What do you see in this picture?

Manifest Destiny was just a catchphrase written to get attention on the expansion to the west. Many Americans insisted that their nation had a "manifest destiny" to dominate the continent. It produced a growing spirit of confidence during the period of the westward movement. The first statement appeared in an article in The United States Magazine and Democratic Review, it announced: "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions." The idea struck the United States and was used often between the 1840s and 1850s to express the inevitability of the expansion throughout North America. It was used as an argument in territorial disputes and was used as justification for the Mexican War.

The symbol to the left is an example of Manifest Destiny. It shows the American angel floating over the plains. Ahead of her is great darkness populated by animals. The light is the civilization of America and the darkness is the ignorance and barbarity. It was expressed that Columbia could bring the property promised to the United States