Manifest destiny: was it really imperialism? Essay

Imperialism is, by definition, the extension of rule or influence by one g everywherenment, province or society over a nonher discernible destiny is the belief held by many the Statesns in the 1840s that the United States was destined to dissipate across the continent. This belief of destined expansion was nada new to Americas leaders for their great deal of the United States when they first established it was that of a race that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The American nation themselves had underlying reasons for their imperialist actions as well, mostly economic and policy-making. During the conquest of manifest destiny the US acquired Texas, Oregon and calcium. Americans tooled over the tungsten like an truculent imperialistic empire stint over unclaimed demesnes full of native-born Americans and Mexicans in commit to accomplish their political and economic destiny. touch on by the American Revolution, Americans felt the need to lose ones temper its territories. In February of 1821, Congress ratified the Transcontinental Treaty, which wholly excluded Texas from American territorial dominion. Americans feelings towards Texas quickly changed when they completed that cotton flourished on the Texas plains. The South quickly took vex in the orbit. Mexican authorities even offered surrender land to groups of settlers following the treaty and by 1830 in that respect were 20,000 white Americans and 2,000 slaves living in Texas. In 1836 Texas tell their independence from Mexico and ten years later was cast uped into the US.The appropriation of Texas had been a controversy for years because of the slavery issue. thr tout ensemble was another issue that further fueled expansionism, as the North and South each wanted the nation to admit new states that supported its pricks economic, political, and slave policies. The United States had no reason to annex Texas other than the fact that they wanted the fertile land and more votes in Congress. They hid behind the idea of patent Destiny but the truth is that each section wanted the land for its own purposes. We even fought a war of it. The unnecessary appropriation of Texas is a perfective example of imperialism in the United States.The expansion case in America during the 19th century stretched both the way west to Oregon. Oregon was a territory that was shared with the British under the Treaty of 1818. Americans pressured the British to give up theirclaim to Oregon territory. This allowed the Americans to achieve their Manifest Destiny and own land all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Not many plenty lived in Oregon before but suddenly, in the early 1840s, a huge caravan of people began to move to Oregon, spurred on by manifest destiny. The land in Oregon was fertile and the fur plentiful. This sparkle to Oregon became known as the Oregon Trail. These pioneers fought wee wars with the Native Americans along the route, argueing over posession of land one time they arrived. Many Americans took their land in Oregon by the way of the gun. They pointed their guns at everything that moved in order to get their land. This is imperialism, how the government gave permission to kill thousands without magnanimous any recognition whatsoever to who was living at that place before, to whos home that might have been.another(prenominal) example of imperialism in the US can be seen by looking at the way we handled California. California was really the key to the Pacific and the softwood routes with Asia and China. westernmost Coast harbors such as San Diego, San Francisco and the Strait of Juan de Fuca were considered the keys to the interchange and the Americans wanted them. A caravan of American pioneers embarked on the California trail and, as the Mexicans had expected, the settlers brought word rear end and the US now wanted to annex California. chair Polk had sent an envoy to Mexico City in an guarantee to purchase California and o ther parts of the Southwest.In May 1846 Mexico refused the offer. This refusal was one factoralong with the Texas annexationthat led to the Mexican fight. This land was not ours, we had no right to fight a war over it. That is imperialism the extending a nations power by territorial acquisition, by force at times. America ended up winning the Mexican War and acquiring Texas and California along with all the trade routes, and it was phenomenal for our economy but the end does not justify the means.To conclude Manifest destiny, the American form _or_ system of government of acquiring certain choice territories, can be labeled as nothing more than aggressive imperialism for that is what it is. We wanted land and we got it just because we did. We trampled over Native Americans and Mexicans just to establish trade routes and to gain political power. In the end we extended our borders by virtually 66%through manifest destiny, the doctrine that was no more that an excuse for Americans t o become aggressive imperialists.