Race and Manifest Destiny

1. The Transformation of American Expansion: From Democratic Ideals to Racial Destiny

By 1850 American expansion was viewed in the United States less as a victory for the principles of free democratic republicanism than as evidence of the innate superiority of the American Anglo-Saxon branch of the Caucasian race.

Shifting rhetoric. Early 19th-century American expansion was framed as spreading democratic republicanism and liberty, reflecting an optimistic belief in universal human capacity for progress. However, by mid-century, this narrative dramatically shifted, moving from universal principles to the inherent superiority of a specific racial group. This change was striking, as debates from 1800 lacked the "jarring note of rampant racialism" that permeated discussions by 1850.

Racial arrogance. This new racial arrogance, particularly evident during the Mexican War era, asserted that American Anglo-Saxons were a uniquely superior people. They were believed to be destined to bring good government, commercial prosperity, and Christianity to the American continents and the world, with "inferior races" facing subordination or extinction. This belief in a "chosen people" had deep roots in American thought, but by 1850, it was increasingly tied to an "impeccable ancestry."

Ignoring inconsistencies. Despite logical inconsistencies, such as the lack of a truly homogenous "Anglo-Saxon race" in England or the U.S., and conflicts with biblical monogenesis, this racial ideology permeated political and popular imagination. Even critics of expansion often framed their arguments in racial terms, acknowledging the widespread acceptance of these ideas and the comfort many Americans found in a distinguished racial heritage during times of rapid change and insecurity.

2. European Roots of Racial Anglo-Saxonism: Romanticism, Philology, and Early Science Shaped Racial Thought

When Gobineau published his work on the inequality of the human races in 1854, he was summarizing and amplifying more than half a century of ideas on race rather than inaugurating a new era.

Romantic uniqueness. The burgeoning European Romantic movement, particularly in Germany, emphasized the unique qualities of individuals and peoples, fostering the concept of a nation's "Volkgeist" or special national spirit. This provided fertile ground for English-speaking peoples to explain their success through a glorious Anglo-Saxon past, linking their institutions to a "continuity of innate racial strengths."

Philological connections. German philologists, inspired by Sir William Jones's work on Sanskrit, linked language to race and nation, tracing Anglo-Saxon roots deep into a prehistoric Indo-Germanic or "Aryan" past. This theory envisioned a gifted people spreading westward from Central Asia, following the sun, and bringing civilization to successive empires, a narrative that resonated with America's drive to the Pacific.

Scientific classifications. Concurrently, the "science of man" in Western thought moved from viewing humanity as one species with environmental differences to classifying distinct, inherently unequal human races. This trend, evident by the mid-19th century, provided supposedly empirical "proofs" for a Caucasian racial hierarchy, with the Germanic and Anglo-Saxon branches often placed at the apex.

3. The Anglo-Saxon Myth: From Institutions to Blood

Americans of the Revolutionary generation believed they were helping to recreate freedoms enjoyed in England more than seven hundred years before.

Inherited liberties. American colonists deeply absorbed the English myth of a free Anglo-Saxon past, viewing it as a heritage of political and individual freedoms predating the Norman Conquest. This myth was crucial for the Revolutionary generation, who saw themselves as restoring ancient Anglo-Saxon liberties against perceived British tyranny, believing their new nation embodied these "free principles of government."

Jefferson's vision. Thomas Jefferson, a fervent admirer of Anglo-Saxon institutions and language, believed that early Saxon government embodied natural rights and popular sovereignty. He advocated for a return to this "happy system of our ancestors," even suggesting names like "Cherronesus" for new American states, echoing ancient Germanic tribes and their "free principles of government."

Evolving interpretation. While early Anglo-Saxonism focused on institutional excellence, the 19th century saw a shift towards emphasizing innate racial superiority. The long-held belief in Anglo-Saxon political genius began to merge with new scientific and Romantic ideas, transforming respect for institutions into a conviction about the inherent "blood" superiority of the Anglo-Saxon branch of the Caucasian race, making them "the most vital and energetic of those Aryan peoples."

