Manifest Destiny: The Belief in America's Divine Mission

What is Manifest Destiny?

What was the belief that the United States was ________ by God to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean?

Answer:

Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny was a widely held belief or idea in the 19th century in the United States that the country was destined by God to expand its territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It was a belief that the United States had a divine mission to spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.

The phrase "Manifest Destiny" was coined in 1845 and it encapsulated the idea that American expansion across the continent was not only inevitable but also a divine right. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that the expansion of the United States was a symbol of the country's exceptionalism and its unique destiny in the world.