In 1847, the Massachusetts legislature passed a resolution, written by Charles Sumner, opposing the war with Mexico. This is an
excerpt from the resolution.
“Resolved, That the present war with Mexico has its primary origin in the unconstitutional annexation to the United States of the foreign State of Texas, while the same was still at war with Mexico; that it was unconstitutionally commenced by the order of the President, to General Taylor, to take military possession of territory in dispute between the United States and Mexico, and in the occupation of Mexico; and that it is now waged ingloriously—by a powerful nation against a weak neighbor—unnecessarily and without just cause, at immense cost of treasure [money] and life, for the dismemberment of Mexico, and for the conquest of a portion of her territory, from which slavery has already been excluded, with the triple object of extending slavery, of strengthening the “Slave Power,” and of obtaining the control of the Free States, under the constitution of the United States.…”
Document D.2
Document B:
“America is destined for better deeds. We have no interest in the scenes of antiquity, only as lessons of avoidance of nearly all other examples. The expansive future is our arena, and for our history. We are entering on its untrodden space, with the truths of God in our minds, beneficent objects in our hearts, and with a clear conscience unsullied by the past. We are the nation of human progress, and who will, what can, set limits to our onward march? Providence is with us, and no earthly power can. We point to the everlasting truth on the first page of our national declaration, and we proclaim to the millions of other lands, that “the gates of hell”- the powers of aristocracy and monarchy- “shall not prevail against it. Who, then, can doubt that our country is destined to be the great nation of futurity?”
(John L. Sullivan, Manifest Destiny, 1839)
Compelling question: (Please make sure you respond with at least 2-3 paragraphs)
Did the idea of Manifest Destiny impact increasing sectionalism in the United States prior to the Civil War?
