Manifest Destiny

I would like to be able to talk primarily about Stephanson's work, but since we watched those few episodes of Star Trek, all I can focus on when I try to think about the book is the examples in the show.
I feel the need to place a disclaimer here: I have not watched much Star Trek, really none other than those three episodes on Sunday, so the points I make here are based upon analysis of these individual episodes only and not on larger themes throughout the series.

I'll begin with "I, Borg." In this episode we see the Federation happening upon a crashed Borg ship and they find one survivor on board. The Borg have no concept of self, they identify themselves as numbers and always as "we". The crew bring the Borg on board the Enterprise and they decide to use the Borg to destroy the entire Borg civilization because the Borg war with the Federation and are thus evil. This mirrors the concepts in Manifest Destiny in which two conflicting cultures make war on each other due to the lack of cultural understanding. Later, when the Borg becomes more human-like taking on the name of Hugh, standing up for his friend, and identifying himself as an individual the crew feels that they must take him in to protect him from the harsh savages of Borg life. The same is true in history where Indians that conformed to American customs typically were viewed as civilized whereas those continuing in the traditional customs were seen as savages.

Next we have "Ensign Ro." Here the Federation believes that they can use a Bajorian who is loyal to the Federation to catch a group of Bajorian terrorists. Again, Americans often used Indians who had become Americanized to assist them in their conquest over the Indians.

Finally, "First Contact." This is the best example from our selection. In this episode the Enterprise is conducting a program of making contact with the Arkonians, a comparatively primitive society that is only now about to develop warp capabilities. The Federation normally takes these developing planets and guides them as they eventually join the Federation. Chancellor Durken believes that the Federation will attempt to seize control over his planet and lead them down a path that they do not wish to go. Minister Krola thinks that the Federation will simply attack them. These are exactly the sorts of things that the Americans did to the Indians.

Granted this was based mostly on Star Trek, but these episodes were heavily influenced by the sorts of concepts Stephanson outlined in Manifest Destiny.