Manifest destiny was the belief that westward expansion of the US from 13 Atlantic colonies to the Pacific was natural, predetermined, and even divinely ordained. But were Indians, Mexicans, and the buffalo just in the way? This lecture will briefly examine and discuss such events as our expulsion and removal of Indian tribes; the US-Mexican war of 1846–48 and our seizure of more than half of Mexico; our violence towards native peoples; the Louisiana Purchase; private filibustering expeditions into Central America; our seizure of the independent nation of Hawaii; further empire building in the late 19th century; and Donald Trump's current plans for Greenland, Mars, Canada, and the Panama Canal.
Joe Belden is a Washington, DC- based writer and lecturer. He has taught courses and lectured at American University’s OLLI program, the Biblioteca Publica and Allende Institute in San Miguel de Allende, and other venues. Topics have included “How Trump won the rural vote,” “Can Trump win again?,” “Bridging our divides,” and “The role of nonprofits.” From 1989-2015 he was Deputy Executive Director of the Housing Assistance Council, a Wash., DC, national nonprofit. He also worked at USDA, on Capitol Hill, and for several DC-based think tanks. He is the principal author of Housing in Rural America: Building Affordable and Inclusive Communities (Sage 1998; 2019) and Dirt Rich, Dirt Poor: America’s Food and Farm Crisis (Routledge 1986).