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Page history last edited by Jackson Smolinski 9 years, 3 months ago

 

Manifest Destiny - Shaping America's Culture and Borders

By: Jackson Smolinski

 

 

Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, Emanuel Leutze, 1861

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westward_the_Course_of_Empire_Takes_Its_Way

 

 

 

Introduction

 

     Although the term "Manifest Destiny" was not coined until 1845 by the American columnist John O'Sullivan, and it never had a uniform definition, it was born from ideas responsible for the US's settling of new lands long before it became a nation. The essential feature of Manifest Destiny is that American individuals had a God-given right to spread the US Republic from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean, dominating all other people and nations in their way. Used as the means to the US's conquest of its current territory, Manifest Destiny was influential in the culture of American pioneers on the frontier and remained the most important force driving the westward expansion of America throughout its history. Manifest Destiny justified the aggressive expansion of the US's "Model Republic," which Americans believed brought christianity to a heathen land, civilization to savage peoples, hierarchy to the wild, and progress to a backwards country. O'Sullivan claimed this pioneering of the frontier to make it American from East to West was, "the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us." (Annexation, pg.6). In this wiki I will demonstrate how history has shown us that Manifest Destiny not only contributed to the American West by constructing its borders and influencing its nation's decisions, but it defined the culture of the people who were forming those borders, subsequently affecting the way we study the West and view ourselves as a people today.

 

 

Genesis

 

     In 1630, before there was even an inkling of an idea for the United States of America, John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony presented his settlers voyage as a mission from God to start a new commonwealth to be the model for all others. He created a sense of destiny amongst the colonial ancestors of America by interpreting the development of this new nation as a right and duty given by providence. If they were successful in their covenant with God, then "we shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when tens of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies, when he shall make us a praise and a glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations: the lord make it like New England, for we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people upon us." (Winthrop, p.1). This is a belief that would be passed down from generation to generation, slowly forming the framework for American westward expansion. Winthrop also originated the idea of American Exceptionalism most aptly defined by Frederick Jackson Turner, who believed that frontier allowed for the development of this "superior" nation because it created a rugged self-individualism amongst the American pioneers who when settling the west were freed from non-democratic European ideas such as aristocracy, established religion, and archaic traditions. (Turner, pg.293) 

     Contributing further to this belief of American Exceptionalism, were the writings of John Locke in his second treatise on government. The main takeaway for Americans was the idea that improving the land made it your property, but this idea of "worked" land represented more than just a physical aspect. As Locke writes, “God, when he gave the world in common to all mankind, commanded man…to subdue the earth,” it is obvious that settlers in America thought from the beginning that inherently connected with the development of this new republic was their God-given right to work the open earth, as if fallow land were a sin. (sec.32).  Furthermore, Americans justified their westward expansion through Locke's writings on ownership, “It (the land) being by him removed from the common state nature hath placed it in…for this labour being the unquestionable property of the labourer, no man but he can have what that is.” (sec.27). This idea created a large divide between the US and European nations because in Europe the land was overwhelmingly owned by Aristocrats who charged incredibly high prices to tenants to lease it; however, in this American society ownership of property could be any mans' who was willing to move out to the frontier and add value to the land by working it. From these two concepts, American Exceptionalism and Providence, spawn the characteristics of Manifest Destiny that we see define the history of the American West: the struggle of civilization against savagery, christianity against heathenism, progress against primitivism, and order against chaos. 

