manifest desting

Definition

Noun (proper noun, often used as a historical or political term): - Belief in territorial expansion as a divine destiny: "Manifest Destiny" refers to the 19th-century doctrine that the United States had the God-given right and duty to expand its territory across the North American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It was used to justify westward expansion, often at the expense of Indigenous peoples and other nations.

Usage Examples

• (The belief in expansion as destined by fate.)
• (The doctrine caused forced relocation.)
• (Central idea in U.S. history.)

Advanced Usage

• "Manifest Destiny" as a rhetorical device: The term is sometimes used metaphorically to describe any nation’s or group’s belief in its inevitable or righteous expansion.
  • The country’s leaders invoked a kind of modern Manifest Destiny to justify their economic influence abroad. (They claimed a destined right to expand influence.)

Variants and Related Words

• Manifest (adj): clear, obvious, or evident.

  • The success of the project was manifest to all. (Clearly visible.)

• Destiny (n): the predetermined course of events; fate.

  • She believed it was her destiny to become a teacher. (Her fate or future path.)

Synonyms

• Expansionism: a policy of territorial or economic expansion.
• Doctrine of predestined expansion: a belief in a preordained right to spread.

Related Idioms

• To be written in the stars: to be fated or destined.

  • For supporters of Manifest Destiny, American expansion was written in the stars. (It was inevitable by divine will.)

• A sense of entitlement: a belief that one deserves certain privileges.

  • Manifest Destiny reflected a sense of entitlement over the land. (A belief in a rightful claim.)