Manifest Destiny
"Go West, young man, and grow up with the country."
-- Newspaper editor
Horace Greeley, 1851
Electronic Resources—Internet
The internet has tons of information about nearly every subject. Be smart about gathering
information from worthwhile sites. Who created the site? Does that person know enough on the
subject to be an authority? Is the site up-to-date? Is the information on the site objective, or
was it selected to sway your opinion? Sometimes it is hard to tell. Here are a few sites to get you
started as you study manifest destiny and westward expansion.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/expansion.htm
Westward Expansion and Regional Differences
 Best site!
This site gives a good secondary source overview of the roots leading to westward expansion along
with tying in how women’s issues, slavery, social reform, and international relations all contribute.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=52 Manifest Destiny
The term ‘Manifest Destiny’ was coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845 in order to give westward
expansion by the US a divine mandate. Read an excerpt of O’Sullivan’s original essay as well as a
concise explanation of its significance at the Digital History site.
http://www.nps.gov/cali/parkmgmt/images/amprogress.jpg American Progress
Click on this link from the US National Park Service to see a bigger version of John Gast’s 1872
painting above.
http://www.assumption.edu/users/lknoles/pioneros.jpg
Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way
Emanuel Leutze's famous 1861 painting is another example of art depicting US westward expansion.
From Assumption College
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html
U.S.—Mexican War
PBS does en excellent job of exploring a war that played a large role in our land quest as a nation as
well as set the stage for the Civil War. While American history books call it the Mexican War,
Mexicans know it as the U.S. Invasion of Mexico.
Electronic Resources—Databases
Did you know you can read newspapers, magazines, and many reference books online? If you
can perform a decent Google search, you can manage this. Databases give you access to thousands
upon thousands of resources you can’t get on the free internet. Give them a try.
1. www.sailsinc.org
You need to login to access databases. Please see Ms. Love or Mrs. Tucker
for your own library card (required to request materials from other libraries or access your
account) if you don’t already have it. Otherwise, use the following number.
User ID: 22870010024669
Pin: 9999 (This pin works for your card, too.)
2. Click on “online resources” in the blue bar at the top of the page.
3. Click “online magazines & research tools” in the middle of the page.
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Okay, now you’re facing a list of forty-something databases and eBooks. Where you go now depends
on what kind of information you seek. Here are some suggestions for finding primary and secondary
sources on westward expansion.
Biography Resource Center. This is absolutely the best source for biographical information,
because it provides access to a body of thousands of print sources that one small library couldn’t
possibly own.
.
Infotrac Student Edition—Designed for high school students, Infotrac is a good first choice for
hundreds of popular magazines, encyclopedias, and other reference sources.
General Reference Center Gold—A general interest database containing articles from magazines,
reference books, and newspapers. Find the latest current events, popular culture, the arts and
sciences, sports, hobbies, and more.
Expanded Academic ASAP—From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and
technology, this database meets scholarly research needs across all academic disciplines
Helpful hints
--Next to the search box, select “only documents with full-text”. You may have to
choose advanced search to get to this option.
--Many articles can be emailed to your home computer
--Look for a print option that reformats and uses less paper.
East Bridgewater High School Library
Links working as of September 11, 2008