Manifest Destiny in the Mid 19th Century

"Manifest destiny in the mid 19th century was just another name for aggressive imperialism." Assess the validity of this statement.
Imperialism is defined as the policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations; manifest destiny is the idea that God gave a nation the right to practice this. With a continued splintering (due to a lack of party-defining issues) of the American political system, the exertion of American ideals upon other nations was one of the few topics that was left for the two major political parties (Whigs and Democrats) to disagree about. The American policy of acquiring certain choice territories can be labeled as nothing but aggressive imperialism.…