4. Science Redefines Human Races: The Rise of Ethnology Provided "Proofs" for Inherent Inequality

The importance of race, of 'blood,' was assumed in a manner quite unlike that of one hundred years before.

Challenging monogenesis. The 19th century witnessed a dramatic shift in the scientific understanding of humanity, moving away from the Enlightenment's optimistic view of a single, improvable human species. Scientists increasingly sought to establish inherent, unchangeable differences between human races, often challenging the biblical account of monogenesis and the accepted chronology of creation.

Physical classifications. This new "science of man" relied heavily on anthropometry, including cranial measurements (craniology) and head shape analysis (phrenology). Figures like Samuel George Morton, with his extensive skull collection, and later Louis Agassiz, provided "empirical proofs" for distinct human races with innately unequal abilities, placing Caucasians at the top. Morton's Crania Americana (1839) and Crania Ægyptiaca (1844) were seminal works, arguing for the antiquity of racial distinctions.

Racial hierarchies. These scientific theories reinforced existing prejudices, particularly in America, by providing a "rational" basis for racial hierarchies. They asserted that differences in accomplishment were due to fixed physical and mental characteristics, not environment or education, thus justifying the subordination or extinction of "inferior" races. By 1850, "the natural inequality of races was simply accepted as a scientific fact in America."

5. The "Other Americans": Racial Justifications for Subordination

The American intellectual community did not merely absorb European ideas, it also fed European racial appetites with scientific theories stemming from the supposed knowledge and observation of blacks and Indians.

Black debasement. Long before scientific theories provided a formal rationale, the debasement of Black people was deeply ingrained in American society, rooted in the institution of slavery. The necessity of justifying slavery in a nation founded on liberty led to the development of intellectual arguments for the permanent inferiority of the Negro race, often linking them to the animal kingdom and asserting their "innate ability best fitted them to be slaves."

Indian expendability. For American Indians, the dual image of "noble savage" and "violent savage" eventually gave way to a view of them as an expendable, inferior race blocking progress. As white settlers relentlessly pushed westward, the failure of assimilation policies was blamed on the Indians' inherent incapacity, rather than on white greed for land, leading to the belief that "Civilization is destined to exterminate them, in common with the wild animals."

American contributions to racialism. The unique American experience of coexisting with and dominating large populations of Black and Indian peoples significantly contributed to the transatlantic shift towards racialist thinking. American scientists, drawing on observations of these "other Americans," provided "proofs" of racial distinctions that were eagerly adopted both domestically and in Europe, shaping a "scientific attitude of mind that was willing, even anxious, to develop such theories."

6. Manifest Destiny: A Racial Imperative

Many think of rampant doctrines of Caucasian, Aryan, or Anglo-Saxon destiny as typical of the late years of the nineteenth century, but they flourished in the United States in the era of the Mexican War.

Coined phrase. The term "Manifest Destiny," coined by John L. O'Sullivan in 1845, encapsulated the belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand across the North American continent. This expansion was not merely territorial but also a mission to spread "liberty and federated self-government," a destiny that other nations were seen as "thwarting."

Racial justification. This concept was deeply intertwined with racial Anglo-Saxonism. Americans increasingly saw themselves as a distinct, superior Anglo-Saxon race, destined to dominate. O'Sullivan described the "irresistible army of Anglo-Saxon emigration" pouring into new territories, "armed with the plough and the rifle, and marking its trail with schools and colleges, courts and representative halls, mills and meeting houses."

Inevitable expansion. This vision of inevitable westward movement, driven by a superior race, justified the acquisition of vast new lands and the displacement of non-Anglo-Saxon peoples. The belief was that "no human agency could stop the predestined outward thrust of the American people," leading to a continental empire populated by "American millions."

