What is Manifest Destiny? Page 3
What were the positive outcomes?
The new country of the United States expanded quickly in the first half of the nineteenth century. This provided the people in the landlocked east with a place to move to, where they would own their own land and have the ability to start a family. The backbone of present-day America was forged by these early pioneers, who made their way across the land, at risk against great odds, to carve their own piece of the American pie. The vast amounts of land were rich with natural resources, which ultimately created wealth for the new country, and allowed it to consolidate its power a world leader.
But there were also extremely negative consequences.
Initially, the practice of slavery continued. Some people wanted to expand the country to add more slave states, which would induce the need for more slaves. It supported the continuation of a practice that subjugated people of African-American descent.
The removal of Native Americans continued and they were pushed aside, as a people that would not benefit from the new growth. In fact, their experience was one of geographical contraction. Since the beginning of contact with Europeans, they were forced to retreat, and constantly give up more land, as well as their ways of life.
With the end of the war with Mexico, in 1848, the United States gained a huge parcel of land. But this happened at the expense of the Mexican people, and their families, who were living in these areas. Ulysses S. Grant called the war “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.”[5]