Manifest destiny is one aspect that emerges prominently in the history of America. Imperatively, the assertive beliefs make the United States a force to reckon with territorially. Throughout the 19th century, the United States adopted an expansionism theory that has come to be known as Manifest Destiny, using it to advance its expansion efforts into territories that initially did not fall within its jurisdictions. This paper seeks to explore this ideology as presented in a historical context by Maria-Letizia Freiin von Bibra in her historical journal “Mythmaking as Manifest” compared with the position in “The American Yawp.”
Article’s Findings:
In her piece, “Manifest Mythmaking: The Role of U.S. ‘Manifest Destiny’ in Nineteenth and Twenty-First Century Indigenous Dispossession,” Freiin von Bibra explores different ideologies that drove the Manifest ideology among its sympathizers. These include divine providence, racialized indigenous inferiority, and claims of civilizational progress (Freiin, 2022). Freiin also goes ahead to highlight the oppressive nature of the believers, which was especially cemented and made a norm through manifest destiny. Imperatively, the ideologies used to support manifest destiny show that the oppression of indigenous people seen in contemporary society dates back decades.
Comparison with the Textbook:
The American Yawp uses John O’Sullivan’s speech, published first in 1845, as its reference point to tell the story of Manifest Destiny. On the other hand, Frein takes a new approach to analyzing Manifest Destiny through three main arguments, including moral sanction for hemispheric hegemony, westward progress, and an irrepressible destiny marked by God and America’s constitution. Nonetheless, the textbook, unlike the von Bibra work, which has gone into depth about why divine Providence, racialized ideology, and progress were so essential, claimed that such chapters were general overviews instead (Locke & Wright, 2019). Both sources accept that manifestation ideology dramatically influences people’s lives.
Chronological Order:
For the time frame, the textbook refers to John O’Sullivan’s Manifest Destiny of 1845 before Freiin von Bibra’s article. This is just to lay the foundation. Nevertheless, despite this chronological difference, both texts are geared towards the middle of the nineteenth century and its consequences for manifest destiny. The article and textbook highlight how far-reaching it has been in defining historical events, albeit with varying emphasis on specific ideological elements and broader historical implications.
Agreement and Disagreement:
The “American Yawp” textbook and Freiin von Bibra’s article agree on several areas regarding “The Manifest Destiny.” For instance, Freiin points out that it is the sole basis of oppression against indigenous groups across the United States, especially the Indians whose land the Manifest Destiny allowed the settlers to take up in the expansion campaign (Freiin, 2022). Freiin posits various impacts of the theory, including the opening up of the West for expansion and the normalization of the oppressive acts met by the natives in the past and even today. This is an area that Locke & Wright (2019) mainly dwell on in their exploration of 19th-century American history regarding the concept of manifest destiny, which they raise in Chapter 12 of their text. The two authors especially posit that by setting themselves up as an exceptionalist group, the American settlers used marginalizing ideologies to rationalize their masses to expand into Indian territories, taking up their land regardless of their plight.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Freiin von Bibra’s article and the American Yawp textbook contribute to the knowledge of Manifest Destiny. Consequently, the book has a comprehensive view, while the article takes a microscopic approach. Despite occurring before the book, both sources portray how Manifest Destiny remains influential in American history. These texts thus refute the notion that it was simple for some people to manifest destiny or its consequences for native Americans.
References
Freiin von Bibra, M.-L. (2022). Manifest Mythmaking: The Role of U.S. ‘Manifest Destiny’ in Nineteenth and Twenty-First Century Indigenous Dispossession. Webster Review of International History, 2(2), 15-31. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17356.12167
Locke, J. L., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2019). The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook (Vol. 1: to 1877). Stanford University Press. https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/12-manifest-destiny/
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