Expansion into the American West gave rise to a belief in manifest destiny. What does "manifest destiny" mean? Who won and who lost as a result of this belief? What was gained and lost?

Answer:

An ideal response will:
1. Define manifest destiny as the belief held by nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent.
2. Explain that the winners were American settlers who found an abundance of land and that the losers were Native Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans.
3. Explain that what was won was not only a considerable amount of resource-rich territory, but also an escape valve from some of the political conflicts that were arising because of cleavages in society. Although much was gained from westward expansion, groups of Native Americans, Canadians and Mexicans lost their land as a result of the process.