MANIFEST DESTINY

From the Atlantic to the Pacific

MANIFEST DESTINY

In the 1840s, many Americans

believed in Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was the belief that it

was the nation’s destiny to expand from

the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast

THE WILL OF GOD

The term “Manifest Destiny” was

coined by a New York Editor, John L.

O’Sullivan

He suggested that it was the will of

God or a divine sort of destiny that the

nation should encompass all that land

WESTWARD EXPANSION

Of course, the Louisiana Purchase

made Manifest Destiny possible

From France, Jefferson – the usually

strict constructionist – gained the Great

Plains, the Mississippi River, and the

port of New Orleans

LEWIS, CLARK, SACAGAWEA

And the maps of the Louisiana

Territory produced as a result of

Lewis and Clark’s expedition with the

help of Sacagawea made it easier for

Americans to venture west

OTHER FACTORS

Americans also settled in Texas

Initially with the blessings of the

Mexican government if they

converted to Catholicism and

pledged loyalty to Mexico

TEXAS INDEPENDENCE

Eventually, the American settlers

declared independence from Mexico

and fought the Mexican government

First at the Alamo, a former mission,

where many Americans were killed

ANNEXATION

But over time and with more

battles, Texans achieved

independence

And by 1845, Congress voted to

annex Texas

JUST A LITTLE MORE LAND

The Americans wanted the border

between Mexico and the USA to be

at the Rio Grande

But the Mexican government

believed the border was the Nueces

River

THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR

1846 – 1848

Mexico was defeated

The United States gained California, Nevada,

Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New

Mexico

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE

In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico

completed U.S. expansion in the southwest

THE OREGON TERRITORY

In an agreement with Great Britain in 1846,

the line dividing Canada and the United States

was extended westward to the Pacific, giving

the U.S. part of the Oregon Territory

“FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT”

Before the U.S. gained the Oregon Territory,

Americans wanted the line of latitude for this

territory to be the 54°40′ line of latitude

Thus, the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight”

but then settled on the 49th parallel

PRESIDENT POLK

President Polk is the President associated

with Manifest Destiny

He was president from 1845 – 1849

THE GOLD RUSH

Gold was also discovered in California in

1848

By 1849, Americans rushed westward in

hopes of finding gold in California

THE DECLINE OF THE PLAINS INDIANS

As Americans moved west, they confronted

Native American Indians

Indian Wars ensued

Eventually, Native American Indians were

placed on reservations

THE END OF A WAY OF LIFE

As buffalo were killed for sport by American

settlers, the very way of life of the Plains

Indians was destroyed

NOW THAT THE BUFFALO ARE GONE

For the Native American Indians, westward

expansion and Manifest Destiny meant the end

of their way of life and of their freedom

ALASKA

And although it was not Atlantic to Pacific

related, the United States also acquired Alaska

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska

from Russia for $7.2 million

THE RAILROAD TOO

The railroad also encouraged westward

expansion

As a transcontinental railroad was built with

often free federal land, Americans could more

easily move west