Manifest Destiny and Native American Displacement
'American Progress,' John Gast (circa 1872)
The nineteenth century belief that the US was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and it was used by Democrats in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico.The US-Mexican War & capture of land in the southwest was rationalized by the idea that it would bring Anglo-Saxon institutions to a place that didn’t have them…but how can a country that prides itself and built its foundations of the idea of democracy force Native American peoples from their homes into unfamiliar territory? This was rationalized by the idea that the Native Americans didn’t fit in in the East, so they should be moved past the frontier so they can practice their culture undisturbed. This is very hypocritical because the Native Americans were indeed very civilized. For example, the literacy rate of the Cherokee Indians was higher than that of the white south up through the Civil War. However, they, too, were moved as an “uncivilized” people in order to make room for American expansion. Additionally, southeastern tribes of Native Americans were farmers for the most part. They were moved to Oklahoma. Indian traders from Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan were forced to move to Kansas even though they were excellent entrepreneurs and trilingual in most cases. Because of the “American” traits that tribes truly possessed, it often proved fruitless and often detrimental to indigenous tribes of the West and Southwest, as they were forced back against the Mexican frontier, creating problems for Mexican officials and citizens. A visual of this expansion can be seen at the top-left corner of this page. “This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress, is an allegorical representation of the modernization of the new west. Here Columbia, intended as a personification of the United States, leads civilization westward with American settlers, stringing telegraph wire as she travels; she holds a school book. The different economic activities of the pioneers are highlighted and, especially, the changing forms of transportation. The Native Americans and wild animals flee.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_Destiny
The US-Mexican War harbored the legacy of continued expansion throughout the nineteenth century. By the turn of the century, we had expanded from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Also, we had made our mark on Asia (Philippines) as well as the Caribbean, exerting political and economic control in Central America as well.“Spheres of Influence” – the American legacy (its traditions) are passed onto these places where we have imperialized and made our mark. They now sport American traditions. This is widely present even through today: “An NFL game at Azteca Stadium, soaring land prices from Ensenada to Merida and a Starbucks infestation of the swanky Polanco Neighborhood.” We continue to make an impact and leave our legacy behind.This idea relates to legacy because America’s own legacy has a great deal to do with this. To many foreign countries, there is a perception about America that it has always just conquered whatever it has come in contact which. Evidently, this is true in some instances.
