Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion in the 1840s

Manifest Destiny

In the 1840's, westward expansion led Americans to acquire all lands from the Atlantic to the pacific in a movement called Manifest Destiny:

- Americans flooded into the West for new economic opp.

- The U.S. gained Texas, Oregon, California, and other territories through treaty or war

Reasons for Manifest Destiny

Changes in the early Antebellum era (1800-1840), encouraged westward expansion in the 1840s:

- Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the USA

-Lewis & Clark's exploration confirmed the economic potential of the western territory.

-The growth of "King Cotton" & commercial farming led to a desire for more western lands

-Improved transportation such as canals, steamboats, & railroads increased speed & profitability

-The U.S. population grew 300%

-The number of U.S. states grew from 13 to 26

-Western state populations exploded (Ohio's population grew from 50,000 to 1.5 million)

Motivations for Westward expansions

The journey West was dangerous & unpredictable, yet thousands of Americans traveled along the Oregon, Santa Fe, & Mormon Trails:

-The earliest pioneers were fur traders, land speculators, & poor farmers looking for cheap land

-Soon, farmers, miners, ranchers, & religious groups flooded West

Indian Relations

-Westward expansion brought conflict with Indians, such as the Black Hawk War, as trails disrupted hunting grounds & violated previous treaty agreements

-The Treaty of Fort Laramie created a vast Indian Territory but was repeatedly ignored by whites expanding West

West Ward trails

The Oregon Trail led thousands of farmers to the fertile lands of Oregon in the 1840s

-The Santa Fe Trail allowed the U.S. to sell goods to Mexico

-The Mormon trail- In 1830, John Smith founded the Mormon church of Latter-day Saints in NY, but were persecuted & forced to move west, Joseph Smith's murder forced new LDS leader Brigham Young to resettle in Salt Lake, Utah where he built a Mormon community.

Manifest Destiny & Territorial Expansion in the 1840s

In the 1840s, America realized its "manifest destiny" by acquiring all lands to the Pacific Ocean:

-In 1845, the USA annexed the independent nation of Texas

-In 1846, the U.S. settled a dispute with England to gain Oregon

-In 1848, the USA gained new lands in the SW by winning the Mexican-American War

The Republic of Texas

- In 1821, Mexico won independence from Spain & the new Mexican gov't welcomed Americans into Texas by offering cheap land

- Stephen F Austin became one of the wealthiest "Anglos" in Texas

-Americans refused to accept Mexican laws, They would not convert to Catholicism, They would not accept a ban on slavery, and They wanted a voice in Mexican government

Texas Revolution & Independence from Mexico (1835-1836)

- By 1834, Mexican president Santa Anna began to view Anglos as a threat & had Austin arrested

- In 1835, Texans were in open rebellion against the Mexican government

- Texans lost at the Alamo, but the battle created inspiration: "Remember the Alamo!"

- Texans, led by Sam Houston, captured Santa Anna & won their independence in 1836

The Republic of Texas(1836-1845)

- From 1836 to 1845, Texas was an independent nation; Sam Houston was the first president of the Republic of Texas

- In 1838, Houston invited the USA to annex Texas, but the debate over slavery kept America from adding Texas as a state

Oregon & Texas

Democrat James K. Polk won the election of 1844 & became the "Manifest Destiny" president:

-He urged Congress to make Texas the 28th U.S. state in 1845

-He wanted to end British claims to Oregon

Oregon:

- When Texas was admitted into the Union in 1845, it came in as a slave state

- To make Northerners happy, President Polk wanted to add Oregon as a free state, but the U.S. & Britain compromised, divided Oregon along 49º parallel, & Oregon became a free territory in 1846

- Oregon residents & President Polk demanded the entire Oregon territory: "54º40' or fight!"

The Mexican-American War(1846-1848)

- When Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, the 2 sides disagreed over the territorial borders of the Republic of Texas

-When the U.S. annexed Texas 9 years later, this land claim was not settled

- This dispute led to the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848

- In 1846, President Polk sent General Zachary Taylor across the Rio Grande River which provoked Mexico into war

- The U.S. quickly won the Mexican War, red New Mexico, The U.S. quickly won the Mexican War, Winfield Scott captured Mexico City

The End of the Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848:

- The Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, The USA gained "all" of Texas to the Rio Grande River, Mexico gave up (ceded) territory in the Southwest, called the Mexican Cession, 5 years later, the U.S. bought the Gadsden Purchase for $ 10 million to build a southern railroad

California( The Acquisition of California)

-In the 1830s, Mexico offered cheap land to American ranchers & farmers to move to California

- When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, Californians revolted from Mexican rule & created an independent nation

- The California Republic was annexed by the USA as part of the Mexican Cession in 1848

The California Gold Rush

The discovery of gold in San Francisco led to a flood of Americans to California in 1849:

-"Forty-Niners" hoping to strike it rich came from the East, Latin America, Europe, & Asia

-The California gold rush led to a population boom in the West

By the end of the 1840s, the USA had achieved its Manifest Destiny:

-America had a "continental" empire from the Atlantic to Pacific

-Westward expansion stimulated the economy, spread democracy, & increased U.S. nationalism

-But as America spread West, sectional issues over slavery grew

Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era

From 1800-1860, the North & South became vastly different regions:

- "King Cotton" had transformed the South into a rural region with slavery, little manufacturing, & few railroads

- The North had industrial factories, cities, paid immigrant workers, railroads, & larger population

