History final exam: 2. Manifest Destiny (1840s-1850s) 6/10

The idea that the U.S was destined by God to expand westward across North America

What is the idea with Manifest Destiny?

Manifest Destiny was popular in the 1800s, it justified taking land, often from Native Americans, Mexico, and others

When was Manifest Destiny popular and what did it justify?

Manifest Destiny was driven by a desire for land, wealth, and power, as well as spreading democracy and Christianity

What was Manifest Destiny driven by?

In 1803, Napoleon of France sold the Louisiana Territory to the US for $15 millon

What is the Louisiana Purchase?

President Thomas Jefferson approved the deal, which doubled the size of the US

What happened after Thomas Jefferson approved the Louisiana Purchase deal?

The Louisiana Purchase gave Americans more land to settle and pushed them further west

What impact did the Louisiana Purchase have?

Americans moved west in large numbers during the 1800s, seeking land, farming, freedom, and opportunity

What is Westward expansion?

The U.S used treaties, war and purchases to expand: Texas (joined in 1845), Oregon Territory and with the Mexican Cession

The US used treaties, war, and purchases to expand what?

The Mexican Cession (1848) gave the US much of the Southwest

What is the Mexican Cession (1848)?

This westward growth displaced Native Americans and caused new tensions over slavery

What impact did Westward Expansion have on Native Americans?

Gold was discovered in California in 1848, attracting thousands of settlers in 1849, known as the 49ers and bringing thousands west

What is the California Gold Rush (1849)?

Americans came for gold and land, rapidly growing the population

Why did people go to the California Gold Rush?

When California applied to join the US, as a free state in 1850, it caused a crisis

What happened to California by 1850 and what was the outcome?

After winning the war, the US got land including California, Arizona, New Mexico, and more (this is the Mexican Cession)

What happened after the US won the Mexican-American War?

The US expanded its land by purchasing land with the Louisiana Purchase, annexing Texas and by winning the Mexican American War

What are three ways the US expanded its land?

These gains with the US led to debates about whether new territories would allow slavery

What did the US gaining land lead to?

At the time, there was an equal number of free and slave states —— adding California would upset the balance in Congress

Why was it a crisis when California wanted to become a free state in 1850?

Southerners feared losing political power and influence over slavery

What did Southerners fear when California wanted to become a free state in 1850?

The debate over California and slavery deepened divisions between the North and South

What did the debate over California and slavery deepen?

The Westward Expansion made the slavery debate impossible to avoid, leading to rising conflict and, eventually, the Civil War in 1861

What impact did the Westward Expansion have?

Manifest Destiny pushed Americans west for land and gold. As new lands like California were added, fights over slavery and power grew —- helping lead to the Civil War

What outcome did the Manifest Destiny have?

The US fought Mexico and gained land out west, but it caused fights over slavery in the new territories

What is the Mexican American War (1846-1848)?

California became a free state, and other areas could vote on slavery. It tried to calm tensions but made things worse

What is the Compromise of 1850?

George Washington, as the first US president, supported the idea of expanding west into new lands

How did George Washington view Westward Expansion as president?

This act let people vote on slavery in Kansas and Nebraska. It led to violence and increased division between the North and South before the Civil War

What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act/ Bleeding Kansas (1854)?