The Edwardsean Roots of Manifest Destiny

Abstract

Jonathan Edwards's millennial thought was instrumental in the development of the notion of manifest destiny and western expansion. It incorporated at least three elements: an east to west geographical progression, a mission to eradicate heathenism from the land, and the interpretation of military conflict as divinely ordained. His vision for America is traced through Timothy Dwight down to Lyman Beecher’s generation, which witnessed the watershed developments of nineteenth-century manifest destiny and westward expansion.