Manifest Destiny Justified?

Do you think that Manifest Destiny was justified? (Read description if you don't know what Manifest

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 63.2%

  • No

    Votes: 6 31.6%

  • I don't know, other

    Votes: 1 5.3%
  • Total voters
    19
Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller

Active member
What is Manifest Destiny​

Manifest Destiny was a belief supposedly by god that the Americans had to acquire land from sea to shining sea (taking land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean). In the early 19th, the United States was in a stage of acquire large amounts of land. After winning their independence from the British, the United States went on to continue their land grabs.

List of land gained by the United States​

  1. Louisiana Purchase (1803): The United States bought around 827,000 square miles of land from the French for $15,000,000 (not adjusted for inflation). Doubling the size of the United States.
  2. Florida Annexation (1819): When run away slaves escaped from Georgia to Florida (at the time was controlled by Spain), the US sent in federal forces to annex Florida.
  3. Texas Annexation (1845): After declaring their independence from Mexico, the Union (United States) agreed to allow Texas become part of the United States.
  4. Oregon Treaty (1846): A deal between the United States and Canada that agreed to split the territory of Oregon (at the time was controlled by both the United States and Canada) at the 49th parallel. This would give the United States land where Washington (state), Oregon, Idaho, parts of Montana, and parts of Wyoming are today.
  5. Mexican Cession (1848): War was declared by the United States on Mexico after Mexican forces attacked American forces stationed in Mexico. Land was gained where California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Wyoming, parts of Colorado, parts of New Mexico, and parts of Arizona are today.
  6. Gadsden Purchase (1853): The United States wanted to connect cities in the south by railroad. The only problem was that there were mountains in the way. So the United States bought land from Mexico for $10,000,000 (not adjusted for inflation) where the United States would build railroads around the Rocky Mountains.
(Of course there are other events of the United States acquiring land related to Manifest Destiny, these are just the most iconic ones)

Argument​

One of the main reasons as to why the United States wanted to acquire land from the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific was because of the resources available throughout North America. Not to mention after the US bought Louisiana from the French, the United States would be able to control the Mississippi river (which at the time was important for transporting Americans from the east coast to the Mississippi as it was hard to cross the Appalachian Mountains). Another argument as to why Manifest Destiny was justified because it would give the United States ports on the Pacific Ocean, thus strengthening their navy.

However, on the counter argument, there are reasons as to why people would think that Manifest Destiny wasn't justified. One of it was that in order for the United States to acquire land, they'd have to take it from someone. By someone, we mean taking land from the Spanish, Mexicans, and most importantly, the Native Americans already living there. The way the United States treated Native Americans was brutal as they would often take their land by force as seen with many engagements with the Native Americans and the United States. Another reason why people wouldn't think that Manifest Destiny wasn't justified was because People who believed in American exceptionalism thought we were inherently superior to the other colonial powers and to the indigenous peoples.

There are of course many arguments as to why people would think Manifest Destiny was or wasn't justified. These are just a couple reasons for each side. What do you think?

 
IMO, "Manifest Destiny was just the CB for the US government to steal land from those who rightfully owned and maintained it.

 
manifest destiny was and is a load of horseshit that was invented so that the united states can pretend it is any different than any other imperial colonizing power

i mean the cat is out of the bag and has had three hundred million kittens and I'm one of them but no, the colonizer had no right to establish anything beyond trading posts to interact with the native americans. the principle that entire races of people don't deserve sovereignty/self-determination is obviously incorrect, and there's no way to justify it, so really this is a discussion about raw imperialism, and manifest destiny is only a smoke screen that allows the united states to act as though it is somehow the only world power in history that wasn't built through imperialist behavior

 
Chief Savage Man said:
manifest destiny was and is a load of horseshit that was invented so that the united states can pretend it is any different than any other imperial colonizing power

i mean the cat is out of the bag and has had three hundred million kittens and I'm one of them but no, the colonizer had no right to establish anything beyond trading posts to interact with the native americans. the principle that entire races of people don't deserve sovereignty/self-determination is obviously incorrect, and there's no way to justify it, so really this is a discussion about raw imperialism, and manifest destiny is only a smoke screen that allows the united states to act as though it is somehow the only world power in history that wasn't built through imperialist behavior
Click to expand...
This.

 
It's hard to justify that the native americans owned the land just because they were there first. The American imperialists had superior technology, planned to do something with it, and had the right to conquest. It turned out to be the best move for the rest of the world as well - we probably wouldn't have the Internet yet if they didn't do it.

If aliens decided to colonize Earth one day but modernized it by a few centuries, I wouldn't really oppose it.

 
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