Manifest Destiny
From Conservapedia
Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was inevitable that the American people would create a nation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This obviously gave rise to conflicts with many nations over territorial claims. The secret Ostend Manifesto, written in Ostend, Belgium in 1854 by the U.S. ambassadors to Spain, France, and Britain, was perhaps the first warning of the conflicts Manifest Destiny would soon cause. The document was essentially a plan for the United States to acquire Cuba from Spain through a purchase, and if necessary, force.[1] Southern Democrats hoped the acquired island would become another slave state, and that future acqusitions would negate northerners' efforts to prevent the spread of slavery. Abolitionist presses, however, when the document was made public, denounced the agreement and the plan never went into effect. While this did not lead to armed conflict, it was only a matter of time before Manifest Destiny would be put to the test. Expansionist James K. Polk was sworn into office in 1845. "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" became a catchphrase for the annexation of the entire Oregon Country, then co-owned with Great Britain. The slogan referred to the region's northern boundary of 54°40ʹ N latitude. Eventually, the 49th Parallel was settled upon, which now forms most of the US-Canada border. Polk also added the new state of Texas to the Union, and after the Mexican-American War, nearly annexed all of Mexico.
