Seeing the fact that much of the trans-Mississippi West lay outside the borders of the United States, Americans of the mid-1800s were becoming I realized that the future of the western lands lay in the United States. Manifest Destiny served as a justification for expansion by conveying the popular belief that the United States had a divine mission to extend its power and civilization throughout North America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Many people in the 19th century believed that their fate was determined by God, justified, and inevitable. However, a large number of controversies against Manifest Destiny came from abolitionists or individuals who opposed development for control in Western areas. Congressman Abraham Lincoln of Illinois considered Manifest an excuse to expand slavery into the Western regions. The real concern is that these regions will one day progress to become states with senators or representatives who may vote to proceed with subjugation and expand slavery into the regions or one day end slavery permanently. The expansionists wanted to see the United States extend westward and southward, and although the United States failed to reclaim Cuba and Nicaragua, overall America succeeded in realizing its manifest destiny through the annexation of Texas and through land conquests in Oregon and California. The United States' interest in extending its borders south into Texas and west into Oregon and California was largely influenced by the migration of American pioneers in the 1820s and 1830s. After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1823, the new country sought to attract settlers to farm its borders. Northern province of Texas, sparsely populated. Settlers from America were welcome and in fact outnumbered the Mexicans in Texas three to one. In 1829, Mexico outlawed slavery and required all immigrants to convert to Roman Catholicism, but many colonists refused to obey these laws. Due to American refusal, Mexico closed its borders to any further American immigrants, but this proved unsuccessful as thousands of Americans continued to pour in. The friction intensified when in 1834, General Antonio López de Santa Anna appointed himself dictator of Mexico and attempted to impose the Laws of Mexico in Texas. He led an army to attack a band of American settlers led by Sam Houston. Sam Houston's army eventually captured Santa Anna, forcing him to sign a treaty recognizing Mexican independence. Houston then applied for the annexation of Texas in 1836, but this was not accomplished until 1845, when President John Tyler pushed for a joint resolution on the subject. The annexation of Texas quickly led to problems with Mexico, which then led to the Mexican War. Mexico severed its diplomatic ties with the United States, but President James Polk wanted to take advantage of a weak Mexico by calling for the Texas border to be moved 150 miles south to the Rio Grande, and was also interested in purchasing California from Mexico. When Mexico refused his terms, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor's army to continue toward the Rio Grande. This led to a small skirmish between Mexican and American troops, which resulted in 16 American casualties. This incident served as a justification for a war message that Polk then sent to Congress declaring war on Mexico.The United States' entry into the war against Mexico caused controversy from start to finish. In the first year of the war (1846) Congressman David Wilmot proposed a bill prohibiting slavery in all newly acquired territories from Mexico. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House twice but was defeated in the Senate. The war lasted from the spring of 1846 to the fall of 1847, when the Americans captured Mexico City, winning the war. Mexico accepted the original United States terms in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). The border of Texas was expanded, and California and New Mexico were both sold to the United States for a sum of $15 million. In the west, Britain and America contested Oregon, a vast territory on the Pacific coast that originally extended north to the Alaska border. Britain based its claim to the land on the Hudson Fur Company's profitable fur trade with the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest. The United States based its claim on the basis of how an American named Captain Robert Gray discovered the Columbia River, Lewis and Clark's Pacific Coast overland expedition, and the fur trading post and fort at Astoria, Oregon, established by an American named John Jacob Astor. Finally, in 1846, Great Britain and the Americans divided the Oregon Territory between them, and the Americans got the half south of the 49th parallel. President Polk made the decision to compromise with Great Britain so that the United States would not have to fight the British and Mexico at the same time. Although America overall successfully fulfilled its manifest destiny, it failed to acquire land in Cuba and Nicaragua. Many Southerners were dissatisfied with the Mexican War's territorial gains and desired to acquire new territory in Latin America. President Polk offered to purchase Cuba from Spain for $100 million, but Spain refused, and when southern adventurers tried to conquer the island by force, Spain easily immobilized and destroyed the shipments. And then years later, when Franklin Pierce was elected president, he sent American diplomats to Spain to secretly negotiate the purchase of Cuba from Spain. The Ostend Manifesto drafted by diplomats was leaked to the press in the United States and provoked an angry reaction from antislavery members of Congress, forcing Pierce to abandon the negotiations. Although he failed to acquire Cuba, Pierce succeeded in adding a strip of land to the American Southwest in 1853. Known as the Gadsden Purchase, the United States obtained the southern sections of present-day New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico for 10 million of dollars. William Walker was an example of an expansionist who attempted to conquer new lands with or without the support of the United States government. Leading a force composed mostly of Southerners with the goal of developing a pro-slavery Central American empire, Walker and his band took control of Nicaragua in 1855. His reign ended abruptly, however, when a coalition of Central Americans invaded and defeated Walker in 1857.Continue in mind: This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, although America failed to conquer the Central American territories of Cuba and Nicaragua, overall, the United States succeeded in realizing its Manifest Destiny through the annexation of Texas and through the conquest of lands in Oregon and California. The territorial expansion of the United States' borders increased tensions between the North and the South over whether or not they were (1995)..