Manifest Destiny's Hangover: Congress Confronts Territorial Expansion and Martial Masculinity in the 1850s

This chapter considers congressional responses to three of the most significant expansionist episodes of the 1850s, the period of Manifest Destiny’s hangover, in order to explore how Congress dealt with the twin problems of territorial expansion and the rise of martial manhood. The organization, while not precisely chronological, has the virtue of exploring increasingly violent methods of territorial acquisition, from a legal treaty, to negotiation backed up with a clear threat of violence, and finally outright filibustering or piracy. Despite the obvious problems with further territorial growth in the 1850s, many in Congress were still passionately devoted to the continued growth of the United States, even through force of arms. As a result, territorial expansionism was central to the crisis of the 1850s. [Author]