"Manifest Destiny" and Slavery

Manifest Destiny in combination with the slavery issue greatly contributed to secession and Civil War. Manifest Destiny was the idea that the US was chosen by God to populate the Americas. The 1800s were a time of expansion but every time the US gained land they had to deal with the issue of slavery. Some believed the US should deal with the new lands by making them slave states, free states, or by the idea …

…more land that the US gained the more the debate slavery was raised. The presidents chose to ignore the problem until it could not be contained and the US separated. The idea of popular sovereignty raised much conflict because it caused the northerners and southerners to come together in one state. The Southerners thought they could break away from the Union and sustain themselves so they did. Lincoln then waged Civil war on the South.