Manifest Destiny and Nazi Doctrine Untangling a Complex Historical Thread
The Troubling Parallels
1. Expansion & Racial Hierarchy
- Manifest Destiny (19th century): U.S. belief in divine right to colonize North America, resulting in Native American displacement and cultural destruction
- Nazi Lebensraum (1930s-40s): German expansion into Eastern Europe accompanied by genocide of Slavs and Jews
"Our Mississippi must be the Volga."
- Adolf Hitler, 1941
Key Differences
Methods of Domination
- U.S. Settler Colonialism:
- Centuries-long process
- Combination of forced treaties and massacres
- Assimilation attempts (e.g., boarding schools)
- Nazi Genocide:
- Industrialized killing machines
- Generalplan Ost (plan to exterminate 30-50 million)
- Complete biological extermination ideology
Hitler's American Inspiration
Historical records show Nazi leadership explicitly referenced U.S. policies:
- Praised the near-extermination of Native Americans
- Admired U.S. racial segregation laws
- Sought to replicate "Wild West" frontier mentality in Eastern Europe
Why This Matters Today
This historical connection forces us to confront:
- How colonial violence influenced 20th-century fascism
- The global legacy of settler colonialism
- The danger of romanticizing expansionist history
Conclusion
While Manifest Destiny wasn't inherently Nazi doctrine, it became part of what historian Timothy Snyder calls the American prehistory of Nazi imperialism.
Both ideologies demonstrate how:
- Racial hierarchies enable mass violence
- Expansionist myths transcend political systems
- Historical precedents can be weaponized
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