The art of creating new T-shirt slogans is a delicate one. Most difficult to imagine must be the phrase that doesn't aim to sloganeer or make its readers laugh, but rather to make the wearer look deep, the very embodiment of hipster cool. In a crowded marketplace suffering badly in the recession, no major retailer would launch such an item of clothing without extensive market research, brand-compatibility assessment and in-depth discussion of the statement's meaning – which makes Gap's decision to market a T-shirt associating the wearer with ethnic cleansing, aggressive territorial expansion and cultural and material genocide more than a little peculiar.

The T-shirt sold by Gap. Photograph: screengrab

The item in question was a cool black number with the words "MANIFEST DESTINY" printed on the front. It was designed by Mark McNairy and formed part of the "Gap x GQ" line, a collaboration with GQ magazine to showcase the "best new menswear designers in America". The only other slogan T-shirt in this line is a rather wan "LIBERTÉ", presumably drawing on the French revolutionary slogan.

The phrase "manifest destiny" has a history. It was coined in 1845 by magazine editor John L O'Sullivan, first used with reference to the annexation of Texas and then again referring to negotiations over the boundaries of Oregon. O'Sullivan argued that other nations should not prevent "the fulfilment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions".

American history is littered with grandiose statements of a higher purpose for the nation, continuing from John Winthrop's shining "city upon a hill", through to Abraham Lincoln's insistence on a nation "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". But the ideal of a "manifest destiny" differs from these in its focus not on moral responsibilities but on rights to territory: specifically, territory that was recognised to be that of the indigenous peoples of the continent. Rhetorically, its function was identical to Hitler's "Lebensraum", the racial element being pointed up by the foundation of Oregon with a "whites only" constitution.

As American expansion unfolded, the idea of a destiny for Euro-Americans made manifest by God, in which Native American tribes were seen as inconveniences to be expunged, grew ever more popular. The principle of manifest destiny was used to justify the forcible acquisition of territory, the deliberate destruction of food sources and events such as the Sand Creek massacre (before which Colonel Chivington declared "I … believe it is right and honourable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians").

America has never really come to terms with the contradiction between this bloody origin and its rhetoric of exceptionalism, and American popular history thus remains dependent on a now largely unarticulated form of manifest destiny logic. That said, it seems astonishing that nobody during the product launch process said "Hang on … doesn't this basically mean 'white pride'?" Artist Gregg Deal suggests the Gap should now launch "AMERICAN IMPERIALISM" or "FORCED ASSIMILATION" lines.

Though commenters have assumed that the offence was unintended, designer Mark McNairy certainly seemed aware of the term's meaning. When activists contacted him to ask for the line's removal, he responded on by tweeting "MANIFEST DESTINY. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" (the tweet has been removed, but a screengrab is archived here). This seems to show that he is quite comfortable with a social Darwinist explanation for the destruction of indigenous nations. A petition calling for his dismissal, the T-shirt's removal and a formal apology from Gap reached over 2,500 supporters (McNairy has since apologised).

The emotions sparked by this ignorant provocation have to be seen in a wider context of Indian appropriation, from sports mascots, through Halloween costumes to hipster headdresses. One only needs to think what the reaction would be to caricatured Chinese mascots, blackface costumes or hipster hijabs to understand just how culturally marginalised Native Americans are. Coll Thrush's beautifully thoughtful blog entry provides reasons to believe that this is changing, as does the company's decision last night to withdraw the T-shirt under pressure. Gap spokeswoman Edie Kissko states in an email that "our intention was not to offend anyone", which falls somewhat short of the apology requested in the petition. But the fact that such an item could go on sale at all speaks volumes about Euro-America's ignorance of its history with the continent's original inhabitants.