Critical Thinking 18-3!

Manifest Destiny influenced American policy during the first half of the 19th century. How do you think manifest destiny set the stage for American imperialism at the end of the century?

Manifest destiny emerged when the americans wanted control of the native americans land in the west. They decided that the land was rightfully theirs and that they were supposed to have the land becuase it was there god given right. This lead to the settlers taking the majority of the Natives land and leaving the Natives with a very small amount of land for reservations. This policy was the bases for an imperialism policy, where a strong nation expand their economic, political, and military control over weaker territories. In manifest destiny this was obviously the case because the American settlers overpowered the native Americans so they took there land and spread there economic, military, and political control on the Natives in the west. Since the Americans felt that they were intiltled to this land and they got it, it would set the stage for them wanting to keep taking land and expanding. Also now that the American nation was even stronger then when it was an new nation taking native lands, they would feel more then ever that there strength as a country should entitle them to more land because they felt even more superior. In manifest destiny the Americans wanted to take land with natural recourses that they would greatly benefit from and the idea carried on when the nation was expanding when they acquired Alaska, a state rich in natural reasorces like timber and oil(p. 550). Also there is the idea of assimilation and Americans trying to make Native Americans more civilized. They thought that they were doing the right thing by bringing religion and culture to uncivilized people and that is then same thing they wanted to do in the future to other lands that they were trying to take control of. One major thing about the people spreading democracy in manifest destiny and during this time period was that they would both use it as an reason to feel better about what they were doing and use that idea that they were doing the right thing to let the government take come in and take control of land. This happed during the end of the century when the government overthrew Hawaii's monarchy. It would have seem like a good thing becuase the governmnt was getting rid of a monarchy and giving democracy, but in reality the government was just useing that so that they could take there land.