Manifest Destiny - vocab

Manifest Destiny

19th century belief that it was Americas God-given destiny to settle the entire North American continent

John OSullivan

American columnist who coined the term Manifest Destiny

Trailblazers

Mountain men who created east to west passage routes for western settlement

Oregon Trail

Six month overland trail from Independence Missouri to the West Coast

Tejano

Native Spanish-speaking inhabitants of Texas; caught between Texan and Mexican sides

Empresarios

American plantation owners given land grants by the Mexican government to grow cotton in East Texas

Texian

An American living in Mexican-owned Texas before independence

Stephen F. Austin

First and most successful empresario; led American settlement of Texas under Mexican land grants

Sam Houston

Military leader of the Texians and first president of the independent Republic of Texas

Santa Anna

Mexican dictator and military leader who declared himself ruler for life; eventually exiled to Cuba

The Alamo

Spanish mission in San Antonio where 183 Texians made a last stand against 1500 Mexican troops; became a symbol of independence

Battle of San Jacinto

18-minute American victory where Santa Anna traded Texas for his life; Mexico never officially accepted the treaty

Lone Star Republic

Texas as an independent country from 1836 to 1844; U.S. refused to annex it due to the slavery debate

Annexation

1844; President Tyler added Texas as a state before his term ended despite personal reservations

James K. Polk

Dark horse Democrat president nicknamed Young Hickory; strong believer in Manifest Destiny and westward expansion

Who is James K. Polk

Henry Clays arrogant 1844 campaign slogan that backfired by generating public interest in Polk

Fifty-Four Forty or Fight

Polks slogan demanding the entire Oregon Territory from Britain up to the 54th parallel

Oregon Treaty

1846; split the Oregon Territory between the U.S. and Britain at the 49th parallel

Nueces River vs Rio Grande

Mexico claimed the Nueces as the Texas border while the U.S. claimed the Rio Grande; dispute triggered the Mexican-American War

Stephen Kearny

Led the Long March from New Mexico to southern California cutting off Mexican control of the region

John C. Fremont

Captured northern California and declared it the Bear Flag Republic in 1846

Bear Flag Republic

Independent northern California country formed after Fremont overthrew Mexican authority in 1846

Winfield Scott

American general who captured Vera Cruz and Mexico City in September 1847; ended the Mexican-American War

Zachary Taylor

American general who led the attack on northern Mexico; won a major victory at Buena Vista in 1847

Guadalupe Hidalgo

1848 treaty ending the Mexican-American War; U.S. paid $15 million for California and the Southwest; Rio Grande set as Texas border

Mexican Cession

Land gained by the U.S. from Mexico after the war including California and New Mexico

Gold Rush

1849 mass migration of men to California seeking fortune through gold mining

Gadsden Purchase

1853; U.S. bought a flat tract of land in the Southwest from Mexico for $10 million to build a southern railroad route

Compromise of 1850

Clay's plan making California a free state, applying popular sovereignty to Utah and New Mexico, and strengthening the Fugitive Slave Law