"It is destined that people born and raised in North America should be the same' nation', speak the same language, believe in the comprehensive system under the same religious and political beliefs, and adopt the same social customs and habits. For the happiness of all of them, for their peace and prosperity, I believe that it is inevitable to combine them under a federal agency. " [ 14]
Adams tried to spread his ideas. He drafted the Treaty of 18 18, which laid the US-Canada border to the Rocky Mountains in the west and agreed that Oregon would be responsible for it. He negotiated the 18 19 Adams-Anisz Treaty, also known as the transcontinental treaty, which bought Florida from Spain and extended its border with western Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. He also systematically expounded the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, and warned that the western hemisphere of Europe would no longer open Europe to establish colonies.
Monroe Doctrine is closely related to Zhao Zhao's theory of fate. Historian Walter McDougall called Zhao Zhao's theory of fate the natural result of Monroe Doctrine. Since Monroe Doctrine does not clearly stipulate the degree of expansion, it must be continuously expanded in order to exercise it. At that time, the United States believed that European powers (especially the British Empire) were seeking to enhance their influence in North America, which led to the call for external expansion as a preventive measure. 1935, Albert Weinberg wrote in his influential paper on Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny: "The expansionism prevailing in 1840 was a defensive act, with the aim of catching up with Europe's invasion of North America." Before 18 15
Before the American Revolution, American revolutionaries had hoped that French Canadians could join thirteen colonial states and overthrow the rule of the British Empire. Canada was invited to send representatives to the Continental Congress, which had previously allowed Canada to join the United States. 1775, when the United States invaded Canada in the war of trying to expel Britain from North America, it also hoped that French Canada would attend the grand event. None of these strategies to win Canada to thirteen States have been realized. In Paris peace talks, Benjamin Franklin tried to persuade British diplomats to cede Canada to the United States, but he failed. Because the British Empire has always existed in the northern border of the United States, the United States invaded British North America for the second time in the war of 18 12, but failed.
These attempts to expel the British empire from North America are sometimes cited as precedents for putting the theory of destiny into practice. However, Reginald Stuart, a Canadian historian, concluded that these actions were different in nature from those in the "Destiny Age". Stuart wrote before 18 15: "All seemingly territorial expansionist measures actually come from the idea of persistence, not from the great talent of conquest and merger." According to this view, Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny was not the cause of the 18 12 war, but only appeared after the war and became a popular belief. Although Chou Ying's psychology has been spreading in the United States, Americans have gradually accepted the reality that the British colony borders the northern border after the 18 12 war. Many Americans, especially the residents of the US-Canada border, had hoped that the 1837 Uprising would end the British Empire's rule in North America and establish a democratic government in Canada. In response to these incidents, john O'Sullivan wrote: "If freedom is the best welfare of a country, if autonomy is the primary right of a country, ... we feel the same for the reasons why Canadians are in trouble." Many Americans, like O 'Sullivan, regard these rebellions as the reappearance of the American Revolution. And-unlike most Canadians at that time-they believed that Canadians lived under the oppression of foreign rulers.
Despite empathy, the belief in the theory of destiny did not spread widely with the American response to this rebellion, partly because these rebellions ended too quickly. O 'Sullivan personally suggested boycotting American mediation. Many American volunteers-soldiers who volunteered to fight without government authorization, usually inspired by the theory of destiny-went to Canada to help, but President Martin Van Buren sent General winfield scott to arrest the volunteers and keep the border calm. Many volunteers stayed in a secret organization called "Hunter's Cabin" and tried to start a war to "liberate" Canada-one of them was the so-called Patriot War-but American views and official government policies opposed these actions. The finnian raid after the American civil war (1the anti-British movement of finnian fighting for Irish national independence in the mid-9th century) is similar to the behavior of hunter's cabin, but it has nothing to do with the concept of destiny or the territorial expansion policy of the United States. On the northern border of the United States, the theory of destiny played the most important role in the border dispute between Oregon and the British Empire. 18 18 Anglo-American Convention 18 18 stipulated that Oregon was the country responsible for it. In the1840s, thousands of American immigrants moved there through the Oregon Trail. Britain rejected President john tyler's proposal to divide the region in two along 49 degrees north latitude, and insisted on moving the border south to the Columbia River, which put Washington State today under British North America. Supporters of Zhao Zhao's Fate Theory strongly oppose and call for the annexation of Oregon. James knox polk, the presidential candidate, took advantage of the rising popularity and self-interest, and the Democratic Party called for the annexation of "all Oregon" in the US presidential election of 1844.
After Polk became president, he put forward the idea of dividing the region into two along the 49th parallel of north latitude, which made the most enthusiastic supporters of Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny disheartened. When Britain rejected this proposal, American expansionists responded with the slogan "War before 54-40"! (Fifty-four forty is still a fight, and 54 degrees and 40 minutes north latitude is the northern boundary of Oregon. This slogan is often misquoted as 1844. When Polk turned to suspend the * * * management agreement, Britain finally agreed to split the region in two along 49 degrees north latitude, and the dispute ended after the two countries signed the Oregon Treaty in 1846.
