena (Petrelli 2). In fact, the U.S.’s win over the British Empire only confirmed this mindset, proving that this new country was created with the help of God (Greenberg 5). Furthermore, it was used to displace Native Americans from their lands and send them to reservations (Greenberg 3). Manifest Destiny received extensive support from the southern states, where the majority of slaveholders, the primary proponents of this worldview, were concentrated. This paper aims to review the three original documents used in Greenberg’s book to evaluate the extent of Manifest Destiny in American society of that time. The widespread belief in God’s purpose prevented the federal government from seeing that migration or expansion may lessen the country’s chances to stay unified; still, it allowed the U.S. to become the world leader.
Documents
The first document that will be reviewed in this paper is President Thomas Jefferson’s second inaugural message about the land purchase. Jefferson bought Louisiana from France for $15 million even though he lacked the constitutional right to purchase territories on behalf of the entire country (Greenberg 55). Therefore, this act was met with criticism because many government officials were concerned about the negative impact of the country’s expansion on the unity of the United States (Greenberg 56). Indeed, his argument against the critics was the ideology of Manifest Destiny and the U.S.’s divine purpose (Greenberg 55). In fact, one of the goals was to enlighten the indigenous population of the newly-purchased land, make them settle, and change their lifestyles to ones similar to white people.
The second document presented in the textbook is Tecumseh’s appeal to the Osages. This appeal was obtained from John Dunn Hunter’s Book of Indians (Greenberg 57). The speech of one of the most prominent warriors and diplomats of Shawnee was translated into the English language. Tecumseh traveled from one village to another in 1811-1812 to ask for military help from various Indian tribes to stand against white aggressors (Greenberg 57). He called people in these villages “brothers” because they all belonged to the same ethnicity and were oppressed by American forces (Greenberg 58). Notably, he addressed the acute problems common to all of them, using short sentences, strong statements, and assurance that the Great Spirit would help them win (Greenberg 59). This mindset was similar to Manifest Destiny, in some respect, but from the perspective of Native Americans.
The third document presented in the textbook is Lyman Beecher’s A Plea for the West. One of the main justifications for territorial expansion and Manifest Destiny’s ideology was that white settlers considered themselves the missioners of the enlightenment for the indigenous population (Greenberg 71). Beecher was one of the protestant ministers who wanted to limit Catholic immigration to the U.S. (Greenberg 71). Therefore, he claimed that Protestants should occupy the Western part of the continent to reduce the influence of Europe on the United States.
The main concern of many people about territorial expansion was that it might affect the country’s unity and reduce the chances for the United States to last. In fact, the second document, presenting the appeal to Indian tribes, raised the issue of the survival of both conflicting parties (Greenberg 59). The first and third sources referred to Manifest Destiny when justifying land acquisition with the divine purpose. These two documents did consider the slight possibility of losing unity between the states, but their arguments for a greater goal for the United States seemed to overshadow this risk. It appeared that the politicians’ main objective was to increase the U.S. territory to make it a more influential and potentially leading nation in the global arena in the future. Indeed, this aim was in alignment with the ideology of Manifest Destiny about God’s support and blessing for the United States to form, become independent, and dominate. Overall, this ideology supported the view of white people’s superiority, which justified the aggression against neighboring states to annex territories from them.
Conclusion
In summary, the idea of the special purpose of the American nation gave its leaders an incentive to expand the country’s territory in various ways. Manifest Destiny doctrine also claimed that white settlers should bring enlightenment to the indigenous people living in wild prairies. However, the primary concern of many officials was that the expansion could weaken the unity between the states, making the U.S. unlikely to survive. The immediate counterargument to these statements was the divine purpose of the country, particularly highlighted in the first and second documents revised in this essay. Lastly, the third historical document, containing the translated speech of the Indian diplomat and warrior, focused on the survival of only one of the nations in this war for lands. Still, the subtext of Tecumseh’s messages was similar to Manifest Destiny’s ideology.
Works Cited
Greenberg, Amy S. Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion: A Brief History with Documents. Macmillan Higher Education, 2017.
Petrelli, Marco. “Manifest Destiny: The American West as a Map of the Unconscious.” Between, vol. 8, no. 15, 2018, pp. 1-22.