To balance the problem the north created and made Maine a free state, as Missouri had become slave. The Missouri compromise did ease tension at the time but the question had been asked about if slavery was right or wrong and the balance would have to be constantly equal to stop tension and conflict in the future. Westward expansion was also a great area of concern, Democrat James Polk was very committed to the idea, he wanted to annex California and New Mexico from Mexico and let the Americans settle there. He believed it was ‘manifest destiny’ to control the whole continent. The idea of westward expansion was a good one because it would enable people to live in more room and to grow the population, however many northerners merely saw the idea of westward expansion to spread slavery.
Mexican-American War is a big event in the 19th century, in which the concept of Manifest Destiny was related with war. The Mexican-American War was not only for increased territory, but also a symbol of America's racial misunderstanding. Some White people have the superiority with themselves. [1] They took Mexican people’s land as Manifest Destiny, above all moral and law. Many Americans believe that God give them the power and duty to expand territory, strengthen the United States.
This mission included not only gaining land but also pushing forward the freedoms of mankind. O. Sullivan and Democrats alike supported this sentiment because their political belief was to annex land as soon as possible. Although this idea was popular among many, this popularity was not unanimous throughout the nation. For example, in a letter to one of the most influential Whigs, Henry Clay, William Channing wrote that America is a restless nation whose only goal is to boast about national growth and expansion. This is significant because it demonstrates how double-sided the issue really was, and showcases the negative aspect of Manifest Destiny, mainly restlessness and greed.
On the other hand, the anti-imperialists argued that it went against our American democracy and was harmful to the territories we were trying to acquire and our country itself. Even though they had a major difference, they had one similarity in that they both wanted the country to progress and become more successful through overseas expansion, just not using imperialismto justify it. Imperialist thought it was their duty to take over the smaller countries in order to save them from themselves because they were not fit for self government. Behind the imperialists were a plethora of people and they all supported it for multiple reasons. Blacks at the time liked the idea because it gave them an opportunity to serve their country and have perfect unity with the whites as well as patriotic unity for themselves (doc1).
They were like children and would not survive by themselves. When President Lincoln was elected into power in 1860 as promised South Carolina seceded from the United States of America, they felt that Lincoln would try and abolish slavery completely and felt that although he did not preach to abolish slavery trying to stop it spreading was just another way of expressing his views. However this was far from correct as although yes Lincoln did want to stop spreading slavery across the USA he realised that abolishing completely in the short term was just unrealistic and lead to further divide of the USA, nevertheless it was possible that no one was surprised when the radical state of South Carolina seceded from the USA. Carolina had always been a trouble state and this was not the first rift that they had with the Federal Government, however perhaps the more surprising issue was when fellow southern states followed suit and not long after 6 other southern states seceded. This consequently led to the battle of Fort Sumner and what was described by many as the start of the Civil War.
Manifest Destiny reflected both the prides that characterized American Nationalism in the mid-19th century, and the idealistic vision of social perfection through God and the church. Individually, the components created separate reasons to conquer new land. Together they exemplified America’s ideological need to dominate from pole to pole. `While some were driven by what they considered God's will, others saw Manifest Destiny as the American domination of North America from sea to sea. It was the way to extend American liberty to new areas.
Each party has their own beliefs on why or why not these documents should or should not be passed and what power is justified. It is these different ideas which helped shape the future of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists, such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, were against ratification of the Constitution. They believed that the closer the government was to the people, the easier it was for the people to keep it in check and making it harder for the government to become tyrannical. Anti-Federalist tried to appeal to western settlers with ideas of voting right to everyone and not just rich land holders.
I believe that Jefferson contributions to the country are greater than his character flaws and I also believe that no good can come from revealing them. He was the founder of our country and also helped shaped the country so we can be where we are right now. Regarding slavery, I believe that Jefferson knew it was wrong but maybe he didn’t know what to do about it at the time, He didn’t have enough power to stop it so he had to live with it knowing it was wrong and immoral, and He also proposed a bill to stop slavery but it was not approved. Thomas Jefferson is the author of the Declaration of American independence. That is how is written on his tombstone and it should be remember that way, like a hero.
American Movements As the living expenses and populations increase in Eastern colonies, it foreshadow some colonist will soon move to new land. However at that period colonist seem lacks of motivation, therefore, Manifest Destiny was introduced to set up an atmosphere to convince the colonist in order to survive they must immigrate to the west. The movement will take advantages of Mexico. As United States obtain enormous amount of land from the Mexico cession, yet the lands only beneficiate to United States colonist who explores into the Western hemisphere. In the same way, it is true that Manifest Destiny was an aggressive inspiration pursed at the expense of others.
Andrew Jackson, who had first spoken of "extending the area of freedom", typified the conflation of America's greatness, the nation's budding sense of Romantic self-identity and expansion. To some 19th‑century Americans his presence rested upon the "whole territory" from the valleys of Oregon to the frontier of the Rio Grande. Yet Jackson would not be the only President to elaborate on the principles underlying Manifest destiny. Owing in part to the lack of a definitive narrative outlining its rationale, proponents offered divergent or seemingly conflicting viewpoints. While many writers focused primarily upon American expansionism, be it into Mexico or across the Pacific, others saw the term as a call to example.