
Relocating the Native American populations to less desirable lands was done in the name of Manifest Destiny. In fact, most Americans believed this was the best thing for the Native Americans. Native American family in “Indian Territory,” where many indigenous groups were forced to relocate.
What happened to the Indians during Manifest Destiny?
- Dispossession . When the colonists initially bartered for Indian lands claiming that they could make the region more profitable, the Indians refused to sell. ...
- Removal. ...
- Assimilation . ...
- Elimination. ...
What is manifest destiny why did many Americans support it?
Wikimedia. Although called into name in 1845, manifest destiny was a widely held but vaguely defined belief that dated back to the founding of the nation. First, many Americans believed that the strength of American values and institutions justified moral claims to hemispheric leadership.
Do Americans still believe in Manifest Destiny?
These pioneers started the uniquely American belief that this land was a pristine and untouched canvas—perfect for Americans to carve and shape. America continues to believe in Manifest Destiny as is evidenced by our national mission, government structure, and focus on American security.
Was Manifest Destiny a good thing?
Why was Manifest Destiny a good thing? Manifest Destiny allowed the USA to expand greatly, and establish itself as a global power. It had taken huge chunks of land through many different ways, and interacted with many other countries while doing so.

How did Native Americans respond to Manifest Destiny?
Others fought back or resisted, like the Seminole, Lakota, and Diné (Navajo) nations. In general, tribes across the country relocated, voluntarily or not, as settlers and new immigrants claimed land. Other people also inhabited the US West in the 19th century.
How did manifest destiny impact how the Native Americans were treated?
The policies of the federal government in regard to California Indians paralleled the federal policies passed during the era of Manifest Destiny: making treaties, removing Indians from their ancestral homelands and placing them on reservations, educating their children through Americanization and assimilation, and ...
What happened to Native Americans during the westward expansion?
Relocation was either voluntary or forced. Army and militia patrols supervised the tribes' westward journey. It is estimated that between 1830 and 1840 the government relocated more than 70,000 Native Americans, thousands of whom died along what came to be known as the Trail of Tears.
How were Native Americans treated during the westward expansion?
Tribes were also often underpaid for the land allotments, and when individuals did not accept the government requirements, their allotments were sold to non-Native individuals, causing American Indian communities to lose vast acreage of their tribal lands.
How did the idea of Manifest Destiny affect Native Americans quizlet?
How did the idea of manifest destiny affect Native Americans? Americans kicked Native Americans off their land and forced them to move. What issues caused conflict between the North and South? Northerners were against slavery while southerners supported it.
How many Native Americans died from Manifest Destiny?
More than 46,000 Native Americans were forced—sometimes by the U.S. military—to abandon their homes and relocate to “Indian Territory” that eventually became the state of Oklahoma. More than 4,000 died on the journey—of disease, starvation, and exposure to extreme weather.
How many Native Americans were killed?
European settlers killed 56 million indigenous people over about 100 years in South, Central and North America, causing large swaths of farmland to be abandoned and reforested, researchers at University College London, or UCL, estimate.
What were the pros and cons of Manifest Destiny?
Pros and Cons of Manifest DestinyWhat is Manifest Destiny?Pro: Overall Great Gain in Land.Pro: Mexican American War.Pro: Jobs Gained.Con: Slave Controversy.Con: The Mexican American War.Con: Native Conflicts.
What was Manifest Destiny?
Propounded during the second half of the 19th century, the concept of Manifest Destiny held that it was the divinely ordained right of the United S...
When was the term Manifest Destiny coined?
The term Manifest Destiny was coined in the July–August 1845 issue of The United States Magazine, and Democratic Review by its editor, John L. O’Su...
How did Manifest Destiny lead to the growth of the West?
The idea of Manifest Destiny arose in response to the prospect of U.S. annexation of Texas and to a dispute with Britain over the Oregon Country, w...
What is manifest destiny?
Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the United States is destined—by God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. The philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal ...
Who was the originator of the phrase "manifest destiny"?
As the phrase also appeared in a nearly identical context in a July 1845 article in the New York Morning News, its originator is believed to be John O’Sullivan, the editor of both the Democratic Review and the Morning News at the time. That December, another Morning News article mentioned “manifest destiny” in reference to the Oregon Territory, another new frontier over which the United States was eager to assert its dominion.
Why did Polk want to split Oregon?
But as president, Polk wanted to get the issue resolved so the United States could move on to acquiring California from Mexico. In mid-1846, his administration agreed to a compromise whereby Oregon would be split along the 49th parallel, narrowly avoiding a crisis with Britain.
What was the result of the rapid territorial expansion over the first half of the 19th century?
Despite the lofty idealism of Manifest Destiny, the rapid territorial expansion over the first half of the 19th century resulted not only in war with Mexico, but in the dislocation and brutal mistreatment of Native American, Hispanic and other non-European occupants of the territories now being occupied by the United States.
What would drive millions of Americans westward in search of new land and new opportunities?
