Manifest Destiny

Instructor: Joe Belden
January 15, 17, 19 1-3 p.m.

In 1845, a New York journalist first wrote that the United States had a policy of “…Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”

This LLP class will focus on the “big events” in the march of the United States to the Pacific: the 300-year displacement of Indigenous peoples, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the annexation of Texas in 1845, the “cession” of half of Mexico in 1848, and the 1898 acquisition of Spanish territories. But we also will consider lesser-known episodes such as the US acquisition of Florida in 1819, the “All Mexico” movement, filibustering expeditions of the 1850s, and the acquisitions of Hawaii and the Philippines. (An LLP course in February 2024 will offer a more complete and expert analysis of the US-Mexican War.)

Joe Belden is a writer and consultant at USDA and several DC based think tanks on rural issues, poverty, and affordable housing. In recent years he has taught courses and lectured at American University’s OLLI program, the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, and other venues. His latest courses taught have focused on Manifest Destiny and the US-Mexican War. Belden is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin and the Baylor University Law School, and a member of the Texas and DC bars.