Opposition to the idea of Manifest Destiny.

Essay by shindongsooHigh School, 11th gradeA+, May 2003

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Destiny of Sin

During the period of time that the first British colonists were finding their way to the New World, America was a not a country defined by human lines or boundaries, but a land which Native Americans and animals lived in harmony with. As time progressed, more and more discontented Europeans came to America looking for a new life. To this world, not only did they bring their families and other precious items, they also brought their morals and ideals, including the idea of Manifest Destiny. This new idea of Manifest Destiny was strongly influenced by religion; Americans assumed that it was their God-given as "superior" beings to acquire all the land from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. This goal became blatantly obvious from the establishment of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and did not retreat until the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. The period from 1776 to 1850 was a fierce period of attempting to gain land by any means possible; the United States would not be slowed down in getting the goal of having its borders reach coast to coast.

In the July - August 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, John Louis O' Sullivan wrote an article about the annexation of Texas and brought up Manifest Destiny.


With his strong use of words, he managed to convince...