The Destiny Ideology

Research Topic Idea
Topic Paragraph
I will study the reasons for the Mexican American war because I want to find out what fueled America’s desire to expand westward to show the primary goal or objective of this move and how it impacted the Tejanos. My question is: was the Manifest Destiny ideology, the primary reason cited for American expansion, essentially a desire for cultural hegemony and economic gain rather than a divine purpose, as evident in the discrimination against the Tejanos in annexed Texas?
Annotated Sources
Source Citation: Burge, Daniel J. A Failed Vision of Empire: The Collapse of Manifest Destiny, 1845–1872. University of Nebraska Press, 2022.
Evaluation Statement: This source is significant for the topic as it comprehensively addresses the concept of Manifest Destiny, which was a major aspect of the Mexican American war. It is from an American perspective but applies an objective evaluation of the ideology, the intents, and the outcomes. Burge gives a thorough evaluation of the ideology. Accordingly, the source will define the Manifest Destiny concept and evaluate how it affected American Mexican relations and its impact on the treatment of Chicanos in the annexed territory of Texas.
Direct Quotation: In A Failed Vision of Empire, Burge described Manifest Destiny as “a cloak for the expansion of slavery over the western hemisphere” (90). This quote notes the economic intentions and the sociocultural hegemony of the White settlers hidden under the idea of divine purpose providing an excuse to wage war for relatively selfish reasons and entrench continental dominance.
Summary Statement: This source describes Manifest Destiny in detail, evaluating it at face value and the deeper meanings and intentions. I plan to use it to demonstrate why the economic and cultural hegemony based on racial discrimination were the real motivating factors in the Manifest Destiny ideology resulting in the oppression of Chicanos in Texas in the immediate post-war period.
Source Citation: Hernández, Sonia, and John Morán González, eds. Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of The Border. University of Texas Press, 2021.
Evaluation Statement: This book offers a comprehensive historical exploration of racial discrimination and violence in the border regions of the US, including Texas. It explores how minority communities such as the Chicanos experience violence and relate to racism as the nation developed through the historical periods. Hernandez and Gonzalez provide the minority perspective in a detailed description of the experiences of the Tejanos in Texas territory after the Mexican American war. The source can describe and connect the Manifest Destiny ideology and the actual experiences of Mexicans.
Direct Quotation: In the book Reverberations of Racial Violence, Sonia and Gonzalez hold, “Tejanos were reduced to field work, helping to enrich farmers whose arrival brought Tejanos’ dispossession” (254). The authors demonstrate the slavery aspect and economic discrimination to the benefit of the White European settlers, underlining the real intents of the war, annexation, and the Manifest Destiny ideology that is far from divine.
Summary Statement: This source provides information on the conditions and experiences of Tejanos under American rule in Texas. It highlights the violence, discrimination, dispossession, and enslavement of the minority population to evaluate the goal of the expansion. I plan to use it to connect the Manifest Destiny concept to the actual Chicano experiences and show that it was not a divine purpose but rather an economic and cultural ideology seeking to benefit the White settlers and entrench continental racial hegemony.