 

      

 

Declaration of Independence, John Trumbull, 1817

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence_(Trumbull)

 

 

A Cornerstone of America

 

     These crucial factors contributing to America's formation of Manifest Destiny were first preserved by many of America's founding fathers, and were embedded in the first works of the US government and revolutionaries. The American peoples' desire to separate themselves from Great Britain used European political thought to justify revolution against tyranny. The roots of Manifest Destiny are evident here through the words of Thomas Paine who wrote, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand." (Common Sense).  Besides just the obvious religious roots, The popularity of Paine's pamphlet with the public demonstrates how Americans truly believed they were destined to build a new republic that would be the shining symbol of democracy and liberty throughout the world. Furthermore, in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson calls for the new government to protect the three inalienable rights of its people that are God ordained; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (a substitute for Locke's word "property"). (Preamble).  Although the Declaration of Independence didn't enact any laws that had a direct effect on the establishment of the US as a nation, it served as an ideological premise of what the American people had that no one else did. It was what set them apart as a nation and gave them a sense of what would later be called American Exceptionalism.

     The thoughts of Locke are additionally seen in the origins of American government in the Northwest Ordinance. Largely the brainwork of Thomas Jefferson and passed in 1787 by Congress, this piece of legislation established the framework for the US western lands to become states. The key concept being that ownership and use of the property would be the basis for westward expansion. This exemplifies the importance placed by Americans on Locke's ideas. They deeply believed that bringing value to the fallow earth that God granted them which made it their's and brought progress to the land. This created the idea that it was the yeoman farmers who by moving out to the frontier to better themselves would be the ones advancing civilization, and the US Model Republic would soon follow.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Log-House, Georges-Henri-Victor Collot, 1796                                                                         Jefferson-Hartley Map, 1784

http://publications.newberry.org/frontiertoheartland/items/show/108                                         http://cibernautajoan.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Early Exploration

 

     In the beginning, pioneer life was the staple westward expansion. The picture of the Log Cabin above on the left serves to show the ideal view of the pioneer. The cabin is polarized with the dark wilderness, symbolizing that pioneer life on the frontier was the meeting point between civilization and savagery. By working the land he did not only improve his own lot in life, but he was the symbol of the progress and rugged self-individualism that was characteristic of the "model republic." Frontier pioneers also exemplified the true difference between American democracy and their European counterparts. Frederick Jackson Turner argues that "American Democracy...came out of the American forest, and it gained new strength each time it touched a new frontier," (time being every opportunity Americans seized to move further West). (pg.297).  The Jefferson-Hartley Map pictured above on the right demonstrates Jefferson's vision for the extension of America westward, even before he knew what was actually out there. Although the Americans didn't technically own this land at all, after seeing a physical image of what their nation could look like the people would obviously have a much greater belief in the ability and right of claiming it. This land would more than double in 1803 with Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase to free up most of the lands west of the Mississippi. Coupled with the first legends such as Daniel Boone, these pictures served to promote the idea of Manifest Destiny becoming a reality as America began to move westward.

      Daniel Boone was the first real American explorer. He was the first living celebrity of the West, an individual who hunted animals, fought indians, and survived on the frontier. Cultural productions about Boone at the time such as the poem, "The Mountain Muse," as well as his own memories preserved in John Filson's work, "The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke," published in 1784 served to popularize the frontier life. The image he conveyed was proof to the rest of America of the happiness and adventure to be found on the frontier. The painting of Boone below even seems to have multiple biblical references showing America's religious roots in westward expansion. As Joseph led Mary out of Egypt to Bethlehem to give birth to the Savior, Boone seems to be leading another Mary, who represents the American people from the darkness into the light, to the place where America will be born again. The America nation formed on this frontier will be the guardian of liberty and democracy for all other republics in the world.

 

      

 

Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap, George Caleb Bingham, 1851

http://www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu/collection/explore/artwork/193

 

 

Native Americans

 

     By examining the relationships of American settlers and the US government with Indians, a clear image is constructed of how exactly the ideas of Manifest Destiny affected Americans. There are many sources that reveal how the Americans truly thought that Indians were a savage race who were simply barriers to their expansion. Firstly, the Declaration of Independence, one of the US's most treasured statement of beliefs, especially at the time, states that King George was inciting the "merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions." (Indictment). Furthermore, the newspaper picture below shows firsthand the popular descriptions that the American people saw of Indians. Consequently, even though all Americans weren't pioneers dealing with the Indians firsthand, the nation developed a popular opinion that Indians had no place in the America that was progressing forward. Only force could fight those who indiscriminately slaughtered wounded prisoners and were responsible for atrocities presented as "a scene of bloodshed rarely paralleled in modern history." (The Savage Tomahawk).  

