Opinions about Manifest Destiny

A historic debate exists about the meaning of Manifest Destiny. Some historians stress national pride and the desire to spread democracy as the basis of the concept. However, others consider economic and territorial lust, as well as the desire for commerce as the motivations behind Manifest Destiny. Use the following comments to develop your position related to Manifest Destiny.

"It was absolutely wrong to pursue Manifest Destiny in the first place. This land was already occupied by people, who would have been willing to share the land, but no, the white settlers didn't want to share. Thus, manifest destiny caused lots of problems. Under the same basic idea, Hussein invaded Kuwait. Hitler overran Europe. No, manifest destiny was wrong to start with, and it sure shouldn't have been taken further."

"I would have to disagree, since the result of Manifest Destiny has been the creation of the greatest country the world has ever seen. You don't have to agree with the methods, but the results were pretty good and very important to the world."

"I grew up not far from the Mexico/New Mexico border and spent years wondering why one side was poor and totally disorganized, while the other side was rich and not nearly as messed up. The people are pretty much the same, the land is pretty much the same, the climate and culture are pretty much the same, and the language barrier is not a large one. The biggest cause for the difference that I could find was that one side of the border had the American government/legal/economic system, and the other side had the legal/governmental/economic policies of Mexico."

"Judging by the relative wealth/happiness/health/and freedom of the inhabitants of the two sides (not to mention the direction the immigrants were traveling) I'd say that one system is definitely superior to the other. Given that, I'd say that it was Manifest Destiny, and the spreading of the U.S. Constitution/legal system/economy that made LA, Houston, San Francisco, and Dallas what they are, and kept them from being as messed up as Juarez and Mexico City. Personally, I wish we had taken it a bit farther, and given more people the chance to be born and live in the USA."

"I'm a bit of an imperialist at heart, and I am very proud of the end that was achieved, but some of the means that brought us to that end (i.e., the trail of tears, etc.) are barbaric and can not be justified. I think that westward expansion of the U.S. was a great thing, and I'm glad it happened, but I wish it had been handled better--more like the way Canada did it; or at least the whites should have honored the treaties they signed. We stole the land from the Indians, we were the savages not them."

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