Opus 2015-474: Manifest Destiny and Your Future

Manifest Destiny gets a bad rap.  For those who were not paying attention in U.S. History, Manifest Destiny was a belief that God had destined the United States to spread over the entire North American continent.  In today’s Progressive America-hating environment that seems a bit arrogant.

Have you ever asked yourself what would have happened if the United States had not continued to expand west?  If the Proclamation of 1763 had held up then the colonists would have never crossed the Appalachian Mountains.  What if the lines drawn after the War of 1812 had remained static?  What if we had never gone beyond the Mississippi?  There were very few Indians in the area.  They would not have been able to hold on to the area against any determined European power.  They had a hard time not being displaced by other Indian tribes.  Who would have filled the void?  What country or countries would have stepped in to dominate the rest of the continent? 
Remember that at one time the northwestern part of what has become the United States was claimed by Great Britain, France, Spain and Russia.  What kind of wars and destruction would have ensued if those countries had not been held in check by a local power?

Does the name Catherine the Great ring any bells?  Have you heard of Napoleon?  These were expansionist leaders in Europe.  One ruled just before 1800 the other just after.  What if their philosophies controlled the new world?

If Spain had dominated you would have had the entire western half of North America with a cultural tradition similar to that of Mexico and Central America.  Mexico has had a steady stream of revolutions and dictators.  Even now there are forces in the Zapata southwest and drug cartels that challenge the central government. 

If France had controlled the area you would have the French influence to deal with.  The poorest parts of Africa were once under French rule.  Southeast Asia felt their heel.  Can you picture a bunch of little warring entities all across the continent? 

Russia has been a country with a ruling elite, Royal or Communist up until the present.  They have not managed to fully settle the land they have. 

That leaves all of the different Indian tribes that were already in place.  Keep in mind that most of them were nomadic and most lived in a constant state of war.  There is very little chance that they would have moved beyond those qualities. 

Maybe the United States was destined to rule the continent.  Maybe, in spite of all the problems it is the best possible outcome.

It certainly seems better than any of the alternatives.

homo unius libri