Manifest Destiny and Race - 4652 Words

Laurence Mandin Professor Charles Turner M.A. J.D. History 18 25 March 2011 Midterm Question #1 part 2: What impact did the English view of race have on American society? (Worth 50 points) note: I felt it was more logical for my purposes to place part 2 first. The English view of race developed directly from their perceptions of themselves, from the ideas of their own racial origins, their own ethnocentricity. This perception became a concept that had its roots in 16th and 17th Century England. It involved their ancestry to the peoples of England prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, and further back to the Nordic and Germanic peoples of ancient, continental Europe. It didn’t start here; their Caucasian ancestry was believed to have†¦show more content†¦This vanguard of â€Å"chosen people† would see their noble sentiments of self-government tainted by a legacy of racial superiority that would contribute to the near extinction of Native Americans, the brutal subjugation of African peoples, and a history of racial bigotry and strife. These entrenched racial attitudes would reach a pinnacle in the first half of 19th Century America (Horsman intro), culminating in the Civil War of 1861: one of the bloodiest wars in worl d history—it left 600,000 Americans dead, white and black. That catastrophic conflict ended 150 years ago—and we still have not seen the end of the terrible manifestation of Anglo-American racism. Midterm Question #1 part 1: Race and ethnicity have played major roles in American social history. How do these constructs relate to an explanation of what it means to be an American? The description of Africa as the dark mysterious continent is a description that can also be applied to her continental sisters sharing similar latitudes in the Western Hemisphere, the areas now known as Latin America. These continents, as well as large parts of vast Asia, seem to be areas of the earth where many dark complected peoples reside. Ironically these areas of â€Å"mystery and darkness† receive the most light from our sun, causing the evolution of a protective coloring in the outer covering of the human body. WithoutShow MoreRelatedReginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny Essay1958 Words   |  8 Pages Reginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny: The Orgins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism explores the evidence and reasons of racial prejudices in America and discusses one of the most controversial topics in American history. The book also navigates the subjects of white superiority, and the creation of Anglo-Saxonism. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the UnitedRead MoreManifest Destiny Research Paper :1382 Words   |  6 Pages2014 Manifest Destiny Research Paper: The 1840’S were years of unprecedented growth for United States; in a mere four years, the national domain more than doubled with an additional 1.2 million miles being added to the country. (PBS) This was due to a movement called Manifest Destiny that suggested that the United States was â€Å"destined† to stretch from coast, sea to shining sea, uninterrupted by anything or anyone. (History.com) However, complex and underlying motives guided Manifest Destiny advocatesRead MoreJohn O Sullivan s Manifest Destiny938 Words   |  4 Pagesname to this belief in 1839: Manifest destiny. Manifest Destiny resulted through misguided beliefs of predestination and white superiority, in which white men, despite opposition, forced their way to the west coast of America. Motives of religion, economic, race, and nationalism contributed to the justification of their ambitious goals and the repercussions. As Catherine Denial states in her article, â€Å"Manifest Destiny: Creating an American Identity,† Manifest Destiny was â€Å"the idea that AmericansRead MoreManifest Destiny, By John L. Sullivan1491 Words   |  6 PagesIt is hard to read anything about the history of the United States without coming across the term â€Å"Manifest Destiny†. Manifest Destiny is a term, which was first coined by John L. Sullivan in the summer 1845 issue of the Democratic Review. â€Å"Hence it was carried into the debate on the Oregon question in the House of Representatives and proved to be such a convenient summing up of the self-confident nationalist and expansionist sentiment of the time that it passed into the permanent national vocabularyRead MoreManifest Destiny, By John L. O Sullivan925 Words   |  4 PagesCity, coined the phrase manifest destiny. O Sullivan claimed that it was the God-given destiny of the United States of America to spread over North America. O Sullivan s ummarized his view this way: And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us.†(OHC) The Idea of Manifest destiny may have created a nationRead MoreJohn O Sulliv Manifest Destiny1164 Words   |  5 PagesAmericans wanted to head west, this mindset was given the name of â€Å"Manifest Destiny† by John O’Sullivan. Manifest Destiny was a term that was prevalent during the 19th century. It expressed the belief that America’s mission was to expand their civilization across North America; this expansion would create liberty and economic progress through territorial gain. President Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, all collectively believed in the Jeffersonian’s mindset, these presidents encouraged such movement;Read MoreManifest Destiny Of The United States1202 Words   |  5 PagesManifest destiny is one of the beliefs that existed in the United States. The latter stated belief claimed that, the settlers based in America were allowed to spread all over the continent. However, historians came into an agreement that three themes exist in relation to manifest destiny, and this include: the America’s special virtue and their institutions; America’s mission that aimed at redeeming and rebuilding the western part as per the agrarian America, and a destiny that will enhance theRead MoreA Different Mirror By Takaki Essay1404 Words   |  6 Pagesthis time, America demonstrated manifest destiny and the Master Narrative. They were led by the belief of â€Å"white purity,† which these ethnic groups threatened. America exhibited supremacy over all of these ethnic groups. Takaki’s work allows me to become aware of the history and the outcomes of manifest destiny and the Master Narrative. Some of the behavior, perspectives, and experiences present in the multicultural history of the United States are: manifest destiny, master narrative, education, laborRead MoreThere Were Different Researches Done To Show What Caused1059 Words   |  5 Pagescaused the Mexican War. Some say America and others say Mexico themselves. There has been some insight by Ramà ³n Eduardo Ruiz, David J. Weber, Rodolfo Acuà ±a, and Walter Nugent. From Ramà ³n Eduardo Ruiz’s article, there are mentions of the Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny played a role in the New World and in Mexico. In â€Å"’From Hell Itself’ The Americanization of Mexico’s Frontier† by David J. Weber, talks about the issues within Mexico that caused them to lose so much of their territory. From RodolfoRead MoreManifest Destiny : Ugly Truth Behind Pretty Lies887 Words   |  4 Pages Manifest Destiny: Ugly Truth Behind Pretty Lies? The point of view upon Manifest Destiny that I found most convincing and close to my own interpretation was â€Å"Manifest Destiny as an expression of white superiority is but one explanation for what became a clear rise of anti-Mexican sentiments in the 1850s†. This perspective to me seemed to be the only one that did not skirt around what seemed to be the logical truth and explanations for why Manifest Destiny took place: for the prospects they were