What does 'manifest destiny' mean?
by 
Penny The Wise
ANSWERS: 5
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Something about America spreading from the Atlantic Ocean, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
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Manifest Destiny was an ideology originally used by settlers in North America in the 19th century (1800's) revolving around the justification of expansion throughout the continent. Americans believed they had the God given right to rule over the territory and settle in the territory between the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. Later once the USA was firmly established in those areas it was used when American attentions turned to Asia in the 20th century. Americans following the ideology believed that they had the God given right to 'civilise' the Asian continent by spreading free trade and democracy. This stemmed into the 'Open Door policy' which was an American policy stressing that markets in China should be equally open to all nations. This brought America into conflict with Japan (who were encroaching on Manchuria, a Chinese territory) and eventually became one of the many causes for the attacks on Pearl Harbour in 1941.
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Something, as a Canadian, that scares the shit out of me. It was initially the expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific. But luckily stopped going north and south. Here is a quote from John Q. Adams. The whole continent of North America appears to be destined by Divine Providence to be peopled by one nation, speaking one language, professing one general system of religious and political principles, and accustomed to one general tenor of social usages and customs. For the common happiness of them all, for their peace and prosperity, I believe it is indispensable that they should be associated in one federal Union.
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Manifest Destiny is a belief that Man has the "God given right" to conquer and control everything that God has created for them. For a long time many Christians also categorized "non-Christians" as "not human", like how Columbus kills all the natives and steals their land and how we expanded by killing the rest... at least until America had to get more people for labor so that it would grow economically or something that the idea changed. Also as backup proof, blacks were considered objects for the longest time and the reason so many African Americans are now Christians is simply because Whites would kill them if they weren't and somehow it passed down. Habits are really hard to break. =T
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Just to add a minor point to some very informative answers above: The destiny was already explained, the continent belonged to America, that's what they believed at the time. What made it "Manifest Destiny" was how easy it was to conquer the land, thanks to the superior technology and disease the spreading United States had. The fact that it was so easy to take control of the land, reinforced the belief in that destiny. The destiny was manifested by how we fulfilled it.
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