Chapter13 Manifest Destiny 1825-1854
What was the popular concept of Manifest Destiny and how did it influence the course
of events in the 1840s? What role did it play in the Great Westward Migration of the era
and the Mexican War?
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In the 1840s the United States acquired nearly 1.5 million square miles of territory and
nearly a quarter of a million people migrated west. In the popular imagination of the
era, the west was a Promised Land of opportunity bound up with a vision of the national
mission--popularly known as Manifest Destiny--as expansionism dominated national
politics and culture. Eventually, three generations of Americans (including thousands of
recent immigrants from Europe) crossed the prairie along the Oregon Trail, following the
North Platte River across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains, and on to Oregon
and California. In 1849, at the height of the California Gold Rush, 50,000 people crossed
in a single year. In all, over 300,000 would make the trek, Eventually the trail was deeply
worn into the landscape and littered with animal carcasses, gravestones, and discarded
cargo. The 2,000-mile journey normally took about six months, but for many it was a
lifetime. Thousands succumbed to the rugged terrain, the harsh elements, hostile Indians
(on rare occasions), or simply human frailty.
Proponents of Manifest Destiny appeared in the press, in Congress, and across the
political landscape. John L. O'Sullivan of the New York Morning News was one of the
most influential spokesmen. Expounding the theory in one of many newspaper essays,
O'Sullivan defended the American claim to disputed territory in Oregon as "by right of our
manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and
federative self government entrusted to us. It is a right such as that of the tree to the
space of air and earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and destiny of
growth--such as that of the stream to the channel required for the still accumulating
volume of its flow." Manifest Destiny meant expansion to America's "natural boundaries"
and the extension of democracy and opportunity. The latter was the social gospel of
Manifest Destiny--the moral duty of the United States to regenerate the "backward"
peoples of the continent: Indians and Mexicans.
Before 1845 most Americans assumed that expansion would be achieved
peacefully. As O'Sullivan wrote, Nothing upon earth...can be farther from the genius and
principles of this Republic than the acquisition of territory by military conquest." These
basic principles of Manifest Destiny--(a) that American settlement would spread
westward naturally and peacefully, and (b) that neighbouring territory would freely join
the union--were put to the test with the election of James K. Polk of Tennessee as
president in 1844. An avowed expansionist, Polk had campaigned on the Democratic
party platform of claiming all of Oregon ("Fifty-four forty or fight") and annexing Texas.
Once elected, Polk forced the issue of the Oregon boundary with Britain, finally settling
for the forty-ninth parallel in 1846. He also helped set in motion a series of events leading
to America's first offensive war.
Texas had proclaimed its independence from Mexico in 1836 and Congress voted to
annex the Texas Republic in 1845. Mexico threatened retaliation and recalled its minister
from Washington. Polk sent a diplomatic envoy to negotiate a settlement by which the
United States would essentially purchase all territory claimed by Mexico north of the Rio
Grande and the Gila River. Polk also ordered General Zachary Taylor, commander of
the United States troops in the Southwest, to take up a defensive position along the Rio
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Grande and prepare for "appropriate action" should hostilities occur. The Mexican
government rebuffed Polk's envoy and Mexican troops crossed the river and attacked a
small squadron of Taylor's forces. War was officially declared two weeks later, as soon as
news of the attack reached Washington. In eighteen hectic months, the United States
won an unbroken string of military victories, eventually occupying California, New
Mexico, and Mexico City. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the United States
acquired all territories formerly held by the Mexican government, including Texas north of
the Rio Grande, New Mexico (including present-day Arizona), Utah (including presentday Nevada), and California, all for $15 million. Annexation of Texas in 1845 was the
"spark that touched off the explosion" but American expansion under the doctrine of
Manifest Destiny was the real cause of the Mexican War.
Approximate Date and Event
1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain; Stephen F. Austin leads American settlers
into Texas
1830
Mexican government tries to restrict immigration into Texas
1835
Mexican effort to suppress Texas independence leads to the Battle of the Alamo
1836 Texas Republic established after defeat of Santa Anna at the San Jacinto River;
Sam Houston (former governor of Tennessee) chosen president of the Republic of Texas
1841 President Harrison dies shortly after inauguration; John Tyler becomes president-tries to negotiate annexation of Texas
1844 Mass migration to Oregon; James K. Polk elected president ("Fifty-four Forty or
Fight")
1845
Annexation of Texas into the Union; phrase "Manifest Destiny" popularized
1846
War with Mexico declared; Oregon treaty settles boundary dispute with British
1848 War with Mexico concluded; Taylor elected president; Gold discovered in
California
1850
California admitted into the Union
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