westward expansion

manifest destiny

belief that Americans had a God-ordained right to expand their nation

western frontier

people decided to move to this area because…

• freedom

• abundant land

  • ranching, farming, mining

• spread democracy

• new economic prospects

  • panic of 1837 convinced people to try their luck out west to avoid paying back creditors

• escape religious persecution

j. hector st. John de crevecouer

this person said “americann is the new man, who acts up on new principles; he must entertain new ideas and opinions:

john winthrop

believed the US would become a “city upon a hill” becoming the example for other countries

american progress

a painting by John gast in 1872 picturing an angel spreading the telegraph and train tracks along with her and guiding settlers to the west

oregon trail

• stretched from independence, mi to Oregon city, outside of portland

• travelers often walked and sickness was rampant

  • faced hostile native’ Americans, diseases such as a cholera, food shortages, and rough terain

• many traveled in covered wagons called conestogas

joseph smith

founder of mormonism

• had a vision of God and Jesus Christ

• wrote the book of Mormon and founded the church of later day saints in 1830

• established settlement in nauvoo, illinois

• killed in 1844 by a mob

mormonism

followers called Mormons or latter-day saints

brigham young

joseph smith’s successor

• brought the Mormon church to salt lake city, utah

mission system

spanish missions were built in Mexico and the American southwest

**designed to convert native’ Americans and maintain them as forced laborers

mexico’s independence

1821— because of this, Mexico as a nation needs to improve its economy and invites Americans to colonoize the area

anglos

white settlers in mexican texas

tejanos

mexicans living in texas

cultural clashes

americans start settling in mexico, these happen over

• religion

• slavery

• language

santa anna

mexican dictator/general— imprisons Stephen Austin for inciting a rebellion and cracked down on Texas and other areas with white settlers

• was eventually imprisoned and forced to sign texas’ independence

texas revolution

this was a result by the anglos to Santa Anna imprisoning Austin and attempting to remove white settlers

battle of the alamo

february 26-march 6, 1826— battle

• santa Anna and 4000 men marched to San Antonio to enforce the law

• all american defenders died (including Davy crockett and Jim Bowie)

“remember the Alamo”

lone star republic

texas becomes a Republic and is called this, it’s annexation into the US causes problems

• public opinion divided along sectional lines

• congress unsure as it would create an imbalance in state vs free states

**Sam Houston as the president

sam houston

1838— becomes president of the Republic of Texas and calls for it’s annexation

james polk

11th president of the united states— pro-slavery expansionist, supported Texas annexation by manifest destiny

**during the Mexican American war Polk believed mexico would give the US Texas, California, and New mexico

1845

in this year Texas became apart of the united states

mexican american war

1846-1848— fights over borders and manifest destiny

• Texas— claimed border to Rio grande

• mexico— claimed border to nueces river

slidell’s rejection

john slidell— Spanish speaking emissary went to Mexico to discuss the purchase of California and New mexico

• Mexican gov refused to speak to him

• Polk sent zachary Taylor and his men to blockade the Rio grande

emissary

a person sent on a special mission

slavery

because of this, and manifest destiny, the prospect of going to war with Mexico was very popular

• abolitionists denounced the war as a vehicle to spread this further west

• more of these types of states → more southern representation in congress

john c. fremont

led a force of men through California (violation of mexico’s territory)

• Mexico sent troops across the Rio grande to Matamoros where Zachary taylor’s troops were stationed

• **resulted in a skirmish that killed 11 americans

stephen kearny

this colonel and his men marched 800 miles from Kansas to Santa Fe

• met by a group of upper-class Mexicans who wanted to join the US

**New Mexico fell to the US without any fighting or bloodshed

california

this state was declared as its own Republic after American settlers seized Sonoma

**Mexican forces defeated and left US in control

zachary taylor

“old rough and ready”— pushed Santa anna’s troops further into mexico

winfield scott

“old fuss and feathers”— landed a force of 10k at Veracruz and then proceeded to capture Mexico city

war results

• mexico— suffered 25k casualties

• us— suffered 13k casualties

  • 2k on Battle field

  • 11k diseases (yellow fever)

treaty of Guadalupe hidalgo

february 2, 1848— ended the 2 year war between Mexico and america

• gave the US NM and CA

• Texas’s southern border set at Rio grande

mexican cession

gave over land to the US in CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, CO, WY

gadsden purchase

1853— president Franklin Pierce purchased territory in southern AZ and NM for $10 mil

california gold rush

1848— gold was discovered at sutter’s mill

• word travels fast → people move to California in droves

  • thousands from china

  • many African Americans found success in CA (slavery was outlawed in 1849)

**California becomes a state in 1850

fourty-niners

the people who traveled to California for gold were called these

“fifty-four forty or fight”

polk’s slogan which helped him win against Henry clay— he would take TX, CA, OR and would fight until America could expand, supported exceptionalism

john o’sullivan

believed in American exceptionalism— “national birth was the beginning of new history; new policital systems, natural rights of men, democratic equality within the governement”

and

“texas and California was bound to be taken by the US because mexico was incapable to keep them under control because of the war distance

treaty of velasco

this treaty granted Texas its independence

cherokee

according to richard white this tribe was doomed because even if they assimilated and spoke English and dressed like Americans, they’d still be native’ american

trappers

this job involved dangerous conditions, posilbilities of being mauled by animals or dying of sickness/starvation

**would have been men of all races

agreements Americans had to make

before Americans were allowed to settle in Mexico they had to

1. convert to catholisim

2. pledge alligiance to mexico

andrew jackson

this president called neutrality in response to Sam houston’s ask for arms against mexico because he wanted to buy texas

battle of San juancito

was revenge for the battle of the Alamo and the massacre of 300 Texans at goliad

• Sam houston and the Texans kill 630 Mexicans and capture Santa anna

**Santa Anna forced to sign the indepence

colonel Ethan Allen hitchcock

fought for the US, personally against the war and that US gov had no right to move into Mexico (as the agreesors) but must carry out orders

henry David thoreau

writer from Concord ma, against war and thought it was an unjust way to kill Mexicans, protested in civil disobidiance→ went to war

cochise of the apache tribe

leader of the apache tribe, believed thee land us and Mexico was fighting against was his in the first place, didn’t support either side of the war

maria Josefa martinez

from a mexican women to a conquered Mexican women, lost rights being under American law and is taken advantage of because of her English