Ask us anythingLeading Americans such as John Quincy Adams John O'Sullivan and Sam Houston all believed in the idea of Manifest Destiny. What did that mean?

Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was both justified and inevitable. Proponents like John Quincy Adams, John O'Sullivan, and Sam Houston viewed this expansion as a divine right, promoting the idea that it was the nation's destiny to spread democracy and civilization. This ideology often justified the displacement of Indigenous peoples and territorial conflicts, as advocates believed that U.S. expansion was beneficial for both Americans and the land they acquired.