A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Manifest Destiny 2.0! Trump wants Greenland (2,166,086 sqkm), threatens Panama (75,417sqkm), and Canada (9,984,670 sqkm)! The rationale marked America’s belief in itself as exceptional — as a republic and not a monarchy — destined to expand.

National Post • December 24, 2024 ~ Daily Mail

While president-elect Donald Trump hasn’t declared Manifest Destiny as his rationale for wishing to expand American territory beyond its present boundaries, he very well might.

Readers with even a basic understanding of US history will know about Manifest Destiny — the doctrine that the democratic administration of President James Polk relied on to expand continental US beyond the 26 states of the early 1800s. The rationale marked America’s belief in itself as exceptional — a republic, no longer colonies of a monarchy — destined to expand across the North American continent.

A Battle for Greenland?

Trump’s recent call to purchase Greenland is the second go-round at trying to buy the Danish territory. When it didn’t work out in his favour the last time, he cancelled a 2019 visit to Denmark. It still doesn’t appear that Greenland will be raising the Stars and Stripes any time soon.

The world’s largest island, Greenland borders the Atlantic and Arctic oceans on either side and is home to Pituffik Space Base, a large military operation run by the US Space Force with a ballistic missile early warning system. But it’s owned by Denmark and the island is governed by its own parliament.

As a result, Trump’s recent comments on social media platform, Truth Social, regarding the purchase of Greenland as necessary for American security and freedom is falling on deaf ears.

Greenland’s youngest-ever prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, is clear on the matter: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.” In fact, his party is in favour of independence from Denmark. Though, Greenland’s 56,000 inhabitants, relies heavily on budget transfers from Copenhagen.

The Danish government must state in clear terms that control of Greenland is not up for discussion, according to Danish MP, Rasmus Jarlov of the opposition Conservative Party. “To the extent that US activities aim to take control of Danish territory, it must be prohibited and countered. Then they can’t be there at all,” said Jarlov, who heads parliament’s defence committee.

What happened during the first round of Manifest Destiny?

Arguably 40 per cent of what now forms the United States of America came in the form of land acquisitions — post-conflict treaties or outright purchases. The most famous perhaps is the Louisiana Purchase. That particular buy predates Polk and Manifest Destiny.

France was best friend to early America, rooted in its generous financial support for the colonies in their Revolutionary War with Great Britain. American negotiators were prepared to offer US$10 million to France for the port of New Orleans and the Floridas (east and west). Instead, Napoleon Bonaparte offered the entire Louisiana Territory, which then comprised a massive area from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

Thomas Jefferson, who was president in 1803, had initial doubts about whether the American Constitution authorized the president to acquire new territory. But when Napoleon threatened to renege, his doubts vanished and America paid the princely sum of US$15 million (all sums mentioned are in the equivalency of the day). This was the first of many land purchases that eventually firmed up the borders of what is modern USA.

The next acquisition was Florida. The 1819 purchase involved a deal with Spain for present-day Florida and the southern parts of Alabama and Mississippi for about US$5 million.

The next two additions, those under President Polk, came in quick succession: Texas in 1845 and Oregon in 1846.

After General Sam Houston prevailed in making Texas independent from Mexico, its denizens voted to join the Union. Though, that addition was not without controversy, since Texas was a slave state and possessed a very different culture from the north.

Oregon became a part of the US in a settlement with Great Britain. It established the US border at the 49th parallel to the Strait of Georgia, which included what is now the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and parts of Wyoming and Montana. This settlement was a significant part of Polk’s 1844 presidential campaign platform.

The last major purchase cementing the boundaries of what are known as the “lower 48 states” came in 1853 — the Gadsden Purchase of what is now Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico for $10M.

Was ‘Seward’s Folly’ a folly?

Alaska, number 49, was bought from Russia in 1867. At the time, the deal made by secretary of state John Seward, was ridiculed as “Seward’s Folly.” Why buy an Arctic wasteland? That was before the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s, and later, the discovery of vast oil and mineral reserves.

Hawaii was a sovereign state until 1898, when a coup d’etat involving a group of businessmen, including several Americans, called on the US to send in the Marines to protect their interests. It became a US territory, then a state in 1959. Also in 1898, Guam and Puerto Rico were ceded to the US from Spain after the American victory in the Spanish-American War.

Has the US had other real estate dealings with Denmark?
The US has had land dealings with Denmark before now. In 1917, it bought the Danish West Indies from the Nordic country after a referendum in Denmark tilted in America’s favour. They are now known as the US Virgin Islands.

