Manifest Destiny

The belief that something is bound to happen is manifest destiny. Westward expansion by the United States was said to be manifest destiny at the time. The country worked to fulfill its destiny and acquire new land four different ways. Those ways were unforced annexation, diplomatic negotiation, purchase, and war or forced annexation. When it came to unforced annexation, Texas is the prime example. Texas became an independent nation after it succeeded from Mexico partly because the Mexican government outlawed slavery. It wanted to become part of the United States and asked to be annexed, this was an example of unforced annexation because no violence or force was to acquire the new lands. The lands later became all of present day Texas, and parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The Oregon Territory was acquired through diplomatic negotiations. The United States made agreements with the British and suggested that the land be spit up evenly, creating a new boundary line at the 49th parallel. These negotiations led to the acquisition of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The United States bought the Louisiana territory from the French at a very cheap price of only $10 million. In the purchase, which nearly doubled the size of the country, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The last way that the United States got land was through war or forced annexation. This was how California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts Colorado were acquired. The U.S. had to go to war with Mexico to get the desired land.

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