Manifest destiny- Reading Like a Historian (edit)
Transcript of Manifest destiny- Reading Like a Historian (edit)
Manifest Destinymanifest: clear or obvious
destiny: future or fate- something that is sure to happen
3
In Support of Manifest Destiny
• Economic- Some Americans wanted to move west to make money through farming, slavery, mining, and trapping just to name a few
• Cultural Superiority- Some Americans believed they hade a right and a duty to control the entire continent
• Defense- Some Americans believed that if they did not take control of the land someone else would
4
Against Manifest Destiny
• Slavery- Westward Expansion is just another way to spread slavery
• The Law- The Constitution does not grant the government the right to acquire new land
• Immoral- It is wrong to take lands in the West by war or theft
8
Melish’s comments on his 1816 map of the United States
To present the country this way was desirable . . .The map shows at a glance the whole extent of the
United States territory from sea to sea.
In tracing the probable expansion of the human race from east to west, the mind finds an agreeable
resting place on its western limits. The view is complete and leaves nothing to be wished for. It
also adds to the beauty and symmetry of the map.
Source: John Melish. Map of the United States with the contiguous British and Spanish Possessions. Philadelphia, 1816.