#manifest-destiny

#manifest-destiny

The Texas Revolution (1835-1836) is one of the most important events in American history as it established the Texas Republic, leading to the annexation of Texas as the 28th state in 1846, which ignited the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The Mexican-American War resulted in the Mexican Cession, through which the USA gained the territories of Alta California, New Mexico, and Texas in 1848.

A new vision for the United States is being forced into place - one rooted not in liberty or justice, but in subjugation and the quiet normalization and acceptance of fascism. You can see it in the memes, the slogans, and the curated nostalgia flooding social media accounts aligned with the Trump administration. You can see it in the way frontier and 1950s iconographies have returned not as history but as aspiration.

The 1873 painting by John Gast shows a group of white pioneers traveling west, forcing a group of Indigenous people out of frame.