Manifest Destiny--

In the 1840s to the 1850s, the United States found themselves inflicted with manifest destiny fever. Americans felt it was their God-given right to expand from sea to sea. Polk, elected in the properly dubbed "manifest destiny Election of 1844," said he had been given a mandate from the people. America focused their anxious eyes upon the western territories: Texas, Oregon and California. While the United States was swept up in the concept of manifest destiny, foreign and domestic policies changed as a result.

Texas, an independent republic, glimmered in the distance. Mexico was putting it on hold for awhile until they could go in and reconquer its territory, and that left Texas vulnerable for a short time. The question was whether to annex Texas or not. The Americans knew the Mexicans did not want them messing with their territory. Meanwhile, foreign nations such as France and Britain looked greedily toward Texas as an instrument for separating America into fragmentary parts, weakening the Monroe Doctrine. America eventually annexed Texas in 1845 before fighting the Mexican War. Seeking California, America purposefully provoked war with Mexico, invading the Nueces River without permission. One could say the Americans were being bullies, another might argue that the war was a smart investment (and practice for another big war). Either way, the Americans took Mexico's "lunch money"-- in this case, significant territory in the west, including California (added in 1848). In addition, after Texas was annexed, the Americans sought Oregon, the territory they shared with Britain. Britain, of course, was not willing to give it up for free. Eventually, after much dispute, the 49th parallel was agreed on as the border of American territory in Oregon, and America gained a new state in 1846. Americans had peacefully made a compromise with Britain. Another foreign triumph came with the Webster-Ashburton treaty, in which Britain and America agreed to split the difference of some disputed territory in Maine. Finally, in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (ending the Mexican War), the Americans received breathtaking claims to California and other western territories. Mexico would never be a problem ever again (a 18 million dollar payoff ensured that).

Domestic policies reshaped themselves as well. Slavery, before a question of where it should be allowed, became a question of where it was going to spread next. Texas and part of California would be consumed with the evils of slavery and the Northerners did not like this idea at all. Many Northerners, such as Thoreau, protested the Mexican War by refusing to pay taxes. They were put in jail. In addition, more Americans migrated west, in search of new lives on the frontier. The journey was always harsh and demanding, and many did not survive. But the newly acquired territory in the west definitely influenced the Americans to expand themselves and their population. Manifest destiny meant westward expansion, and the Americans were in search of new beginnings. The gold rush in California in 1849 attracted many Americans, as did the forests of Oregon Country.

In closing, during the 1840s, Americans found themselves swept away with the concept of manifest destiny. Foreign policies were dealt with in a peaceful manner, and America gained much land during this time. In domestic issues, slavery continued to be a controversy that would prove a vital issue to the beginnings of the Civil War, and families expanded across the western frontier, spreading out America's population. The manifest destiny era was indeed an era of expansion that helped America to become a formidable country.

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