Changes

'''Manifest Destiny''' was the belief promoted by [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] politicians such as [[James K. Polk]] that it was inevitable that the American people would create a nation from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The goal was to promote [[Jacksonian Democracy]] by expanding the lands available to yeomen farmers and slave plantation owners.  Conservatives at the time, led by the [[Whig Party]], strongly rejected the doctrine and instead said that America's future was in modernization, urbanization and industrialization.  [[Henry Clay]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]] were leading Whigs who spoke out against manifest Destiny, especially when it entangled the U.S. in a war with Mexico in 1846.

'''Manifest Destiny''' was the belief promoted by [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] politicians such as [[James K. Polk]] that it was inevitable that the American people would create a nation from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The goal was to promote [[Jacksonian Democracy]] by expanding the lands available to yeomen farmers and slave plantation owners.  Conservatives at the time, led by the [[Whig Party]], strongly rejected the doctrine and instead said that America's future was in modernization, urbanization and industrialization.  [[Henry Clay]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]] were leading Whigs who spoke out against manifest Destiny, especially when it entangled the U.S. in a war with Mexico in 1846.

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 purchase [[Cuba]] from Spain.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0837014.html</ref> Southern [[Democrats]] hoped the acquired island would become another slave state, and that future acquisitions would negate northerners' efforts to prevent the spread of slavery. [[Abolitionism|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 a large portion of [[Mexico]].

The secret [[Ostend Manifesto]], written in 1854 by the U.S. ambassadors to Spain, France, and Britain was essentially a plan for the United States to purchase [[Cuba]] from Spain.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0837014.html</ref>Southern Democrats hoped the acquired island would become another slave state, and that future acquisitions would negate northerners' efforts to prevent the spread of slavery.  

 

When the Ostend manifesto became public, antislavery northerners, denounced the agreement and the plan never went into effect. In 1844 [[James K. Polk]], an expansionist Democrat defeated [[Henry Clay]], a Whig who rejected expansion. "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" became a catchphrase for the annexation of the entire Oregon Country, then co-owned with Britain. The slogan referred to the region's northern boundary of 54°40ʹ N latitude (that is, the southern boundary of Alaska). The U.S. and Britain reached a compromise, splitting the region in half along the 49th parallel, which forms to this day marks the US-Canada. Polk also added the new state of [[Texas]] to the Union, and after winning the [[Mexican-American War]], purchased New Mexico, Arizona and California as well.  Whigs vehemently opposed his war and his expansion plans.  

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* Belohlavek, John M. et al. ''Manifest Destiny and Empire: American Antebellum Expansionism'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Manifest-Destiny-Empire-Antebellum-Expansionism/dp/0890967563/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228611908&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]

* Belohlavek, John M. et al. ''Manifest Destiny and Empire: American Antebellum Expansionism'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Manifest-Destiny-Empire-Antebellum-Expansionism/dp/0890967563/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228611908&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]