In the early 1800s, how was the belief in Manifest Destiny most likely to affect the admission of new states into the Union?

Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States was meant to expand westward, eventually reaching the Pacific coast. As new territories became states, some might permit slavery while others prohibited it, so expansion could change the balance between free and slave states in Congress. This makes D, the choice about the balance shifting, the best answer; Manifest Destiny did not itself decide that every new state would be free or enslaved.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.