Conveniently, in the 1840’s there emerged a term that would renew a sense of national identity, addressing these economic and national demands. In 1845, editor John L. O’Sullivan wrote a powerful and influential essay that presented a defense and inspiration for the seizure of western lands. The movement he describes was not discussed in terms of economic gain or advantage though. He wrote:
“.... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative development of self government entrusted to us. It is a right such as that of the tree to the space of air and the earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and destiny of growth.”
The "UnTransacted Destiny"
- “The untransacted destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent --- to rush over this vast field to the Pacific Ocean --- to animate the many hundred millions of its people, and to cheer them upward...to teach old nations a new civilization---to confirm the destiny of the human race...
- "Divine task! Immortal mission! Let us tread fast and joyfully the open trail before us! Let every American heart open wide for patriotism to glow undimmed, and confide with religious faith in the sublime and prodigious destiny of his well-loved country.” - William Gilpin (journalist speaking to the U.S. Senate 1846)
A Capacity for Wonder
“Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound. And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes – a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Wild West
“But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” - Huck Finn
“It should not be denied. . . that being footloose has always exhilarated us. it is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west.”--Wallace Stegner
The Emblematic Hero of the West- Daniel Boone
The emblematic hero of Manifest Destiny was Daniel Boone.
Frontier scout, real estate speculator, and discoverer of Kentucky.
Boone was the man who mediated between savagery and civilized authority.
A midpoint between the “savage” indian and the “civilized” colonizer.
Exodus- Movement of the People
By the 1850’s, the chief metaphor of Western movement was biblical, and not classical.
The narrative of Exodus was taken up where the Puritans had left it, and Daniel Boone became Moses, leading the people to the Promised Land.
George Caleb Bingham, “Daniel Boone Escorting the Settlers Through the Cumberland Gap”
The Course of the Empire
In 1861, the federal government commissioned Leutze to paint a mural on the west stairway of the Capitol building.
This particular project was meant to show Northern confidence.
The Stars and Stripes being passed at the apex of the painting conveyed that only the Union could carry Americans into the golden future of westward expansion.
On a Mission from God
“Manifest Destiny is a nineteenth-century belief that the United States had a mission to expand westward across the North American continent, spreading its form of democracy, freedom, and culture. The expansion was deemed to be not only good, but also obvious ("manifest") and certain ("destiny"). Many believed the mission to be divinely inspired while others felt it more as an altruistic right to expand the territory of liberty. Originally a political catch phrase of the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America.
John Gast, “American Progress”
Intro to Webquest
Webquest - Your goal is to have well-supported answers to the following questions and potential essay questions.
Questions- Read through these questions carefully before you move on to the resources. Once you understand the questions, move on to the resources section and read through those sites carefully. As you come across information that you can use to answer one of these questions, write it down.
What were the major battles and who were the key players? Why were the siege of Vicksburg and the Battle of Gettysburg crucial to the outcome of the war?
The process of compromise that had successfully contained tensions between slave and free states since the nation’s founding collapsed with secession. Why did compromise fail? Discuss attempts to resolve the issue between 1846-61.
Brilliant military strategy alone did not determine the outcome of the Civil War. Victory also depended on generating revenue, material mobilization, diplomacy and politics. In light of these considerations, explain why the Confederacy believed it would succeed, and why it ultimately failed. Despite loathing slavery, Lincoln embraced emancipation as a war objective late and with great caution. Why? In you answer, trace the progression of Lincoln’s decision, considering how legal, political, military, and moral concerns influenced his policies.