Manifest_Destiny

Sam White Manifest Destiny From the time of the Puritans, Americans considered the U.S. to be a country with a divine mission. By the beginning of the 19th century, many began to express that it was “God’s Plan” to have America expand westward, past the Mississippi River, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. In the year 1845, John O’Sullivan, a Democratic newspaperman wrote that the most crucial requirement for our country was “the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” It was this mindset of many Americans, which acted as the foundation of foreign and domestic conflict and controversy in America for over 30 years. Ideologies such as the “Oregon Fever” and events such as the presidential election of 1844, the annexations of Texas and California, the Mexican-American War and the compromise of 1850 all played a significant role in the expansion of America. By the 1830s, many Americans had begun to make the 6 month, 2,000 mile long trip along the Oregon Trail, ultimately crossing into the Oregon Territory. “Manifest Destiny”, which was the God-given right to migrate to the western territories, was used as justification and the main purpose for Americans traveling west. The mild climate and the possibility of fur trading enticed settlers of the Ohio Valley and gave many the “Oregon Fever” by the year 1842. The Native Americans of the Oregon region were sought out as well by missionaries in order to be Christianized. At the time, a section of Oregon was in the possession of the British, the other in the possession of America. “Fifty-four Forty or Fight”, which refers to the latitude coordinate of the desired boundary by many expansionists, became the slogan for those who wanted all of Oregon to be under American control, including James Polk. In the year of 1846, the expansionists obtained a majority of what they wanted through the signing of the Oregon Treaty, which set the British North American border at the 49th parallel. The Presidential election of 1844 proved to be very close, however Democratic candidate, James Polk, succeeded over Whig Candidate, Henry Clay. Polk and his supporters supported the idea of expanding America westward; deep into Canadian Territory and annexing the territories of what are now New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Once Polk was sworn into office he realized that America would not be able to and could not afford to fight 2 territorial wars. Therefore, he negotiated a more reasonable American-Canadian border and through the Oregon treaty, he gained what are now Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. When Polk gained these new western territories Americans saw this as an opportunity to start over and develop completely different lives. As a result, Americans traveling west fought off many Natives and anything else that may have prevented them in fulfilling “Manifest Destiny”. Following his success in the Northwest, Polk then concentrated his efforts on gaining land in the Southwest region. Upon failing to buy the region, Polk provoked Mexico, which was still furious about the annexation of Texas, until it attacked American troops. Polk then used the attack to declare war on Mexico, which marked the beginning of the Mexican-American war. Despite the fact that Polk was attempting to gain new territory, the Mexican-American war did not have support throughout the entire country. Abolitionists, primarily from the North, were concerned that any new states gained in the West would enter the union as slave states, which would ultimately tip the balance in Congress, especially the Senate. Opponents of the war eventually began to argue that Polk had declared war at the request of powerful southern slaveholders, who were referred to as the “Slave Power” by the abolitionists. The defeat of the Wilmot Proviso (1846), which was a Congressional bill that prohibited the expansion of slavery into territories gained from Mexico, reinforced suspicions raised by the gag rule in 1836 of Slave Power. The gag rule was enacted by Congress, essentially to suppress Congressional debate over slavery when discussion over the issue became too heated. The defeat of the proviso ultimately led to the forming of the Free-Soil Party, which drew most of it’s support from the state of New York, was a single-issue party that devoted itself to the goals of the Wilmot Proviso. Southerners, on the other hand, believed that there should be no federal restrictions on the expansion of slavery into newly gained territories. As a result, the two sides rapidly grew further and further apart. As the Mexican-American war reached its final stages, Polk ordered troops to pass into the southwest, following America’s success in Texas and planned to obtain the entire region by the end of the war. After U.S. troops invaded Mexico City, the War finally came to a close. As a result, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and Mexico sold the territories of what are now Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Utah to America for $15 million. These new territories proved to greatly increase the Union’s potential wealth, especially with the discovery of gold found at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. This famous discovery sparked the Gold Rush, which was the migration of people from all over the world, especially the U.S., traveling to California seeking large quantities of gold. As a result of so many people traveling to California in such a short period of time, the territory was able to apply for statehood within a year of the discovery of gold. Much debate over the annexation of California led to much controversy regarding the effects that a free state would have on the balance within the senate. From this controversy, the concept of popular sovereignty was introduced. This meant that the territories applying for statehood would decide, by vote, whether or not they would enter the Union as slave states or free states. In an attempt to put this controversy to rest, Democrat, Stephen Douglas and Whig, Henry Clay, wrote the Compromise of 1850. This solution stated that California would enter the Union as a free state, it enacted a stronger federal fugitive slave law and it established the territories of Utah and New Mexico. However, the compromise did leave the status of slavery up to each territory to decide, which would ultimately reinforce the concept of popular sovereignty. In conclusion, concepts like the “Oregon Fever” and events such as the presidential election of 1844, the annexations of Texas and California, the Mexican-American War and the compromise of 1850 all were key factors of westward expansion. The land gained during this time can be argued to be one of the main causes of the Civil War years later, however, the land is ultimately what defines America today.