History of the United States II / Unit 2 USH2 0154 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Manifest Destiny
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The idea
John O'Sullivan coined the phrase Manifest Destiny in eighteen forty-five, in the United States Magazine and Democratic Review.
In practice
Expansion described as a divine and national right to spread across the continent.
Where people slip
Teach it as what expansionists said, not as what was so. Lincoln promoted westward expansion to check the spread of slavery.
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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