1869-January-08: The New York Herald published an editorial arguing that “Manifest Destiny” decreed the eventual absorption of all the West Indies by the Uni…

1869-January-08: The New York Herald published an editorial arguing that “Manifest Destiny” decreed the eventual absorption of all the West Indies by the United States. During this period, public discourse began to shift from the moral arguments of the abolitionist era to a more aggressive commercial expansionism. This sentiment was echoed by W. J. Dumont, a former U.S. Navy officer then serving as a captain in the Haitian Navy, who urged the United States to accept a port from Haiti. Dumont argued that acquiring a Haitian port would be a more cost-effective alternative to paying a large sum for Samaná Bay in the Dominican Republic.