     The key concept fueling this hate and distrust of the Indians stemmed from the same ideas that gave rise to Manifest Destiny. Going back to the ideas of John Locke, it was embedded in American ideology that Americans had Providence to work the land. This was how they would create property for themselves and advance the borders of American civilization. The Americans saw the Indians as uncivilized because instead of settling down into communities and working the land like civilized people were supposed to, the Indians ran around hunting animals and worshipping heathen spirits. Furthermore, the Americans couldn't discern any clear hierarchy governing the tribes. These were fundamental misunderstandings between the Americans and Natives that resulted in American settlers exercising their "God-ordained right" to claim any lands as their own because they weren't being used. (Locke, sec.34). Additionally the US government employed many tactics to take the land because they believed in American Exceptionalism and the need to bring progress, civilization, and order to it. From the Treaty of Greenville and his letters to William H. Harrison, Thomas Jefferson's and the government's desire to assimilate the Indians (or drive them away) and claim the land for America is evident. He advises plans such as tricking the Indians into debt, forcing them to become dependent on American trade, and enforcing that they only to sell their land to the US as ways to claim ownership. ("Letter to Harrison"). Even Into the late 19th century, the US government drafted legally binding unfair contracts, and made treaties with the Indian tribes only to later break them as means to open the land for western expansion. The most famous of these was the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which gave the president power in Indian negotiations. (1830). As pictured below, the immediate result was The Trail of Tears during which the entire Cherokee nation was removed from their homeland in Georgia and Tennessee, being forced to walk in terrible conditions with little supplies to reserves in Oklahoma.

  

 

 

Unknown. "The Savage Tomahawk." The Columbian. Nov, 24th, 1812.

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?

 

The Trail of Tears, Robert Lindneux, 1942

http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Cherokee_Trail_of_Tears

 

 

Monroe Doctrine

 

     Although the US government didn't really have the power to back it up at the time, the Monroe Doctrine was a foreign policy statement declaring North and South America were composed of sovereign nations and off limits to any further colonization attempts by European Nations. As it relates to Manifest Destiny, this is constant with the theme of American Exceptionalism that we have seen. By condemning "any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them (nations in North and South America), or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States," this act is trying to solidify the US as the new power to be reckoned with. (Monroe Doctrine). It protects (in policy) the remainder of the lands in North America for the expansion of the American people and recognizes that America has a destiny to fulfill.

 

 

 

The Demise of Whig Opposition to the Annexation of Texas, Unknown, 1844

http://historybusiness.org/2761-texas-annexation.html

 

 

Slavery, O'Sullivan, and Rapid Expansion 

 

     By the early 1830s, settlers were taking it upon themselves to move out to the west and take advantage of the free land. In doing so, they were winning America's ideological battles by bringing civilization by working the land, bringing christianity by assimilating (or removing) the Indians, and bringing hierarchical order when the government followed them by creating territories and passing laws. However, with expansion came both external and internal strife. With the continuing development of US manufacturing for domestic markets in North East, and the reliance of the Southern economy on exports to Europe, there was a fundamental difference in the political and economic goals pursued by each state, and subsequently each political party. Party policy lines were simply divided between the pro-slavery and expansionist democrats, and the anti-slavery and anti-expansionist whigs. The government's first solution to maintain this delicate balance of power in Congress was too stop the admission of new territories. However this failed to stop Americans from moving west as they began to claim lands in Texas, which was then ruled by Mexico.

