Expansion, Manifest Destiny, and Sectional Divisions

Expansion, Manifest Destiny, and Sectional Divisions

In the 19th century, the United States of America believed that it had the divine right to expand and take over the continent. This paper aims to discuss how the citizens of the United States thought in this expansion, which they termed as Manifest Destiny, and how it led to divisions among the citizens based on their beliefs and politics (Shi and Tindall). The paper further goes ahead to discuss how events such as the second great awakening, American transcendentalism, and American romanticism have affected the development of the so-called American mind. The paper discusses in detail how these events affected American development back in the 19th century.

When discussing Manifest destiny, often, expansion tends to be touched. Manifest Destiny was a belief back in the 19th century by the Americans that the country and, more specifically, a race within the land known as the Anglo-Saxon race was destined to expand across the continent (Shi and Tindall). It was a political doctrine held by the United States, especially in their expansion. It was a belief that the nation had a divine or religious right to expand westwards and gain control over the continent. Advocates believed that the extension was not only wise but also readily apparent (manifest) and could not be prevented (destiny).

As the nation continued to grow, tension among the sections increased. The north, which had abolitionists and the south, which was mainly pro-slavery, both fought to see their parts expand to the west, and this lead to sectional tension. Sectional divisions emerged due to each side’s yearn to expand westward and their separate beliefs.

By the end of the 18th century, educated Americans were adopting enlightenment secularism. A series of religious revivals were experienced called the second great awakening. There was a transition from the Congregationalists (descendants of Puritan churches) and Anglicans, which were the largest denominations to evangelical Methodism and Baptists, which were fast-growing (Shi and Tindall). Orthodox churches’ innovative techniques furthered the success of the second great awakening. Their camp meetings led large numbers of people to convert through their enthusiastic way of preaching and audience participation.

Evangelical churches had a populist orientation that favored ordinary people over elites. For example, individual piety was seen as more important when it came to salvation than the formal training, which was required for ministers in the traditional churches. The second great awakening also included significant roles for white women and much higher African American participation in Christianity (Shi and Tindall). We see that the women were able to distract themselves from the rural farm life to attend the camps. We read in the text, Religion, Romanticism, and Reform that camp meetings were held in summer or fall when farm activities were slackened so that the women would get a chance to camp with the others. Methodists abandoned the Anglican prayer book, loved singing hymns, welcomed the working poor and oppressed, and emphasized the ability of Christians to improve their lives.

American transcendentalism is a practice where facts and common sense were exchanged for ideas and categories of imagination (Boundless US History). This was a movement of writers and philosophers in New England. A new focus on humanism inspired it as nationalists were calling for an action that would help them distinguish between American literature and British literature.

American transcendentalism led to an increase in writers who started to express ideas through stories, poems, essays, and articles, and it allowed the dissemination of magazines and journals. For example, writers like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote and published their books in this era. Another impact of American transcendentalism is that it changed how Americans thought as it urged them to reject mediocrity and conformity and feel about themselves (Shi and Tindall). Americans started to embrace individualism, as depicted in the story of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and how he won his followers in search of power and how he later managed to move to the banks of Mississippi River with his followers. This group refused to abide by the conventions and rules.

American Romanticism emphasized the emotions, individualism, and personality over the usual constraints and rationalism of religion (Shi and Tindall). It emphasized emotion over reason and individual decision-making and was closely related to England transcendentalism, which showed a less restrictive relationship with God. Romanticism gave rise to a new genre of literature, which showed individualism and excitement and a great exercise of free will.

In the text, we see that the Methodists abandoned the prayer book, embraced hymns, and even were able to clap or shout and comment when a scripture touched them (Shi and Tindall). This also led to an increase in women writers and readers. Individualism and private sentiment encouraged women to get into literature. For example, we see Emily Dickinson flourishing and gaining popularity in the literature world.

In conclusion, the Second Great Awakening, American transcendentalism, as well as American romanticism influenced the expansion, manifest destiny, and sectional divisions in the United States in the 19th century, which affected significantly in the American development. The American mind was influenced by these events, which changed the way the Americans viewed and perceived things.