Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny is a phrase that expressed the belief that the United States had a divinely inspired mission to expand, to progress, and to spread its form of democracy and freedom. Originally a political catch phrase of the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America towards the Pacific Ocean.

Notes

• {{fnb|1}} Tuveson quoted from his book Redeemer Nation by Robert W. Johannsen, "The Meaning of Manifest Destiny, in Hayes, p. 13.
• {{fnb|2}} Stephanson's Manifest Destiny: American Expansionism and the Empire of Right examines the influence of Manifest Destiny in the 20th century, particularly as articulated by Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan.
• {{fnb|3}} Johannsen, p. 9.
• {{fnb|4}} Weinberg, p. 145; Johannsen p. 9.
• {{fnb|5}} Johannsen, p. 10.
• {{fnb|6}} Winthrop quote: Weingberg, p. 143; O'Sullivan's death, later discovery of phrase's origin: Stephanson, p. xii.