     As the political cartoon above depicts, the whigs were eventually unable to withstand the Annexation of Texas after the American settlers there won their War of Independence. This was due in a large part to the official coining of the term "Manifest Destiny" in 1845 by the aforementioned John O'Sullivan. While arguing for the Annexation of Texas in 1839, he attempted to define the inevitable progress of the American peoples, saying, "The expansive future is our (America's) arena, and for our history. We are entering on its untrodden space, with the truths of God in our minds, beneficent objects in our hearts, and with a clear conscience unsullied by the past. We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march?" ("The Great Nation of Futurity, pg.428-429). Although Americans had already shared this sentiment for the past century, he gave the nation a term to rally around which they could verbally use to justify America's expansion. He also set America apart from the European nations and made the pioneers realize they were apart of something larger than themselves by declaring, "our national birth was the beginning of a new history, the formation and progress of an untried political system, which separates us from the past and connects us with the future only; and so far as regards the entire development of the natural rights of man, in moral, political, and national life, we may confidently assume that our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity." ("The Great Nation of Futurity, pg.426). 

     The idea of Manifest Destiny was at this time extremely important in the expansion of the US's boundaries and culture, but not solely because it was propelling individuals to act. Instead, the new term "Manifest Destiny" was giving the democrats authority to pursue their aggressive expansionist policies. (The Democratic Review, pg.291). After the democrats forced The Annexation of Texas as a slave state in 1845, the whigs once again rushed to maintain the balance of power in Congress. They achieved that (albeit for a short time) with the Compromise of 1850. As applicable to Manifest Destiny, this group of laws worked to open four new territories who's slave or free status would depend upon popular sovereignty. Pro and anti-slavery Americans had so much as stake that they rushed to these new territories to represent the interests of their political party. The settlement of these territories, although inevitable, was obviously greatly sped up by the popularization of the term "Manifest Destiny" and its adoption by the democratic party because of how it served as a catalyst for westward expansion.

 

 

John L. O'Sullivan on the cover of Harper's Weekly in 1874

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._O'Sullivan

 

 

The Mexican-American War

 

     The Mexican-American War was the most obvious exercising of "Manifest Destiny" in the history of the US. The democratic party and President James K. Polk used it to justify the aggressive expansionism tactics of the US. Also, the differing positions of the whigs and democrats on the war published in The American Review and The United States Magazine and Democratic Review respectively and the principals they present attacking and defending the war reveal great insight into the nature of Manifest Destiny and its influence on and importance in America's culture.

     The whigs foremost saw the Mexican-American War as a threat to the stability between slave and free states. Therefore (whether they believed them or not), they raised many objections to the actions of Polk and the democrats. Firstly, the whigs argue whether or not the war is even in the best interest of the American people, by declaring that it is an Executive War. (The American Review, pg. 577). They claim that Polk bent the Constitution and Congress into forcing this war to happen, and that therefore the US public should refuse to support it on the grounds that they had no say in it. (The American Review, pg. 577). More importantly, The American Review declares that the war should have been avoided because of ideological reasons. It refers constantly to the fact that the US is the “Model Republic” that had to fight for its independence, and that it should be an example to Mexico, another republic that had to fight for its own independence. (pg.571-572). This statement interprets Manifest Destiny on the grounds that it shouldn’t be pursued in Mexican territory because it would be a contradiction to American Exceptionalism. It further claims that war isn’t a trifle thing to be entered into for glory or conquest, but only for the defense of national independence, liberty, and honor, which wasn’t necessary with Mexico. (pg.571-572). They declare that Mexico is "a powerful-neighboring nation - and a friend!" whom we should be protecting, like we pledged in the Monroe Doctrine. (The American Review, pg.577). The whigs recognize Manifest Destiny and the American desire to civilize and settle all the land from The Atlantic to The Pacific as a main cause for the war. However, instead of endorsing Manifest Destiny, they claim that since Mexico is also a nation of Christendom, a war between the two would be “the first to interrupt that delightful tranquility in which the nations of Christendom have reposed amongst themselves, for so long a period” and therefore it is illogical at a political and ideological level. (The American Review, pg. 571). Additionally, Mexico was “a respectable power, a civilized and Christian nation, next to ourselves vastly the most numerous on the Western continent” and therefore the Mexicans were not Indians, they were not savages who didn’t improve the land, and there was no need for the US to go out of its way to bring civilization to Mexico. (The American Review, pg.572).   

     In opposition, The democrats justify the war using the same principles of Manifest Destiny. This alone shows how extremely influential Manifest Destiny had become in culture of the American people and in the actions of the US government. The Democratic Review firstly tries to portray the war as a defense of national integrity. Its argues that past maneuvers and decisions should be disregarded as causes for war because they were done in the best interest of the US, and that only the recent actions of the Mexican government should be criticized, actions that the democrats saw as a barrier to their end goals (expansion). (pg.291). The democrats defend The Annexation of Texas saying it was in the best interest of both Mexico and the US, because if they didn’t act then either France or Britain would have used it as a satellite for influence in North America blocking American and Mexican power and expansion. (The Democratic Review, pg. 291). Thus their failure to annex Texas would have violated the Monroe Doctrine. (The Democratic Review, pg.291). 

     Furthermore, on an ideological level the democrats successfully distinguish American Exceptionalism and justify Manifest Destiny by portraying the dichotomy between the US's Republic and that of Mexico.  Although they acknowledge that the war is unfortunate, they stress the ideology of Manifest Destiny and the need to take the land from the hands of the uncivilized as the US has recently done in their encounters with the “savage” Indians. As an attempt to gain public support for the war, The Democratic Review portrays the Mexicans as uncivilized, unmotivated, backwards people, likening them to the Indians who made no use of the vast lands that they inhabited. (pg.294). Like the Indians they were savages who acted, "with a usual craftiness and love of blood," assaulting Americans without warning or cause. (pg.294). The democrats made Americans believe in the role of the "Model Republic" urging that the US had a duty to bring civilization to Mexico, which was possible through beating them in battle after battle, winning the war with chivalry, and taking their land. (The Democratic Review, pg.297-299).  Although Americans may have viewed Mexico as a united nation under Christendom, The Democratic Review created a distinct division with them by labeling it under the rule of a catholic hierarchy, weakening its the connection of Christianity it had with the US. (pg.297-299). This follows the key division that America saw between itself and the European powers being the separation of Church and State and the lack of established religion. Subsequently, Mexico's status and a civilized, progressing republic that was free from America's path of Manifest Destiny was greatly diminished. The sentiments are supported by the two cartoons below. One shows the bestiality and laziness of the Mexican troop during battle contrasted with the efficiency of the American soldiers and their kindness towards the wounded Mexicans. The other portrays the problems that the US had with hierarchical religion, as it makes a mockery of  mexican "rulers" who are catholic priests returning to Mexico with their "treasures" who are women and wine.

     This polarity between the US's "Model Republic" and Mexico's "primitive republic" as Walt Whitman nicknamed it is evident by Whitman's question, "What has miserable, inefficient Mexico - with her superstition, her burlesque upon freedom, her actual tyranny by the few over the many - what has she to do with the great mission of peopling the new world with a noble race? Be it ours, to achieve that mission!" (Brooklyn Daily Eagle). What is clear to us from history is that the Mexican-American War was debated by the whigs and democrats on a variety of ideological, religious, and political principles, all stemming from the tenants of Manifest Destiny. Regardless of who was correct, in the end Manifest Destiny was a direct cause of the war which made it possible for Americans to settle the lands from coast to coast while suffering the loss of a potentially enduring alliance with Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mexican Rulers, F & S Palmer, 1846 (Left)

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689270/

 

At the Battle of Palo Alto, The Americans greatly distinguish themselves, John L. Magee, 1846 (Right)

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003690751/

 

 

 

Nebraska, The Garden of the West. 50 Million Acres of Grain & Grazing Land, Unknown, 1869

