Did the idea of Manifest Destiny simply mean acquring more terrtory Essay

Did the idea of Manifest Destiny simply mean acquring more terrtory for the United States Why or why not - Essay Example Many Americans began to believe that it was the nation's "Manifest Destiny" to expand westward. Manifest Destiny refers to a concept often used to explain or justify American expansion, especially in the decades preceding the Civil War (1861-65) and again in the late 19th century. While debate over expansion goes back to the beginnings of American expansion in the late 18th century, the phrase "Manifest Destiny" did not come into vogue until the 1840s. In 1845, John O'Sullivan, a democrat leader and editor of the New York newspaper 'The Morning Post, wrote: "Our manifest destiny to over spread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty". (O'Sullivan, John L. "Annexation", The United States Democratic Review) To many it seemed inevitable that lands to the west of the Mississippi, once claimed by Mexico, England, and a host of American Indian tribes, should eventually be settled by Americans. John O'Sullivan the editor of the influential 'Democratic Review' and the 'The Morning Post' had coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny" to describe this vision of a United States stretching from Atlantic to Pacific.