7. The Mexican War: A Clash of "Races"

The Anglo-Saxon blood could never be subdued by anything that claimed Mexican origin.

Contempt for Mexicans. The Mexican War (1846-1848) served as a critical catalyst for solidifying American racial ideology. Mexicans were widely depicted as a "degenerate," "mongrel" race, adulterated by Indian and even Black blood, and therefore inherently incapable of self-governance or effective use of their land. This contempt led American officials to believe Mexico would not fight, or would be easily defeated.

Racialized conflict. American politicians and publicists framed the conflict as a racial clash, not just a war over territory. Figures like Robert J. Walker and James Buchanan asserted the innate superiority of the "Anglo-Saxon race" over the "imbecile and indolent Mexican race," justifying the forceful acquisition of Mexican provinces and celebrating the "Anglo-Saxon character."

Fear of amalgamation. A major concern among American leaders was the prospect of incorporating millions of "inferior" Mexican citizens into the Union. This fear of "racial amalgamation" or the dilution of the "white Anglo-Saxon republic" led to strong opposition to annexing heavily populated areas of Mexico, as it was believed they would "ruin the republic" and were "unfit to be citizens."

8. Global Domination: Commerce, Population, and Racial Replacement

The world was to be transformed not by the strength of better ideas but by the power of a superior race.

Post-war vision. In the years following the Mexican War, American racial confidence intensified, shaping a vision of global dominance. While rejecting formal colonialism, many believed that American commerce and population growth would lead to the "Anglo-Saxons" outbreeding and replacing other races worldwide, fulfilling a "great purpose of heaven."

Commercial penetration as mission. The expansion into the Pacific and Asia was framed as the culmination of the westward movement of civilization, with American enterprise bringing "Christian civilization and progress" to "backward areas." This economic penetration was seen as a moral good, securing wealth for the U.S. and transforming the world under Anglo-Saxon leadership, with "commerce" as the "precursor of Christianity."

Racial replacement. The underlying assumption was that "inferior" races would simply disappear or be supplanted by the "superior" American Anglo-Saxon race. This "dog-eat-dog philosophy" justified the exploitation and eventual extinction of non-white populations, ensuring a world shaped by the "power of a superior race" rather than universal human improvement, as "the order of nature must have its course."

9. A Conflicted Consensus: Dissenters and the Pervasiveness of Racialism

If anything was wanting to prove that this age is an age of imbecility and false philosophy, it is furnished in this drivel about races.

Limited dissent. While racial Anglo-Saxonism was pervasive, a minority of critics, like Senator James Shields, challenged the "drivel about races" as false philosophy and impiety, arguing it was "founded neither on Christianity nor philosophy." However, even many anti-expansionists, particularly Whigs, often accepted the premise of Mexican inferiority, focusing their opposition on the immorality of aggressive war or the dangers of incorporating "inferior" populations into the republic.

American exceptionalism vs. Anglo-Saxonism. Some expansionists, often of non-English European descent (e.g., James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas), argued for a unique "American race" – a superior blend of all white European stocks – rather than simply an Anglo-Saxon one. Yet, this still maintained a racial hierarchy, placing this "American race" at the pinnacle of white superiority, as "American blood is neither English nor Irish, nor French, nor Spanish, nor German, nor Swiss. But it is all these in large proportions of each."

Moral qualms amidst racial consensus. Figures like Albert Gallatin and Charles Anderson offered rare, reasoned critiques, distinguishing between institutional superiority and racial superiority, and questioning the very existence of a distinct "Anglo-Saxon race." However, their voices were largely drowned out by the prevailing tide of racialist thought, which had become deeply ingrained in American scientific, political, and popular discourse by mid-century, leading to the belief that "man, as an individual, is capable of indefinite improvement. Societies and nations which are but aggregations of men, and, finally, the Human Race, or collective Humanity, are capable of indefinite improvement" having a "strangely old-fashioned air."

Last updated: March 4, 2026