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.award/ncd

 

 

Homesteaders

 

     The Homestead Act played a vital role in fulfillment of Manifest Destiny. The US's claims to the land were not yet ensured, and the government needed to expedite the movement of settlers westward. The Act addressed all the main tenants of Manifest Destiny, and reflects the political influence that these beliefs had and there importance in the development of the American West. By stipulating that homesteaders had to be American citizens, the law ensured that you wanted to be a part of the "Model Republic." (1862). By requiring that they didn't hold the land under false pretenses or for someone else, it incentivized yeoman farmers and pioneer families to move west, saving the land from domination by large companies. (1862). And lastly, by enforcing that the they must improve the land to keep it, Americans were bound to bring civilization and progress to the west. (1862).

      The Homestead Act promoted the belief of American Exceptionalism as well. Not only did it prevent slavery from spreading after the Civil War by assisting yeoman farmers, but it encouraged immigrants to come to America with the promise of free land as long as they worked hard. Immigrants would be given same opportunities for social mobility as Americans, an idea rarely accepted in the rest of the world, especially in mid 1800s Europe. (Witgen, Oct.30). Additionally the Homestead Act contributed to the develop of American democracy because it created the opportunity for Americans to move out to the frontier and survive at the meeting point of civilization and wilderness, creating a rugged self-individualism. As Frederick Jackson Turner stated in 1896, "The US is unique in the extent to which an individual has been given an open field, unchecked by the restraints of old social order…The self-made man was the western man's ideal…out of his wilderness experience, out of the freedom of his opportunities, he fashioned a formula…for American Democracy," showing that only in the America could this kind of democracy exist. ("The Problem of the West"). Immigrants, social mobility, and seizing opportunity all greatly impacted the culture of the American West and the shape of American democracy, and all were indirect consequences of Manifest Destiny because of its pressure on the US government to facilitate westward expansion through laws such as the Homestead Act of 1862.

     The Advertisement above exemplifies the type of urgency created to encourage expansion westward. It demonstrates how the West was a place of opportunity where you could start anew, improve your life, and build community. The bottom image below depicts a Homestead family living on their own. This is the ideal image of the yeoman farming family who would move westward to better themselves but in the process they would create community and build onto the idea of American Exceptionalism. The image below on the left shows the westward movement of homesteaders shortly after The Homestead Act of 1862 was passed. The act is widely recognized as the single most important piece of government legislation expediting settlement of the West. The image below on the right is a song composed in 1875 that romanticizes the idea of making it as a homesteader. It reveals how life in city could be difficult because of unemployment, the dangers and crime, and the dreariness and contrasts it with the West which it depicts as a place of opportunity, beauty, and community.

 

 

The Rocky Mountains: Emigrants Crossing the Plains, Fanny Palmer, 1866

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92504636/

 

                                                                                                                                 "I Will Go West!" J.P. Barrett and J.A. Butler, 1875

                                                                                                                                         http://www.loc.gov/item/sm1875.10352/

 

 

 

 

The "New Home" in the Far West, 1881

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indian Affairs and The Mythic West

 

     America's treatment of the Native Americans represents the ugly side of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism. Manifest Destiny justified the US claim to all the lands from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans, ignoring the presence of Indians. But enacting doctrines and laws ensuring that it was America's land to settle didn't hold up with the Indian tribes who rarely dealt with the US in traditional political ways. Although many Indian tribes signed treaties and agreed to live on the reservations set up by the US government, many decided they weren't going to give in. However, they now had to compete with American pioneers for the land and resources with conflicts becoming common. Additionally, the US began to mount military exploits against them in order to protect the settlers and encourage westward expansion. The wars between the US and Indian tribes were never of relatively large scale but they were often brutal as certain Indian tribes became known for their savagery in combat. (Witgen, Nov.6). Often times these conflicts resulted in the complete massacre of the others as was evident at Battle of Little Bighorn, the Sand Creek Massacre, and many others. By the early 1900s the Indian Wars were almost completely over as most Indian tribes had died out, fled, or were subject to the poor conditions of the reservations (Witgen, Nov.6).

