Yale Based Avalon Project Three
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Manifest Destiny, Popular Sovereignty, and Uncle Toms Cabin were three assets leading to a civil war. Though they are three different idea, all three remain interconnected for each one lead to the other. The legacy of Manifest Destiny pertaining to the expansion of the country lead to popular sovereignty in the newly attained territories, and Uncle Toms Cabin stated the view of the common person in the North as all this chaos was occurring. The expansion of the country called for more land, and more land meant more people, and more people meant more slaves. All three ideas faced opposition that mainly related to slavery. The Northerners felt slavery demoralized blacks, while the Southerners found it to be a mutual relationship in which the blacks work, and the whites make the money. As an abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe found slavery demeaning and wrote on the tragedies of the life of blacks down South. Other authors, such as Mary Henderson Eastman felt that the life of blacks as a free man in the North was horrible and that their fate was much crueler than of a slaves down in the South. The slave talk slowly reached a peak moment when war was the only option to turn to. The War Between the States or the American Civil War had finally erupted on April 12, 1861 as result of Manifest Destiny, Popular Sovereignty, and Uncle Toms Cabin.
Each of these ideas had many documents during that time to support their idea and one after the other, each document proved to be more vital in causing to a civil war. From the first document on Manifest Destiny on August 9, 1842 to the novel written to further the message of Uncle Toms Cabin in 1957, the people drifted apart each step of the way. The war may officially not have begun till the year 1861, but it started in the minds of the people all the way back in 1942 – A difference of nineteen years!
Manifest Destiny played a major role in leading to a future Civil War. The countrys legacy stating that we must extend from sea to shining sea cause extreme differentiations among the minds of the people. Not all the citizens wished for a large country; many were in fact satisfied with what they had. Many were afraid that more people meant more opposition that they did not wish to deal with. The Man in power, of course, gets to make the decision for all. In this case it was President James Knox Polk. He felt strongly believed in Manifest Destiny causing him to take control and put his plans into action. Though he was the culprit found when manifest destiny was at its peak, he was not the only man responsible. Many others, such as John Tyler and John L. OSullivan were supporters of Manifest Destiny.
The document initiating the idea of Manifest Destiny was the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (
After John Tyler had been succeeded by James K. Polk, the trouble began. Polk was ready to go to any extent, in order to fulfill the belief of Manifest Destiny. He believed that no matter what, the country is required to spread from sea to shining sea. Polk was the man in charge of the annexation of Texas. This annexation caused further dispute, and the Mexicans made it clear that they were not willing to just give up their land. On May 13, 1846 President Polk gave a formal speech on the Declaration of War on Mexico. The Mexican-American War had commenced. This war proved that the United States was willing to turn to even war as an option, just to fulfill their “Destiny.” And in fact, the idea of Manifest Destiny was not even supported by many of the citizens. The war depicted America as a divided nation, where the more powerful always win. Polk was present, therefore he had power, and using his power he took the nation into war.
Only a few months after declaring war on Mexico on June 15, 1846, Polk signed another document, one that expressed agreement under international law. Polk signed the Oregon Treaty (
The treaty that led to the complete war or North vs. South was signed on February 2, 1848- The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (