Manifest Destiny, Slavery, and the Breakdown of the Union

"Manifest Destiny" is a phrase that expressed the belief that the United States had a divinely inspired mission to expand, spreading its form of democracy and freedom.The phrase "Manifest Destiny" was first used primarily by Jackson Democrats in the 1840s to promote the annexation of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession). Slavery, the exploitation of Africans for hard labor, was also …

…s, the Union faced perilous difficulties that seemed only to be solvable by war. By 1861, Civil catastrophe was inevitable, and the differences that initially split the nation soon engulfed it. Conflicts including the Mexican War, the Wilmont Provisio, the growth of the Republican Party, the Dred Scott Decision, the Brooks-Sumner Incident, the Anthony Burns Incident, the Ostend Manifesto, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and unbalanced congressional representation contributed to national dispute and eventual dissemination of the state.