Manifest Destiny: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 28, 2026

News •

Can America move past hate? David Treuer says it must first grieve the harm it caused • Oct. 20, 2026, 6:00 AM ET (Los Angeles Times)

Facts

Date	August 1845 - c. 1853

Photos and Videos

American Progress, chromolithograph print, c. 1873

Map of the United States highlighting the Louisiana Purchase territory in tan, spanning the central part of the country from the Gulf of Mexico northward, bordered by British Territory to the northwest, Spanish Territory to the southwest, and Spanish Florida to the southeast. Eastern U.S. states and the Great Lakes are labeled, with a compass rose in the lower left corner.

Mexican-American War

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Manifest Destiny

Frederick Jackson Turner

Oregon Trail: Chimney Rock

Where did the term Manifest Destiny come from?

What was Manifest Destiny?

Louisiana Purchase

Examine how U.S. westward movement and the annexation of Texas sparked the Mexican-American War

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

United States expansionism