“Rain follows the Plow.” It’s a sentence that seems so ridiculous to modern people that we wonder how anyone ever believed it. But in America in the late 19th century, this was gospel truth to some people. Rain follows the plow. The idea behind rain follows the plow was simple and powerful. Proponents needed a […]
Tag: Manifest destiny
Causes of the Mexican-American War – More Important Than You Think?
The causes of the Mexican-American War are, surprisingly, still a matter of some debate. Normally, that isn’t true of things that happened 176 years ago. Generally, historians can figure things out after two centuries. But in this case, dispute remains, at least regarding the events immediately preceding the war. And this dispute involves many of […]
Patriotism vs Nationalism. What’s the Difference? Does it Matter?
Of course the question of patriotism vs nationalism matters. Otherwise, why post about it? The better question, of course, is why the difference matters. That’s what I want to explore today. Patriotism vs Nationalism: What Patriotism Is The definition of patriotism, at its base, is wanting to see one’s country do well. Cheering your national […]
The Values of Manifest Destiny, Part 2
In my last post, (click here to read) I laid out the values of Manifest Destiny. Hopefully, I made the case that it was among the most influential doctrines put forward in US history. Today, I’d like to show how the values of Manifest Destiny interacted with some other events in American history. I’ve already […]
The Core Values of Manifest Destiny
I’ve written a bit about Manifest Destiny in previous posts, but today I’d like to write about the core values of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is a flexible concept, which helps account for its durability over time. This is a brief overview of the idea and the values driving it. The term first appeared in […]
The Red River of Manitoba & Manifest Destiny – 2 of 3
The Red River Resistance This is a continuation of the previous post detailing how half of Canada nearly joined the United States in 1869. The theater of action was the Red River of the North, the river dividing North Dakota from Minnesota. We left off by establishing that the Canadian government had a powerful need […]