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The Many Shades of Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
5/6 The Many Shades of Manifest Destiny
By Michael T. Lubragge
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Manifest Destiny had its share of promoters. But, rather promote the Doctrine
under its real name, several aliases were used.
If God and mission were the road to Manifest Destiny, imperialism was the light
that lit the way. Between the late 1800 early 1900, the American business man
fueled the notion of International Destiny. This group strongly believed in America
extending its authority over other lands. This authority can be done by either
political, military or economical means. But, no matter what the method, imperialism
was the reason to extend Americas interest beyond the Pacific.
"One popular way of thinking, however, was to attribute imperialism
to a determinism of some sort: the hand of God, the instinct of race, the laws of
Darwinism, the force of Economics and trade - anything but reasonable decision. Though
many Americans deemed willing to surrender to imperialist policies, few would admit
that they did so because they wanted to" (Blum 536).
As a result of imperialism, the US took control of the
Philippines,
Guam, and Puerto Rico via the
Spanish-American War.
Although there was still an abundant amount of land throughout the world that applied
to the Manifest Destiny ideology, acquiring land on opposite sides of the globe required
new methods. It would not be as easy as building roads and displacing a few thousand American
Indians. Controlling colonial possession thousands of miles away required a new military
commitment. This commitment came by way of a modern Navy. The US steamed into oversees
expansion when the Federal Government commissioned the building of several cruisers and
battleships between 1883 to 1890. It was clear to the US that those countries who controlled
the seas, controlled their own destiny.
Yellow Journalism served as an influential means to get those Americans on the cusp, to join
the Manifest Destiny movement. Nowhere was Yellow Journalism more effective then with Cuba's
war with Spain. At the time,
William
Randolph Hearst and Joseph Politzer were in fierce competition for readers of their
respective newspapers. In an attempt to gain distribution, they sent correspondents to Cuba
to cover the fighting between Cuba and Spain. The field journalist's over exaggerations of
events, sensationalism reporting and graphic details of the brutality and atrocities being
committed by the Spanish, created a new form of journalism. It also helped aroused popular
sentiment of the American people. Yellow Journalism coaxed the American public to rally behind
Cuba and America's involvement. When president McKinley
asked for a declaration of war against Spain in April 1898, he had the majority backing of the
American public.
Another way to disguise Manifest Destiny was to promote the philosophy of
White Man's Burden. Rodyard
Kipling made this philosophy famous in his
poem of the same
name. In his poem Kipling urged the United States to follow in the footsteps of Great Britain.
He stated that, as a world power, the US had the burden to help the inferior people of the
world adjust to Christianity. He also warned the United Sates that it would not be an easy
task to take on the role of a world leader but, the rewards will outweigh the trouble.
(Demkin Chapter 11). In addition to Kipling influencing
the masses, president McKinley also took up the notion of White Man's Burden. In defense of
America's presence in the Philippines he said, "Duty determines destiny."
The greatest promotion for Manifest Destiny came from a passing reference made by
President Monroe in 1822. This passing reference
became known as the Monroe Doctrine. During
one of his political speeches he warned Europe to "Stay out of the Western
Hemisphere" (Demkin Chapter 8). This simple statement
established the US as the protector of all the lands in the Western hemisphere. With the
Monroe Doctrine blazed on its chest, America could expand its involvement and control in
foreign affairs throughout the Western Hemisphere. Manifest Destiny received an additional
promotion when President Theodore Roosevelt added to
the Roosevelt Corollary. In addition to being the military protector of the Western Hemisphere,
Roosevelt wanted the US to be the Business protector as well. The Roosevelt Corollary stated
that even if a country had a legal contract agreement with a smaller, uncivilized country of
the Western Hemisphere, the US could step in and interrupt that contract if the US thought the
deal was not in the best interest of the smaller countries. This "Iron Fisted Neighbor"
mentality was yet another example of manifest destiny. By the US controlling its neighboring
countries it controlled its own destiny.
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