Manifest Destiny and the Oregon Trail
Between 1843 and 1869, approximately 400,000 settlers traveled the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail from Missouri to the Pacific Northwest. The term 'Manifest Destiny' — coined in 1845 — captured the widespread belief that American expansion across the continent was divinely ordained and inevitable. The ideology justified wars with Mexico (1846-1848), treaties with Britain over Oregon (1846), and the systematic displacement of Native peoples. It shaped American identity and foreign policy for the rest of the century.
- Year: 1843 CE
- Category: Social
