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MF

After the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase, it began to look toward the West to expand
its influence in several ways. Means such as Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, and the expeditions
of Lewis and Clark paved the way for America to fulfill the ideas of Manifest Destiny. This led to
controversy inside the U.S. about imperialism, and resistance from other countries and American Indians
whose land the U.S. wanted to expand into.

Manifest Destiny’s ideas of American superiority and the expansion of democracy motivated United
States expansion from 1830 to 1905, with expansion of democracy being the more potent idea.

Manifest Destiny’s idea of American superiority motivated United States expansion from 1830 to 1905
to a lesser extent. Americans began moving to Texas in the early 1800s, but they disagreed with
Mexico’s rules, which required the Americans to convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens.
Since they felt that American culture was superior, they resisted against Santa Anna when he came with
his military to enforce Mexican rule. This resulted in the Texas Revolution and eventually Texas’s
annexation to the United States. In Polk’s Inaugural Address, Polk argued that expansion would make
the Union stronger, which aligns with American superiority outlined in Manifest Destiny. His purpose
was to justify more expansion eventually into Mexico’s Territory, which he achieved by forcing Mexican
Cession in the Mexican American war (Doc 2).

Manifest Destiny’s support of the expansion of democracy motivated United States expansion from
1830-1905 to a greater extent. Marshall Everett’s eagle over the earth, along with the sun in the
background, makes the United States appear powerful and majestic. This is in the context of the
controversy surrounding the United States earning the Guam and Puerto Rico from the Treaty of Paris
and buying the Philippines. The cartoon justifies expansion and supports Manifest Destiny by showing
how democracy is expanded across the world(Doc 5). The New Echota Treaty was protested by the
Cherokees, since it took away their land and their established government and law. However, Manifest
Destiny considered American democracy to be superior to Cherokee government, so America followed
through with the treaty(Doc 1). William Seward was concerned that the expansion of slavery would
threaten American’s republic. His audience was Americans in support of Manifest Destiny. Since he
knew that Manifest Destiny advocated for expansion of democracy, he appealed to this idea in order to
argue for abolition(Doc 3). The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo also was motivated by the idea of
expansion of democracy. It gave the United States all the land between Texas and California. Imperialists
justified this with manifest destiny’s idea of expanding democracy.

Manifest Destiny’s ideas of American superiority, shown in the Texas Revolution, and the expansion of
democracy, shown in the New Echota Treaty, motivated United States expansion from 1830 to 1905,
with expansion of democracy being the more potent idea.