Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History: A Reinterpretation

In this enduring classic of American historiography, Frederick Merk challenges the triumphalist narratives surrounding Manifest Destiny and reconsiders the ideological foundations of American expansionism. Rather than portraying Manifest Destiny as an inevitable or universally accepted national impulse, Merk traces its evolution as a contested and often divisive doctrine—shaped by political agendas, religious ideals, and cultural anxieties. He deftly examines how expansionist fervor was not...