MANIFEST DESTINY AND ITS CRITICS

Sources look at events related to Manifest Destiny such as Indian removal, the Mexican War, and the expansion of free and slave states. One secondary source sees Manifest Destiny as arising from economic and diplomatic factors, while the other attributes it to shifting racial theories and ideas. Concluding exercises have students consider questions such as "Was government the key active agent fostering the spirit of Manifest Destiny, or did it merely go along with a course the public was determined to follow anyway?"