Manifest Design: American Exceptionalism and EmpirePraise for the earlier edition A fascinating, thought provoking book. Hietala shows that it was not destiny but design and aggression that enabled the United States to control Texas, New Mexico, and California. HistorianHietala has examined an impressive array of primary and secondary materials. His handling of the relationship between the domestic and foreign policies of the decade shatters some myths about America's so called manifest destiny and