Manifest Destiny And US-Mexican War

The US-Mexican War, compared with other major wars in the United States'history, was a minor war, therefore, it has been overlooked by some mainstream historians. But the consequence of the US-Mexican War was such a massive one that after the war the United States nearly doubled its territory and became a continental power. By closely examining the history in 1840s, the author noticed an interesting phenomenon, that the US-Mexican War has always been supported by an ideology—Manifest Destiny. It was widely accepted as a justification for waging the US-Mexican War.The present thesis studies the ideology of Manifest Destiny and traces various sources of its emergence. Religious, racist and political factors of the ideology are examined. Following the examination, the author demonstrates that Manifest Destiny was a social product. It was the offshoot of particular economic, social and political conditions under which the dissemination of Manifest Destiny reached it culminating point in the middle of the 1840s before and during the US-Mexican War.The author explores the role the ideology of Manifest Destiny played in the US-Mexican War. Manifest Destiny, as war propaganda, actually served as a justification to motivate and rationalize the war. Before the war, it was used to agitate the national sentiment and lead the public voice. During the war, the American government and expansionists tried by every means to employ the ideology to legitimize and garnish the war. Manifest Destiny as war propaganda fully exerted its function in directing the national sentiment before and during the war. After the war, though, gradually fading, it still worked as a justification for Americans to wage wars against other countries. Even today, history repeats itself as it witnesses of the United States seeking its hegemony globally under the pretence of saving other countries'people.The conclusion is that the so-called Manifest Destiny was used as war propaganda for the United States to justify the US-Mexican War and gain the territory it wanted. The purpose of such study is to remind us that once Manifest Destiny has become part of the American culture, the way of American life and a method of American thinking, it would never vanish and it still exerts and will exert its influence in American society.