Manifest Destiny facts for kids
Manifest Destiny was the idea that the United States had a God-given right to take over every part of North America. The phrase "Manifest Destiny" was created in 1845 by a newspaper writer named John L. O'Sullivan. Quickly, the idea became very popular.
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Definition
The idea of Manifest Destiny told Americans that they had a mission – a special job given only to Americans. This mission was to make the United States bigger so the "borders of freedom" could be open to even more people. Only they could make sure that people living in un-free countries across the world could learn how to govern themselves and live freely in America.
Use by President James Polk
In 1845, James K. Polk was elected President. Polk believed very strongly in the idea of Manifest Destiny. During his Presidency, the United States grew by a million square miles.
The Mexican-American War
Ever since he was running for President, Polk had talked about wanting the area that is now around Texas. At that time, Mexico controlled that land.
In June 1845, the United States decided to add Texas to the United States. President Polk sent the United States military to take over the area. The two sides fought for two years. Finally, Mexico surrendered. On February 2, 1848, it signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war. It also gave the United States all of the land above the Rio Grande. This meant the United States had gained all of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico; parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado; and northern California.
A belief in Manifest Destiny helped convince Americans to support the war. It told them it was all right to fight, kill, and take land from Mexicans or other non-Americans. This was all right because they were only doing what God wanted. They were doing what they were destined to do.
Settlement of the west
The belief in Manifest Destiny was also important in encouraging people to go to other parts of the west, like Oregon and southern California.
Growth of the country
Of course, there were many other reasons, besides Manifest Destiny, that people wanted the United States to grow. More and more people were coming to America, especially to the cities, which were getting crowded. People wanted land of their own, instead of having to work for other people. The more land a person had, the more money they could make. If a person had their own land, they were working for themselves, and they were free.
If was a mixture of all these things, and many more, along with Manifest Destiny that caused the United States to grow this quickly in just 40 years:
- Hover over each photo to view its label. Click on the picture to make it bigger.
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Map of the United States in 1840 (before "Manifest Destiny")
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The United States in 1850, after winning the Mexican-American War
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The United States in 1860
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The United States in 1870
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The United States 35 years after "Manifest Destiny"
Problems
The United States was very determined to take control of all of North America. Unfortunately, the parts of North America they wanted were not empty. They were places that Native Americans had always lived.
The United States government wanted these tribes to move outside the United States, to what is now Oklahoma. The government was able to convince some of these Native American tribes to sign treaties saying they would leave their lands.
When some tribes refused to leave their lands, the United States government committed an ethnic cleansing against them. In an ethnic cleansing, ethnic or religious groups are forced to leave an area by a more powerful ethnic group. When the Cherokee Nation refused to leave their homes, United States President Martin van Buren ordered the military to make them leave.
About 15,000 Cherokee were forced to walk to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Most historians think that about 4,000 of them died on the way. This was one out of every four people in the Cherokee population. Because so many people died, this forced migration is now called the Trail of Tears, and it is considered an ethnic cleansing.
Images for kids
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American Progress (1872) by John Gast is an allegorical representation of the modernization of the new west. Columbia, a personification of the United States, is shown leading civilization westward with the American settlers. She is shown bringing light from east to west, stringing telegraph wire, holding a book, and highlighting different stages of economic activity and evolving forms of transportation.
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John L. O'Sullivan, sketched in 1874, was an influential columnist as a young man, but he is now generally remembered only for his use of the phrase "manifest destiny" to advocate the annexation of Texas and Oregon.
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A New Map of Texas, Oregon, and California, Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1846
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John Quincy Adams, painted above in 1816 by Charles Robert Leslie, was an early proponent of continentalism. Late in life he came to regret his role in helping U.S. slavery to expand, and became a leading opponent of the annexation of Texas.
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The first Fort Laramie as it looked prior to 1840. Painting from memory by Alfred Jacob Miller.
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American westward expansion is idealized in Emanuel Leutze's famous painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (1861). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of manifest destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. (more)
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American occupation of Mexico City in 1847
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Filibuster William Walker, who launched several expeditions to Mexico and Central America, ruled Nicaragua, and was captured by the Royal Navy before being executed in Honduras by the Honduran government.
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Across The Continent, an 1868 lithograph illustrating the westward expansion of white settlers
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Newspaper reporting the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii in 1898
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A cartoon of Uncle Sam seated in restaurant looking at the bill of fare containing "Cuba steak", "Porto Rico pig", the "Philippine Islands" and the "Sandwich Islands" (Hawaii)
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The U.S.'s intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903.
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See also
In Spanish: Doctrina del destino manifiesto para niños