Why does Trump think America has a claim to the Panama Canal?

President-elect Trump has also been asserting American sovereignty over the Panama Canal. After accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the shipping passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on Truth Social (on Sunday), he threatened “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America” if Panama doesn’t rectify the situation.

American involvement in the canal began with American president, Teddy Roosevelt. Looking to bolster the east-west movement of American and British goods, the US and UK established a treaty with Nicaragua to build a canal there, but that initiative never got going. Meanwhile, French efforts in Panama stalled due to malaria and similar diseases that took over 20,000 lives. After heated debate in the US senate, the American venture in Panama began in 1902.

However, geopolitics threatened to thwart Roosevelt’s plans. Colombia’s congress, which governed Panama at that time, was not enamoured with the financial terms offered by the Americans. That prompted Roosevelt to send warships to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Panama. The threatening move facilitated a declaration of independence by the Panamanians. They would get their country and the US would get its canal.

Several decades later, under President Jimmy Carter, a 1979 treaty transferred the canal to Panama, much to the consternation of conservatives in the US government. It has been managed by the Panama Canal Authority.

In recent days, Panama President Jose Raul Mulino responded to Trump in a video, declaring “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to.”

Trump fired back on Truth Social: “We’ll see about that!”

What does China have to do with any of this?

Trump could argue that China is sparking his moves aimed at Panama and Greenland.

China is not involved in managing the canal, but according to Reuters, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located on the canal’s Atlantic and Pacific entrances.

Meanwhile, China has been making noise about building influence in the Arctic, talking about building a “Polar Silk Road.” It has stoked fears in both Washington and Copenhagen over Beijing gaining a foothold in resource-rich Greenland. To date, the only Chinese presence is migrant workers, but that could change. 

Trump’s overtures are not even the first American overtures toward Greenland. Proposals were made in 1868 and 1910. In 1946, the US the equivalent of US$100M, but the Danes demurred.

While US financing and expertise could potentially boost Greenland’s little economy, such a move would require consent from Greenland and Denmark. And neither appears to be forthcoming.

Who won the War of 1812, eh?

Trump has recently made cracks on his social media account about Canada becoming the “51st US state” and referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor,” stirring consternation north of the 49 parallel.

But then Canadians remember the last time America set its sights on Canada. We were part of Britain then. The clash is remembered as the War of 1812.

However, Canadians renown for our politeness, don’t like to remind our American cousins who prevailed.

Donald Trump makes astonishing offer to Canada to ‘take over’

Donald Trump has made his strongest bid yet to take over Canada, offering the Canadian people a 60 percent tax cut if they agree to join the US and become the 51st US state.

The president-elect has in recent days suggested a territorial expansion into Canada, Greenland and Panama, and has mocked prime minister Justin Trudeau by calling him ‘governor.’ 

On Christmas, Trump escalated his campaigns against the governments of both Panama and Canada.

‘Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in “repair” money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about “anything,”‘ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

‘Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.

‘Likewise, to the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the US to be there, and we will!’

Trump recently posted that ‘Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State’ and offered an image of himself superimposed on a mountaintop surveying surrounding territory next to a Canadian flag.

Trudeau has suggested that Trump was joking about annexing his country, but the pair met recently at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss Trump’s threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended the Friday dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, said Trump’s comments were in jest.

‘The president was telling jokes. The president was teasing us. It was, of course, on that issue, in no way a serious comment,’ LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa.

Trump made the stark declaration on Sunday night that he would like to purchase Greenland as he announced his pick for ambassador to Denmark, PayPal co-founder Ken Howery.

‘For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,’ he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, during his first presidential term.

He was publicly rebuffed by Danish authorities – who reiterated the island was ‘open for business, not for sale’ – before any conversations could take place.

The Danish Prime Minister’s Office said in its own statement that the government is ‘looking forward to welcoming the new American ambassador. And the Government is looking forward to working with the new administration.’

‘In a complex security political situation as the one we currently experience, transatlantic cooperation is crucial,’ the statement said. It noted that it had no comment on Greenland except for it “not being for sale, but open for cooperation.’

Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the US could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn’t done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that ‘every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to,’ but Trump fired back on his social media site, ‘We’ll see about that!’

More on (1) Ephraim / The United States; (2) The Birthrights was Joseph’s (3) Ephraim and Manasseh 

(4) Who is Ephraim, a Chronic Liar? (5) The Ox without the Unicorn

~ by Joel on December 31, 2024.

Posted in Canada, Ephraim, Manasseh, US