Although the mood for "All Oregon" was high in the early days, the treaty was very popular in the United States and was quickly recognized by the Senate, partly because the United States and Mexico were at war at that time. Many Americans believe that Canadian provinces will be merged into the United States sooner or later, and this war is unnecessary to realize the fate of entrustment, and even has had adverse consequences. According to Reginald Stewart, the most enthusiastic supporters of Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny did not have the upper hand on the northern border issue, "because although it was called' Continental', Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny only reached the western and southwestern parts of the United States, not as good as the north." 1836, the Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico. After the Texas Revolution, it sought to join the United States as a new state. This is the ideal expansion procedure advocated from Jefferson to O 'Sullivan: the possible new state claims to belong to the United States, not the expansion power of the United States over the people who don't want it. However, the merger of Texas is a contradiction, because it adds a federation of slave states. President andrew jackson and President Martin Van Buren refused to join Texas as a part of the United States because the dispute over slavery threatened the integrity of the Democratic Party.
1844 Before the general election, Whig candidate henry clay and former President Martin Van Buren, who should have been Democratic candidates, both announced their opposition to the merger of Texas, hoping that this thorny topic would not become an election topic. So the Democratic Party unexpectedly abandoned Van Buren and pushed Polk who supported the merger. Polk linked the merger of Texas with the border dispute in Oregon, and put forward a series of regional agreements related to the merger. The expansionists in the north tend to occupy Oregon; The expansionists in the south advocated the annexation of Texas. Although Polk won by a narrow margin, he regarded his victory as a voter's trust in expanding his territory. Before Polk took office, the United States Congress passed the merger of Texas. Polk further occupied Texas territory claimed by Mexico, which was fought on April 24th before the outbreak of the US-Mexico War. 1846. Due to the success of the United States, in the summer of 1847, there was a call to annex "all Mexico", some of which came from Democrats in the east. They advocate the integration of Mexico into the Federation as the best means to ensure permanent peace in the region.
This statement is contradictory for two reasons. First of all, idealist advocates of the theory of destiny, such as john O'Sullivan, keep mentioning that American laws should not be imposed on those who have no such will, and the annexation of "all Mexico" violates this principle. Second, the annexation of Mexico means extending American citizenship to/10 000 Mexicans in Qian Qian. Senator John Cowhon of South Carolina supports the annexation of Texas and opposes the annexation of Mexico on the grounds of race, because his "mission" is destiny. He expounded his views in the congressional speech on 18481October 4th:
"We never dreamed of accepting Caucasians-free whites-to join the Federation. The absorption of Mexico will set a precedent for Indians to live together, because more than half of Mexicans are Indians, while others are mainly composed of mixed tribes. I strongly oppose such a federation! Our Federation-dear gentlemen-is a white government ... I think it urges people ... The mission of this country is to spread civilization and religious freedom all over the world, especially this continent. The merger was a mistake. "
This debate brings out a contradiction in Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny: on the one hand, the concept of race in Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny implies that Mexicans are not qualified to be Americans because they are not Anglo-Saxons; The "mission" part of Zhao Zhao's theory of fate implies that Mexicans will evolve (or be reborn, as later said) because they are included in American democracy. The concept of race is used to promote the theory of destiny, but in Kaohong and the "All Mexico" movement, the concept of race is also used to oppose the theory of destiny.
This contradiction was finally resolved through the cession of territory by Mexico. California and New Mexico, which are less populous than other parts of Mexico, joined the United States. The "All Mexico" movement, like the "All Oregon" movement, ended in nothing. Land expansion in the United States usually means occupying all Indian land. The United States inherited the behavior of Europeans and only recognized the land rights of Native Americans to a limited extent. According to the large-scale cutting policy of henry knox, the US government seeks to use legal Indian land transactions as the only channel to expand its territory to the west, and encourages Indians to sell tribal land and "civilize", which means (among other things) giving up hunting and becoming farmers; And make Indian society take family as the unit, not clan or tribe. Advocates of the "Civilization" project believe that such a procedure will greatly reduce the land area needed by Indians, so there will be more land to trade with white Americans. Thomas Jefferson believed that since the intelligence of Indians is equal to that of whites, Indians should live like whites, otherwise they will inevitably be excluded by whites. Jefferson was rooted in the Enlightenment, that is, the idea that Indians and whites jointly created a new country, which did not come true in his lifetime. He began to think that Indians should move to the other side of the Mississippi River to maintain social isolation. 1803 Louisiana land purchase case made this concept possible.
