Westward Expansion

manifest destiny

• belief that Americans had a God-ordained right to expand across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific and spread democracy and American values

• term coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845

• fueled westward expansion, leading to territorial gains like the Mexican Cession, Gadsden Purchase, and the annexation of Texas

• justified Native American displacement and caused intense debate over the expansion of slavery

John O’Sullivan

• columnist who boasted American glory and coined the term manifest destiny

• called America the nation of human progress because they are a democracy

• uses the idea of Providence, saying that God is with the Americans in their progress

• criticizes oppressive forces like aristocracy and monarchy

• assumes Anglo-Saxon race to be superior and believes that Mexico can’t effectively govern Texas and California

American exceptionalism

• idea that the United States is special, unique, and different from other nations in a good way

• rooted in its democratic ideals, republican founding, and abundant resources

• traces back to John Winthrop’s sermon “City upon a Hill”

Oregon Trail

• stretches from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City

• travellers often walked and sickness was rampant

• faced hostile Native Americans, diseases like cholera and dysentery, food shortages, and rough terrain

• many travelled in covered wagons called conestogas

Joseph Smith

• American religious leader and founder of Mormonism

• had a vision of God and Jesus Christ

• wrote the Book of Mormon and founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1830

• followers are called Mormons or Latter Day Saints

• established a settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois

• killed by a mob in 1844

Brigham Young

Joseph Smith’s successor who brought the Mormon Church to what is now Salt Lake City, Utah

Spanish mission system

• Catholic missions established by the Spanish empire in Mexico

• the Spanish forced Indigenous peoples to convert to Catholicism and subjected them to enslaved labor

• many missions in the American southwest were deserted when Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821

Texas Revolution

• 2 groups of people in Texas: Anglos (white American settlers) and Tejanos (Mexicans in Texas)

• Texans did not want to take orders from the far-away Mexico City as they were perfectly satisfied being left on their own

• wanted self-government, but rejected by Santa Anna

• Santa Anna imprisoned Stephen Austin for inciting a rebellion

• lead to battles like the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre

• Texans eventually won a victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, which guaranteed their independence

Battle of the Alamo

• took place at the Alamo, a Spanish mission

• Feb 26 - Mar 6, 1836

• Santa Anna and 4000 men marched to San Antonio to crack down on the rebellion

• American defenders held an impossible position and defended against a superior force for 13 days

• all American defenders died, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie

Battle of San Jacinto

• Final battle of the Texas Revolution

• Apr 21, 1836

• General Sam Houston led troops against Santa Anna’s army and defended them in 18 minutes

• 630 Mexicans die

• Houston captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign the Treaty of Velasco to give Texas independence

Treaty of Velasco

• ended the Texas Revolution

• ordered withdrawal of Mexican troops from Texas and ceased hostilities

• Santa Anna agreed not to fight Texas

• Mexico granted Texas independence in exchange for Santa Anna’s release

Lone Star Republic

• Texas gained independence from Mexico in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836

• Sam Houston became the first president of Texas

• Texas wanted to join the Union but annexation was delayed until 1845 due to debates in the U.S. over slavery and its expansion

• Polk, a pro slavery expansionist, was president and Texas became the 28th state in 1845

James K. Polk

• president from 1845-1849

• supporter of westward expansion

• claimed that he would expand the nation to include Texas, Oregon, and California during his campaign

• campaign slogan was “fifty four forty or fight” → threatened to go to war with Britain if they didn’t give the U.S. more of the Oregon territory (border at the 54⁰40’ parallel line)

Mexican-American War

• lasted from 1846-1848

• caused by border/territorial disputes and manifest destiny

• U.S. claimed that the Texas border extended to the Rio Grande while Mexico claimed it ended at the Nueces River

• Mexicans attack American troops in disputed territory (Matamoros), causing Congress to declare war

• Abraham Lincoln considered Matamoros to be a false flag and didn’t trust Polk

• New Mexico fell to the U.S. without bloodshed as the upper-class Mexicans wanted to join

• Americans seized Sonoma and declared the Republic of California independent from Mexico

• 25,000 Mexican casualties

• 13,000 U.S. casualties

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• signed on Feb 2, 1848

• officially ended the Mexican American War

• established the Rio Grande as the southern Texas border

• ceded vast Mexican territories to the U.S. for 15 million dollars

Mexican Cession

• Mexico ceded vast territory to the U.S. via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for 15 million dollars

• Present-day California, Nevada, Utah, parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming

Gadsden Purchase

• 1853

• presidency of Franklin Pierce

• U.S. bought territory in southern Arizona and New Mexico for 10 million dollars

California Gold Rush

• gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in Jan 1848

• word travelled fast and people poured into California in droves

• prospectors were called forty-niners and came from all over the world

• thousands came from China

• many African Americans found success in California as slavery was outlawed in 1849

• California became a state in 1850

Mountain men

• made up of men from all demographics (Americans, Germans, Scots, Irish, African American, and more)

• explored/mapped the unknown West and opened trails like the Oregon Trail for future settlers

• journeyed west to the Rockies to trap fur, as beaver was in high demand in the 1820s to make hats

• acted as guides and scouts on the Oregon Trail once demand for beaver lessened

• seeked riches

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

• general and dictator of Mexico in the mid 19th century

• cracked down on rebellions in Texas, where the people wanted self government

• lost the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War

• ceded a lot of land to the U.S. through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and Gadsden Purchase to manage debts

Narcissa Whitman

• missionary in Oregon Country (present day Washington state)

• had an romanticized vision of missionary life

• unhappy because the harsh realities of frontier life clashed with her refined upbringing

• didn’t understand the Cayuse people → thought they were lazy, savage, and dirty

• couldn’t actually convert the Cayuse people despite her dedication

• devastated after her daughter Alice tragically drowned

• killed by the Cayuse in 1847

Slidell’s Rejection

• John Slidell, a Spanish speaking emissary, was sent to Mexico to discuss the purchase of California and New Mexico

• Mexican government refused to speak to him

• in response, Polk sent Zachary Taylor and his men to blockade the Rio Grande

• became a primary justification for Polk’s declaration of war and lead directly to the Mexican American War