     The perspective of The Mythic West first came around in the 1890's when the many pioneers were considering the West to be "Won"; Manifest Destiny seeming to have been completed as America now spanned from sea to shining sea. (Witgen, Nov.6). In 1897 Frederick Jackson Turner revealed his Frontier Thesis to the America which proclaimed the end of the American Frontier, a great distress because he believed that, "American Democracy...came out of the American Frontier, and it gained strength each time it touched a new frontier." ("The Significance of the Frontier in American History"). Turner thought The Mythic West signified America's need for a new challenge to advance the belief of American Exceptionalism. The Mythic West was started at this time by characters like Buffalo Bill Cody who popularized the West in a commercial sense by becoming the stars of shows displaying cowboy themes and Indian Wars. The positive cultural influences that Manifest Destiny had on America by shaping its borders, bringing progress to the land, and creating an American identity which revolves around opportunity, individualism, and community were overlooked for more "fan favorite" stories. (Witgen, Nov.6). When most people think of the American West they picture the Wild West; classic scenes of cowboys fighting Indians, the stories of outlaws and the sheriffs, and the tumbleweed and cactus in a barren desert. Movies and other cultural productions today romanticize these exploits and glorify the gunslingers, killing savage Indians, and hunting buffalo instead of celebrating the success of American democracy and individualism in overcoming the wild frontier. (Witgen, Nov.6). 

 

 

 

Buffalo Bill Cody, 1880                                                                                     Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir at Glacier Point, 1903

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill                                                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Yosemite_area

     

 

National Parks, Government, and Modernization

 

     Along with the development of the culture of The Mythic West, the creation of National Parks in the early 1900s symbolizes the end of America's Manifest Destiny. Although the government was always active in facilitating westward expansion through the laws such as the Homestead Act of 1862 and the battles they fought such as the Mexican-American War, it was the American pioneers who were driving force behind it. After living individually on the frontier, farmers would create small communities that would then grow until deemed large enough to establish some form of law to keep order. Progress would soon follow in the form of railroads, businesses, and territorial government. Following this trend it can be concluded that Manifest Destiny would end when the American government stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Therefore the creation of National Parks signifies the end of Manifest Destiny because government has reached the places of America that remained the most like the frontier. Although, the setting aside of this land is the opposite of civilizing it, this idea coincides we the idea of The Mythic West by officially acknowledging the importance of setting aside some of the West's culture.

     Industry also represents the demise of Manifest Destiny. A key concept of Manifest Destiny is the lack of sophistication, and the reliance on one's self to provide everything you need. ("The Problem of the West"). Manifest Destiny was comprised of a Western frontier that was a place of simplicity; back East was the place of the Banks, the Industry, and the Federal Government. ("The Problem of the West"). Industrialization along with the government represents the last steps of the land transitioning from unworked and wild to becoming improved and civilized, a final stage that yeoman farmers couldn't bring the land to. The yeoman farmer that was an icon of Manifest Destiny was almost fully replaced by the mid 1900s due to the mass migration of plains farmers towards more industrialized centers during the Dustbowls as well as the growth of industry and government represented by the Us's WWII militarization and massive public work projects such as the Hoover Dam.

