Manifest Destiny Definition

noun

A policy of imperialistic expansion defended as necessary or benevolent.

American Heritage

The 19th-cent. doctrine postulating the continued territorial expansion of the U.S. as its obvious destiny.

Webster's New World

The 19th-century doctrine that the United States had the right and duty to expand throughout the North American continent.

American Heritage

(US) The political doctrine or belief held by many citizens of the United States of America that their system is best, and the idea that all humans would like to become Americans.

Wiktionary

Origin of Manifest Destiny

The phrase was first used primarily by Jackson Democrats in the 1840s to promote the annexation of much of what is now the Western United States.

From Wiktionary