Brandon Anderson

1/6/11

APUSH/ Per 3

Manifest Destiny and Sectionalism Creative Project

The Great Nation of Futurity (1839) by: John L. O’Sullivan

A- John L. O’Sullivan, an avid supporter of the Democratic Party.

P- In the Democratic Review in 1839.

P- Manifest Destiny was a term coined by O’Sullivan to express the belief of Americans
that it was God’s will for them to expand their nation’s borders.

A- This essay was written for followers of the Democratic Party, hence why it was published in
the Democratic Review.

R- The essay was written to galvanize the American people into spreading American ideals past
the boundaries of the nation.

T- O’Sullivan is trying to convey the importance of liberty and equality as an excuse for
extending our nations lands, wealth, and influence.

S- This source is important because it is the predeceasing essay to O’Sullivan’s “Annexation”,

the essay that coined the phrase Manifest Destiny. “The great Nation of Futurity” outlines the
basic ideals of the Manifest Destiny and gives the reader insight into the growing nationalism
that would eventually skyrocket the American people across North America.

In the essay “The Great Nation of Futurity” dated 1839, John L. O’Sullivan discusses the
underlining concepts of the Manifest Destiny, that the American people have been destined to
expand their nation westward. O’Sullivan discusses our country’s solidarity from the norm, as a
nation founded on the basic principles that all men are created equal and that no one man has
the right to dictate the lives of the citizens of a nation. He also insists that because of our
unwillingness to be subjugated by monarchy, we have been destined to extend our beliefs to all
corners of North America and to proliferate millions of free and equal populace. He goes on to
illuminate how the “expansive future is our arena” and that no other country can doubt our
claim to the west.