Question

John O'Sullivan coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny" in 1845. What did he mean by the phrase and is there any difference between then and now in how historians apply the term? Did the term have an effect on settlers traveling to the West? What were the motivations and/or philosophy of settlers in the westward expansion? At least 150 word response

Answer 1

Answer:

Manifest Destiny is the idea that the U.S. have a God-led path.

Explanation:

Historians do apply the term in the same way, even if things get changed pretty much in the last 150 years. The term had an indirect but nevertheless important effect on those settlers moving to the West since it gave them the moral and therefore legal legitimization they needed in order to do what they did. Settlers' motivations in that expansion were the same that pushed their ancestors to America from the Old Continent: an idea of wealth, prosperity, and above all freedom. Phenomenon like the Gold rush has to be seen under this lens