Final answer:
Manifest Destiny is the term for the belief that it was God's will for America to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This concept emerged in the 1840s as a religious and cultural justification for American expansion across the continental United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The belief that it was God's will for America to stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean is known as Manifest Destiny. This concept emerged in the 1840s as a religious and cultural justification for American expansion across the continental United States. Supporters of Manifest Destiny believed that the United States had a divine mission to spread democratic institutions and Americanize the inhabitants of North America. This belief was used to justify the forcible extinguishment of any resistance to American expansion.
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