Such rapid growth —as well as two economic depressions in 1819 and 1839—would drive millions of Americans westward in search of new land and new opportunities.
Why was the expansion of the United States important?
The rapid expansion of the United States intensified the issue of slavery as new states were added to the Union, leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.
When was manifest destiny coined?
The Coining of 'Manifest Destiny'. By the time Texas was admitted to the Union as a state in December 1845, the idea that the United States must inevitably expand westward all the way to the Pacific Ocean had taken firm hold among people from different regions, classes and political persuasions. Recommended for you.
What worsens an already difficult and tender situation?
What worsens an already difficult and tender situation is the often-repeated statement that Native Americans need to get over the past. This past includes the songs and stories of our places of origin. And to make matters worse, according to the United Nations 2012 investigation into the violations of Native American human rights, the past is not over yet. All of this adds to the controversy and emotional upset felt by so many Native American Indians over the Bering Strait theory. This complex issue has many interwoven threads, both in history and the world we live in today.
Did Abdu'l-Baha say the Bering crossing happened in only one direction?
Paula: My first awareness was that Abdu’l-Baha did not say the Bering crossing happened in only one direction . He did not say that the American continent had no inhabitants—in fact, in another place in the Baha’i writings, The Tablets of the Divine Plan, he calls Indians “the original inhabitants of America.” He did not say that Asians were the only ones doing the crossing. I then realized the most important point was where he stated, “it hath been said,” meaning others have said it.
Why did the idea of manifest destiny arise?
The idea of Manifest Destiny arose in response to the prospect of U.S. annexation of Texas and to a dispute with Britain over the Oregon Country , which became part of the union.
What is manifest destiny?
history, the supposed inevitability of the continued territorial expansion of the boundaries of the United States westward to the Pacific and beyond. Before the American Civil War (1861–65), the idea of Manifest Destiny was used to validate continental acquisitions in the Oregon Country, Texas, New Mexico, and California.
When was manifest destiny first used?
The term Manifest Destiny was coined in the July–August 1845 issue of The United States Magazine, and Democratic Review by its editor, John L. O’Sullivan. He expanded the idea in the New York Morning News in December, invoking “the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us ...
What was the name of the treaty that settled the southern border question?
Andrew Jackson ’s invasion of Florida in 1818 and the subsequent Transcontinental Treaty (Adams-Onís Treaty) settled a southern border question that had been vexing the region for a generation and established an American claim to the Pacific Northwest as Spain renounced its claim to the Oregon Country.
What is Soldier's Adieu?
Soldier's Adieu, an 1847 lithograph depicting public enthusiasm for the Mexican-American War. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Yet in a story as old as ancient Rome ’s transformation from republic to empire, not all Americans, like the doubters of Rome, found it encouraging.
What happened after the American Revolution?
After the American Revolution (1775–83), the steady advance of the cotton kingdom in the South matched the lure of the Ohio Country in the North. In 1803, Pres. Thomas Jefferson ’s Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the country with the stroke of a pen.
What was O'Sullivan protesting?
O’Sullivan was protesting European meddling in American affairs, especially by France and England, which he said were acting. Austin, Texas. Lithograph of Austin, Texas, c. 1840. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
How did the US help the Indians?
In order to facilitate all of the Indians, the United States set up the reservation system. The system was initiated under President Andrew Jackson, who signed the disastrous Indian Removal Act of 1830 into effect. He created the infamous Indian Territory, which is now present-day Oklahoma, in order to corral the Indians that he had just removed from the southeastern United States. By doing this, Jackson believed that he was improving the lives of the Indians, either by giving them a better place to live, or by providing better materials for them to use.
Where was the Miser's Pittance given to the Indians?
Unfortunately, in the treaties made at such places as Fort Laramie and Fort Jackson, the “miser’s pittance” was never given to the Indians. But it was not only in the Southwestern area but in the Great Plains as well. The Cheyenne, after losing their hunting grounds in 1877, were forced to move from their agency at Fort Robinson in the Northwest part of Nebraska, to the Indian Territory, which is present day Oklahoma.
Why did the US government start the Reservation System?
In order to facilitate all the Indians and the “promises” made in their treaties with the government , they began the Reservation System. This was a disastrous mistake. By taking lands that had been “bought” by the government and setting aside specific portions for the Native Americans, they believed that this would appease the tribes. In fact, when a tribe surrendered after warring with the army, or ceding lands to the government, usually they were taken to a reservation far away from where they had lived for thousands of years. These tribes had spiritual as well as emotional ties to the land which they loved. Being forced to live on these “paradise” reservations, to the Indians, was like living in another world. The conditions at most of these reservations were horrible in the 1860’s and continue to be deplorable to this day.
What was the relationship between the English and the Native Americans?
