FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2022-214 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (December 2, 2022) – In Issue 2022-214 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we move westward to a certain planned destiny.

Manifest Destiny

President Polk announced to Congress on December 2, 1845 that the westward expansion of the US, a key tenant of Manifest Destiny, should be aggressively pursued.

Manifest Destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century regarding the special virtues of the American people, the duty to expand west and the need and destiny to achieve this.

Manifest Destiny was not broadly shared and was contested by many, including Abraham Lincoln.

At any rate, the US expanded westward largely through the Louisiana Purchase and then gained territory as a result of being victorious in the Mexican American War.  Also, Texas decided on its own to join the Union. 

This Mitchell map shows the American West as it was in 1849.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.