This concept, also known as moving Indians, surfaced in the world of Zhao Zhao's fate. Although some relocation supporters believe that it is best for Indians to move out of places where white people live for humanitarian reasons, more and more Americans believe that Indians are just "barbarians" on the road of American expansion to the west. Guinard Hausmann, a historian, concluded in his influential paper Race and the Destiny of Zhao Zhao that racial vocabulary increased greatly in the era of Zhao Zhao's destiny. Americans gradually believe that Indians will die with the expansion of the United States. This view is reflected in the book Conspiracy by Francis parkman, the first great American historian, which was published in 185 1. Parkman wrote that Indians were "doomed to disappear in the face of the invincible wave of westward forces from Britain and America". With the fading of the American Civil War in history, the word "destiny" was re-used for a short time. In the presidential election of 1892, the party platform of the United States declared: "Our party reaffirms its support for the Monroe Doctrine and generally recognizes the contribution of * * * and political power to highlighting its destiny. "Because of * * * and the party's failure, there is no exact definition of the word' destiny' in the declaration. However, the * * * and the party returned to the White House after the US presidential election on 1896, and later even dominated 16. The word destiny was later used to promote the overseas territorial expansion of the United States. Whether this statement of Zhaozhao's fate conforms to the continental expansionism of1840s caused controversy at that time and extended to later generations, which lasted for a long time.
For example, President william mckinley advocated the annexation of Hawaiian territory in 1898. He said, "We need to buy Hawaii and manage it well, even better than California. This is an obvious fate. " On the other hand, Grover Cleveland, the former president of the Democratic Party who blocked the annexation of Hawaii during his administration, wrote that the annexation of McKinley was "a distortion of the fate of our country". Historians also continue to argue between the two views. One school interprets the overseas expansion of the United States in the 1890 s as an extension of the theory of destiny on the other side of the Pacific Ocean; The other school regards it as the opposite of Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny. 1898, after the American battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana, Cuba, the United States intervened between the Cuban rebels and the Spanish Empire, which was the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Although supporters of Zhao Zhao's Fate Theory in the1840s called for the annexation of Cuba, the US Senate unanimously passed the Taylor Amendment before the war, recognizing Cuba's "freedom and independence" and giving up all American intentions to annex the island. The platt amendment adopted after the war essentially recognized Cuba as a protectorate of the United States. If destiny means open annexation, it will no longer apply to Cuba.
Unlike Cuba, the United States annexed Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Capture these islands and write a new page for American history. In the past, the purpose of the United States to acquire territory was to establish a new state and gain the same foothold as the existing States; These newly acquired islands are colonies, not expected new countries. This process was confirmed by island cases. In this series of constitutional interpretation cases, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that all the territories under the jurisdiction of the United States of America do not automatically and fully apply the constitutional rights of the United States. According to this view, the merger violates the traditional meaning of Zhao Zhao's theory of destiny. According to Frederic Merck, "The fate of Zhao Zhao contains the basic principle that Kohon and O 'Sullivan can agree-people who are not qualified to establish a country should not be included. This principle was shelved by imperialism in 1899. "
On the other hand, the theory of predestination also includes that "uncivilized" people can make progress after being baptized by American Christian democratic values. After President McKenley decided to annex the Philippines, he commented on this theme: "We have no choice but to fully accept and educate Filipinos, so that they can develop, civilize and believe in Christianity ..." Rudyard Kipling's poem The Burden of White People, subtitled "The United States and the Philippine Islands", was a famous expression of this public sentiment at that time. However, many Filipinos resisted this "development and civilization", and finally the Philippine-American war broke out in 1899. William jennings bryan, an opponent of American overseas expansion, wrote after the war: "The fate is not as clear as it was a few weeks ago." After the turn of the century, the United States no longer relies on "destiny" to promote territorial expansion, and the usage rate of the word "destiny" has been greatly reduced. Under the rule of General theodore roosevelt, the role of the United States in the new world, like its 1904 Monroe Roosevelt inference, was defined as an "international police force", giving priority to ensuring the interests of the United States in the western hemisphere; Roosevelt's inference explicitly gave up territorial expansion. In the past, it was considered necessary to implement Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere. Nowadays, territorial expansionism has been replaced by interventionism and has become a tool to maintain Monroe Doctrine.
President Woodrow Wilson inherited the interventionist policy and tried to redefine America's destiny and mission on a global scale. President Wilson led the United States to participate in World War I with the controversy that "democracy in this world must be stable and reliable". After the war, Wilson pointed out in his 1920 consultation to Congress:
"... I think we all know that it is time for democracy to face the final test. The democratic principle was abused wantonly, and the replaced absolutist creed deceived the world, but it was not authorized by public opinion and the old world was damaged. For everyone, democracy proves its purity and lofty superiority once in a blue moon. It is undoubtedly America's destiny to lead the pursuit of this lofty spirit. "
This is the first and only time that the incumbent president used the word "destiny" in his annual speech. President Wilson's statement on Zhao Zhao's fate is to abandon expansionism and support national self-determination, emphasizing that the mission of the United States of America is to become a world leader in the cause of democracy. After the Second World War, the view that the United States regarded itself as the leader of the free world grew strongly, but it was rarely heard as "the theory of destiny" as described by President Wilson.
Today, in the standard usage of academic circles, "Destiny by Heaven" describes a period in American history, especially1840s. However, this phrase is sometimes used to describe the contemporary policies and military actions of the United States of America. This usage usually comes from the left and is usually regarded as a negative view. In this case, the theory of destiny is usually regarded as the potential cause (or origin) of the American empire, which has been realized in contemporary times.