Manifest Destiny
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the United States saw many problems come and go. Some problems were more important than others, however all led to further division of American politics. The most divisive issue in American politics during this time frame was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or territorial expansion. Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States' destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Most of the public was in favor of territorial expansion, though some politicians felt it contradicted the constitution. Strict constructionists were against territorial expansion, while loose constructionists felt expansion was the United States' destiny. Strict constructionists centered their platform around the fact that the constitution never directly states that the federal government has the right to acquire land. Those that view the constitution liberally, or loose constructionists, counter that stand
This caused great distress among the senators and representatives. For instance, free state members of Congress began accusing the slave state members of conspiracies. " Slavery stirred up a lot of hard feelings though the slavery issue was not the hottest of the problems associated with territorial expansion. The potential war with Britain was resolved early in Polk presidency. Along with influencing presidential elections, Manifest Destiny played a role in the slavery issue. Once Mexico attacked, Polk claimed he had to defend the United States, for Mexico had invaded American territory. The only problem was Clay was nervous about territorial expansion. One of the supporters of Manifest Destiny was, democrat, James Polk who served as president from 1844 to 1848. One such accusation was made by Charles Sumner. This is what Sumner called the "Slave Power Conspiracy. The idea of Manifest Destiny split American politics more than any other factor up to the eighteen fifties. The Mexico situation was different in that Polk did not have the fear of Mexico that he had of Great Britain. With more slave oriented territories that would eventually became slave states, the South would have control of Congress. Polk won because the majority of the public believed in Manifest Destiny. Polk was strongly in favor of expanding the United States to the Pacific.
Common topics in this essay:
Manifest Destiny,
United States',
United Mexico,
James Polk,
Henry Clay,
Charles Sumner,
,
Atlantic Pacific,
Britain Polk,
Conspiracy Slavery,
territorial expansion,
manifest destiny,
american politics,
strict constructionists,
loose constructionists,
eighteenth nineteenth centuries,
eighteenth nineteenth,
late eighteenth,
polk claimed,
united states',
states' destiny,
late eighteenth nineteenth,
idea manifest destiny,
united states' destiny,
|
Acceptance Essays
