History- Manifest Destiny Thesis Proposal

Introduction

In the history of the United States of America, the mid-nineteenth century will forever remain in the minds of many citizens. As a matter of practice, Americans had a belief that they had a divine obligation of stretching their boundaries. In essence, this was a belief in America that American settlers were meant to expand and fill the continent. Manifest destiny had three basic themes. First, special attention was given to the American people’s special virtues and their institutions. Second, America had a mission to remake the west in its own image (America). The third theme entailed the irresistible destiny of accomplishing the duties. At the end of it all, the manifest destiny contributed to sectionalism. This paper seeks to understand how this came to be.

How manifest destiny contributed to sectionalism

Several decades before the American civil war, the diverging economies played a big role o the ever increasing sectional disparities between the South and the North. This can well be captured in the period ranging from 1790 and 1860. During this period, subsistence agriculture was replaced by commercial agriculture in the North. Consequently, factory production replaced household production. The immigrants from Ireland and Germany played a major role in expanding the cities. This was very different from what happened in the South. Slavery hindered industrial development and technological innovations were not promoted. These differences played a major role in increasing sectionalism.
In one way or the other, manifest destiny facilitated the increased tension between the North and the South. The period spanning from 1840 to 1860 was characterized by an increase in tension between the two sections. This was as a result of the effects of manifest destiny. During this time, there was a rush to expand America’s western territory. As a result o manifest destiny, Texas and Oregon were acquired by America. In addition to this, the American war against Mexico resulted in the acquisition of new territories towards the southwest. A major impact of his was the tremendous growth in population of western territories. During his time, most of the new states made applications to be granted full statehood status. Nowhere did the tensions escalate as they did in the senate. This move promoted sectional tensions over issues dealing with regional power in the house. Some of the contentious issues that arose included the role that the central government ought to play, the role that individual states ought to play, the growth of slavery in the Southern section and balance of power in the senate. Among these issues, growth of slavery in the south proved to be more destructive than the others. Experts argue that it was the major contributor to the increased tension between the North and the South, two sections that differed in ideologies.
Although compromises were reached in 1820, 1833 and 1850, they only had a temporal solution. After sectional parties emerged (Democrats v Republicans), fresh rivalry arose. In a way, such controversies arose as a result of either manifest destiny or the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, most of the states from the Southern section seceded from the union. The result of this was increased differences between the two sections, spoiling various attempts to unite America. As a result, the manifest destiny promoted sectionalism.

Conclusion

The move by the American regions to identify themselves according to their geographical locations threatened to spoil the American development. These differences were promoted by manifest destiny. Although a viable solution was found, manifest destiny provides the best platform through which the history of America can be understood.