Jacob Greendyk

HIST 1310 Final Exam

Prof. Tillman

13 May 2020

Prompt 1

Through the antebellum period, Americans embraced and embodied the concepts of

expansionism and- more importantly- Manifest Destiny. As they built log cabins and murdered

Native Americans, Americans grew the belief that they were inherently right, and the idea that

their role was to uplift those around them regardless of their pasts or desires. Expansionism and

Manifest Destiny were a way for the American people to justify their actions which concurrently

allowed them to create an identity as a people who were endorsed in their endeavors by a higher

power, whether it be religious or moral.

As America entered the antebellum period, the idea of “Manifest Destiny” pervaded

through the American people and greatly influenced the culture of expansionism. Within the

time’s American culture and the way Americans perceived themselves(prior), it is important to

examine what Manifest Destiny was intended for and what it meant to the average person. The

core idea and most influential aspect was that of Americans’ duty or ability to uplift and from a

certain perspective save those around them through expanding and accepting said people “under

their wing” in a way. However, as this tracked to the American people and more importantly

those who moved westward, Manifest Destiny was a hall pass from a higher power. The idea that

just by ​being​ Americans they were something uniquely superior, which was partially rooted in

the fact that American politics were built on an “untried” system, is a dangerous one and led to
conflict across the western part of the nation. So as American settlers moved westward, they not

only searched for lands and resources that could give them a better life, they also believed that

they were entitled to said lands regardless of inhabitance. In the Great Plains, settlers not only

encroached on Sioux lands and skirmishes with the people of the Sioux tribes, but also hunted

the game that fed said tribes with insatiable appetite.

All the while, the act of “filibustering” was commonplace all across the western half of

the nation. Due to Manifest Destiny’s lack of border definition, Americans felt justified in

expanding the doctrine to apply to lands regardless of ownership. At the time, Mexico laid claim

to much of the southwest and the British laid claim to present day Canada as well as parts of the

Pacific Northwest. This being said, when American settlers might happen upon an area within

the bounds of either power’s claim, they felt that by law of nature that land was theirs for the

taking. This led to only more conflict, and while as with any conflict both sides sacrifice, the

American settlers found a pattern of success that only fed their belief of intrinsic justification. As

time passed and American commercial expansion followed its predecessors, the power and

dominance of American expansionism only grew and fed itself.

Ultimately, it's obvious that U.S. expansionism played a much larger role than purely

expanding territory. From the onset of the movement, Manifest Destiny brought about the idea

that Americans were justified in their growth and plunder because of their political structure and

because of the doctrine’s denial of other cultures’ histories. Once these concepts set in, they fed

themselves as American settlers wreaked havoc on Native American populations that were

already being ravaged by european illnesses such as smallpox. In conjunction with filibustering

and the commercial expansion that followed the first wave of settlers, American power both
within the continent and on the global scale increased more and more in the decades to follow.

Because this growth and newfound ability to influence was founded in the belief of nature-given

and intrinsic rightness, the American identity grew to be one based in superiority and

virtuousness. This carried through the century to follow, and is the reason we are where we are

today.

Prompt 2

As the Civil war came and went, the role of the federal government both as it pertained to

society and to the legality of its nature changed and influenced the years to come. Drafting was

introduced, martial law was used, and Lincoln used wartime to increase his political power and

efficiency. The impacts on American society were numerous, as it gave birth to new points of

conflict but also gave way to differing ideas about popular sovereignty and the authority of the

federal government.

As the war approached, the American political parties were in a state of disarray as

neither party was unified or could back a single candidate with confidence. However, as the

Republicans pushed for a transcontinental railroad and held an anti-slavery stance, they found

that Abraham Lincoln and his salt-of-the-earth persona was a perfect fit and built a campaign

around published propoganda. As we know, Lincoln won said election and his actions in office

were extremely influential for many reasons, but especially in the context of government’s

changing role and influence in society. As the war began, both governments came to the

conclusion that a war that looked to be long and strenuous could not be effectively fought while

keeping states’ rights at the forefront of priorities. This was the first significant show that the

power of the federal government, specifically during wartime, was much more than the average
American might have previously believed. In the Confederate States, this was first shown by

their military draft practice. Previously, Americans hadn’t had to adhere to such rules, and while

it was relatively accepted, it was a perfect exemplification of how the federal government was

changing- with that change being accelerated by means of war. In the north, however, this

concept was employed when Lincoln used his wartime power to pass the Homestead Act and

create a true national currency, as well as a revolutionary income tax law. Additionally, the

northern federal power flexed its muscles once again when riots in Baltimore broke out, and the

immediate response was to suppress the press and employ martial law, resulting in years of what

was essentially a military occupation of the city of Baltimore.

While the northern and southern federal governments were using its powers in

ways that were new and scary, there also rose groups that spoke out against policies and actions

made by Lincoln and his party. These rose and fell alongside Union success in the war, but

nonetheless the action of publicly denouncing federal action was crucial at this point in time. The

groups were most commonly known as “Copperheads,” and showed even more disdain as the

Union employed its own draft mechanism. However, as the war turned to the favor of the Union,

Lincoln was re-elected handily and quickly began to resume his work on his “Republican

Experiment,” as he mentioned in his famous Gettysburg Address. This resulted in the “Ten

Percent Plan,” allowing reentry to the union if ten percent of a state’s population signed an oath

of loyalty. However, Lincoln was assassinated and the political landscape shifted as Andrew

Johnson took office. Johnson, a white supremacist, was pushing for a compromise which would

leave wealthy plantation owners much less powerful before, but conversely the moderate and

Radical Republicans pushed for and voted to extend the Freedman’s Bureau. This was a federal
endorsement of the road to equality, which in conjunction with the previous Emancipation

Proclamation created a whole new American political landscape that the federal government

mandated to include African Americans.

As America emerged from the civil war and could reflect upon the actions both of the

people and of the federal government, beliefs shifted not only politically but in the realm of

public opinion. While it had always been present as a concept, the Copperheads laid a

groundwork for more effective political resistance and outspoken dissent. At the same time, the

federal government showed the public that during times of war, it had the power and would use

said power as it saw fit, which was a scary proposition for most. However, overall the greatest

changes were not the public’s perception of the federal government but the public’s perception of

itself. The federal government’s actions displayed favor towards relative equality(for sake of

argument), and forced American society to shift and allow for inclusive policies. On the heels of

the era of Manifest Destiny, and with those influences still at the core of the American identity,

this was a hard pill to swallow for many.