In 1607, Jamestown was established as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States. The English settlers had quite friendly relations with the tribes of Indians living there. In fact, the colonial experiment would have halted and the colonists perished had Squanto and the Pawtuxet tribe not assisted by giving them food, and teaching them to fish and hunt. In between the Plymouth Colony and the eventual creation of the United States, there was a noteworthy conflict between Native Americans and colonists. This conflict became known as King Philip’s War. The cause of the war was attributed to a failed diplomacy attempt by both the Indians and the Puritans. The war lasted less than three years, and in that time twelve of New England’s towns were burned to the ground. About 3,000 Indians died compared to the colonists 600 fatalities. It was the greatest calamity that pre-American colonists had experienced. In 1771, a group of men in the English colonies convened in Philadelphia to discuss the problems of oppression and taxation by the British crown, as well as the possibility of going to war. The colonists were tired of this constant oppression and they were especially angry over the Proclamation of 1763, that stated that settlers were not allowed to settle anywhere past the Mississippi river. Time and time again, peaceful efforts to break ties with England were denied. Thus, the colonists went into a long war to win their freedom. In 1776 they proclaimed their independence and defeated Britain, thereby establishing themselves as the United States of America.
Where were the Indian reservations?
However, the terrifying reality is that the reservations were usually hundreds of miles from where the Indians were accustomed to living. The Navajo were taken from their lands in the Southwest, to a reservation in current-day Texas called the Bosque Redondo. The Five Civilized Tribes, namely the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and the Seminoles, as well as the Sioux, hundreds of miles up north in the Dakotas, were removed from their lands in the South to present-day Oklahoma, which was set aside as “Indian Territory”. The conditions at these reservations were anything but tolerable. Not to speak of the long journeys that the Indians had to take in order to reach the reservations, in which many elderly, women and children perished. Why did the United States government not set up reservations where the Indians were already living? Why would they spend money using supplies, wagons and troops from the army to transport the Native Americans across hundreds of miles to their new homes? The truth of the matter is that in most cases, once either gold, or copper or some other precious commodity was discovered on their lands, the government decided that their profit was more important than the Indian’s homelands.
What did Black Hawk do after the war?
In the years following the war (of 1812), Black Hawk watched the settlers pouring into Illinois. Every year, returning from their winter hunting, the Sauk and Foxes found their lodges burned, their cornfields fenced in, their cemeteries plowed up. Again and again Black Hawk protested to the Indian agents at Rock Island, only to be told that he should move across the Mississippi. At last, early in 1829, the chieftain returned from a poor hunt to find a white family settled in his own lodge. (Nardo 74)
What were the Indian resistance movements?
An Indian resistance movement against U.S. expansion had been growing through the leadership of the Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa. In August 1810, Tecumseh led 400 armed warriors down the Wabash River to meet with the American General William H. Harrison, in Vincennes. As the warriors were dressed in war paint, their sudden appearance at first frightened the soldiers. The leaders of the group were escorted to Grouseland where they met Harrison. Tecumseh insisted that the Fort Wayne Treaty, which was signed by other tribal leaders that gave about 160,000 acres of present-day Indiana to the United States, was illegitimate. He argued that no one tribe could sell land without the approval of the other tribes; he asked Harrison to nullify it and warned that Americans should not attempt to settle the lands sold in the treaty. Harrison said the Miami, who had the sale proposed to them, were the owners of the land and could sell it if they so chose. Tecumseh argued that no one man could sell the earth from which all life spawns. Thus began a heated exchange of words that led to the culmination of the short war, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Here, Harrison was authorized by Secretary of War William Eustis to march against the nascent confederation as a show of force. Harrison led an army of more than 1,000 men north to try to intimidate the Shawnee into making peace. Instead, the tribes launched a surprise attack on Harrison's army early on the morning of November 6, in what became known as the Battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison defeated the tribal forces at Prophetstown, and soon after the US blamed Britain for the uprising of the Shawnee and declared war in 1812. ( www.tcha.mus.in.us/battlehistory.htm)

Louisiana Purchase
Texas Independence
The Coining of 'Manifest Destiny'
- By the time Texas was admitted to the Union as a state in December 1845, the idea that the United States must inevitably expand westward all the way to the Pacific Ocean had taken firm hold among people from different regions, classes and political persuasions. The phrase “Manifest Destiny,” which emerged as the best-known expression of this mindset, first appeared …
Oregon Territory
- An 1842 treaty between Great Britain and the United States partially resolved the question of where to draw the Canadian border, but left open the question of the Oregon Territory, which stretched from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains over an area including what is now Oregon, Idaho, WashingtonState and most of British Columbia. Polk, an ardent proponent of Ma…
Impact of Manifest Destiny: The Civil War, Native American Wars
- By the time the Oregon question was settled, the United States had entered into all-out war with Mexico, driven by the spirit of Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, added an additional 525,000 square miles of U.S. territory, including all or parts of what is now ...
Sources
- Julius W. Pratt, “The Origin of ‘Manifest Destiny’,” The American Historical Review (July 1927). Sean Wilentz, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (New York: Norton, 2005). Michael Golay, The Tide of Empire: America’s March to the Pacific Era of U.S. Continental Expansion, History, Art & Archives: U.S House of Representatives. Access hundreds of hours of …