 

 

Manifest Destiny's Legacy - Imperialization

 

     As Frederick Jackson Turner warned, America always needed a frontier to conquer in order to advance our belief of American Exceptionalism. ("The Significance of the American Frontier"). Being confined to our own continent, America looked over the seas as the place where the new frontier rested. The ideas of Manifest Destiny translated to this new ideology, in which Americans believed they had a duty to civilize, christianize, and develop the less fortunate nations and races of the world. Although many nations used this as a justification to exploit native people's for their natural resources, many superior countries, such as the US (the Model Republic), believed in the beneficial role they played when aiding primitive countries. This illustration below shows how Manifest Destiny is the cornerstone for America's Imperialist movement. It shows Uncle Same at the entrance to a U.S. Asylum where America's early annexation's, Texas, California, New Mexico, and Alaska are playing together. This serves to portray America as the "Model Republic" that other less developed and less civilized democracies wanted to join. It represents the transformation of Manifest Destiny to Imperialism by picturing a set of arms with the tattoo Manifest Destiny carrying a basket of babies bearing the names of America's new conquests: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines, the new overseas frontiers.

 

 

 

A Trifle Embarrassed, Udo J. Keppler, 1898

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012647587/

 

 

Conclusion

 

     Without a doubt Manifest Destiny played an integral role in the transition of America from small colonies to a new nation, and from a new nation to the greatest power covering the globe. It not only shaped the physical boundaries of the US, but it influenced the most important figures in our history and in some way impacted almost every major event in our country's westward expansion. From the belief that settling from the Atlantic to the Pacific was our God-Given right, to believing that we had the duty to bring civilization to the savage peoples that stood before us, Manifest Destiny was essential to American Democracy and America's cultural identity. By studying the origins and tenants of Manifest Destiny, it becomes evident how effectively it defined the culture of our people, and how influential it still is today; its legacy being passed on by Imperialism and other modern American conquests in the beliefs of American Exceptionalism, opportunity, progress, and assisting those less fortunate. Although, America as a whole may no longer be trying to conquer any frontier that seems as great as the West once did, Manifest Destiny lives on through the new challenges that individuals try to surmount everyday. Truthfully I believe that we could use more of the western man, whom Turner described saying, "The western man believed in the Manifest Destiny of his country…he had faith in men, hope in democracy, belief in America's destiny and unbounded confidence in his ability to make his own dreams come true." ("The Problem of the West"). 

 

 

American Progress, John Gast (1872)

http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/ramsey-and-louras-site/manifest-destiny

 

 

Sources

 

1) O'Sullivan, John. "The Great Nation of Futurity"The United States Democratic Review Volume 0006 Issue 23 (Nov 1839).

2) O'Sullivan, John L. "Annexation". United States Magazine and Democratic Review 17, no.(1) (July-August 1845): 5–11.

3) "The Mexican War-Its Origin and Conduct". United States Magazine and Democratic Review Volume XX (April 1847).

4) "The War with Mexico". The American Review: A Whig Journal Volume III (April 1846).

5) Locke, John. Second Treatise on Government. Chapter 5. Constitution.Org, 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

6) Winthrop, John (1630). "City Upon a Hill". Sermon.

7) Paine, Thomas (1986) [1776], Kramnick, Isaac, ed., Common Sense, New York: Penguin Classics.

8) "The Savage Tomahawk". The Columbian. (Nov 24, 1812).

9) Turner, Frederick Jackson (1920). "The Significance of the Frontier in American History". The Frontier in American History. p.293.

10) Turner, Frederick Jackson. "The Problem of the West". The Atlantic (September 1896).

11) "U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776)". Preamble, Indictment. www.ourdocuments.gov. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

12) "Monroe Doctrine (1823)". 3rd edition. www.ourdocuments.gov. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

13) Witgen, Dr. Michael. "The Mythic West - Cowboys and Indians". Amcult 373. Ann Arbor, MI. 6 Nov. 2014.

14) Witgen, Dr. Michael. "Making the West American - Railroad, Homesteads, and Ranching". Amcult 373. Ann Arbor, MI. 30 Oct. 2014.

15) Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman on Manifest Destiny". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1846). editorial.

16) Barret, J.P. and Butler, J.A. "I Will Go West!". Boston, MA. (1875).

17) Jefferson, Thomas. "Letter to Governor William H. Harrison". (Feb 27, 1803). www.in.gov. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

18) "The Homestead Act" (1862). www.ourdocuments.gov. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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