Manifest Destiny

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the United States saw many problems come and go. Some problems were more important than others, however all led to further division of American politics. The most divisive issue in American politics during this time frame was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or territorial expansion. Manifest Destiny was the idea that it was the United States’ destiny to take over all of North America from the Atlantic …

…boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon the American soil.” (Tindall 587) Polk’s unexpected election, slavery conflicts, and the Mexican war were all issues in American politics during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Of all the possible explanations for these problems, territorial expansion is the number one reason. The idea of Manifest Destiny split American politics more than any other factor up to the eighteen fifties.