History of the United States I / Unit 11 USH1 1538 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Manifest Destiny
Captions available
The idea
The New York editor John O'Sullivan coined manifest destiny in eighteen forty-five, meaning the divine right and duty of White Americans to seize and settle the American West.
In practice
Expansion presented as spreading Protestant, democratic values.
Where people slip
The doctrine names its beneficiaries. It is a claim about who the continent is for, stated openly.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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