These regional differences increased sectionalism-placing the interests of a region above the interests of the nation-

1820-1850: Sectionalism was mild & resolved by compromise

Sectionalism: 1820-1850

The first major issue regarding slavery in the antebellum era focused on Missouri becoming a state in 1820:

-Northerners & Southerners did not want to upset the equal balance of free & slave states in the Senate

-Northerners did not want slavery to spread beyond the "Deep South"

-Southerners did not think Congress had the power to stop slavery

Missouri Compromise

In 1820, Henry Clay negotiated the Missouri Compromise:

-Maine broke from Massachusetts & became a free state

-Missouri became a slave state

- Slavery was outlawed in all western territories above the latitude of 36°30'

Nullification Crisis of 1832

In the 1830s, the issue of tariffs divided North & South:

-Southerners argued that tariffs benefited only the North & made manufactured goods too expensive

-John C. Calhoun of SC attempted nullification & threatened secession

-President Jackson fought this states' rights argument

The Nat Turner rebellion increased the barbarity of slavery in the South:

-In 1831, Nat Turner freed slaves on Virginia farms & killed 60 whites

-Southern whites responded by making slave codes more severe

Manifest Destiny & the Wilmot Proviso

In the 1840s, westward expansion brought the issue of slavery up again:

- Texas was not annexed for 9 years because it would unbalance the number of free & slave states

- The addition of the Mexican Cession after the MexicanAmerican War gave Southerners hope that slavery would spread to the Pacific Ocean

In 1846, Northern Congressmen tried to pass the Wilmot Proviso:

-This law would have outlawed all slaves from the Mexican Cession -Rather than voting along party lines (Democrats & Whigs), Congressmen voted according to their region

Free Soil party

In 1848, the Free Soil Party was formed to keep slavery from spreading West:

- Free Soilers were not abolitionists because they did not think Congress had the power to end slavery; They were against the expansion of slavery into the West

In 1850, California asked to enter the Union as a free state:

-Southerners did not want more free states & wanted slavery to be allowed in the southwest territories

-Northerners wanted to keep slavery out of the SW & wanted other laws to protect runaway slaves who made it to freedom in the North

The Compromise of 1850

- The Compromise of 1850 solved the sectional dispute between North & South:

- California entered as a free state

- The people of Utah & New Mexico could vote to allow or ban slavery (popular sovereignty)

- A stronger Fugitive Slave Law was created that allowed Southerners to recapture slaves in the North

- Slave Trade ended in Washington DC

From 1820 to 1850, sectionalism in America increased due to:

-Differences in regional economies& the use of slavery

-Westward expansion & the entry of new states to the Union

-Growing abolitionism in the North

■But, each time a dispute threatened the nation, a compromise was reached

1850-1856: The growth of abolitionism & westward expansion intensified the question of the "morality" of slavery

Abolitionists & many Northerners despised the Compromise of 1850:

-The Fugitive Slave Law allowed runaway slaves (& sometimes free blacks) to be recaptured & enslaved

-Northerners formed vigilante committees to protect runaways

-Abolitionism grew in the North

Abolitionism was growing in the North:

-William Lloyd Garrison formed the American Anti-Slavery Society & published The Liberator

- Ex-slave Frederick Douglass published The North Star

- The Grimke Sisters revealed that some Southerners opposed slavery

- The Underground Railroad was a network of safe houses to help slaves escape to freedom, Harriet Tubman made 19 trips South to lead 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad

In 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin

-Depicted slavery as a moral evil

-Became the best selling book of the 19th century

-Inspired many in the North to join the abolitionist cause

Kansas-Nebraska Act

In 1854, Congress passed Stephen Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act:

-The law used popular sovereignty to give the residents of the territories the right to vote to determine slavery

- To do this, Congress repealed (ended) the Missouri Compromise line at 36º30' in the western territories

Northerners were outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act:

-Congress allowed slavery to spread into an area of the U.S. where slavery was already outlawed

-Northerners formed the Republican Party in 1854 & became committed to the "free soil" movement

Popular sovereignty

Popular sovereignty failed to settle the slavery question in the West:

-When a vote was held in Kansas in 1855 to decide on slavery, thousands of Missouri residents illegally voted

-This illegal vote gave Kansas slavery when its residents voted against it

-In 1856, a war began between Kansas & Missouri (Bleeding Kansas)

This incident became known as "Bleeding Kansas"

Thousands of pro-slavery Missouri residents crossed the border & voted for slavery, Free-soilers from Kansas voted against slavery, The vote revealed a pro-slavery victory which led to a violent civil war in Kansas

From 1850 to 1856, sectionalism in America increased due to

-The growth of abolitionism due to the Fugitive Slave Law, Uncle Tom's Cabin, & the Kansas

-Nebraska Act-The birth of regional (not national) political parties like the Republicans ■Sectional tensions were becoming so bad that compromise was not an option

-1856-1860: The slave issue became "irreconcilable" & led to the Civil War

Sectionalism: 1856-1860

The election of 1856 was the first time in which political parties represented regions of the country, not the nation:

-Slavery became the most important political issue in American politics

-Even though the Republicans lost in 1856, they realized that they had enough electoral votes to win the presidency without Southern support

- Republicans in the North & Democrats in the South

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

In 1857, a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom after traveling with his master from Missouri to Wisconsin

■The Dred Scott case presented the Supreme Court with 2 major questions:

-Does Congress have the power to decide on slavery in the territories?

-Is the Missouri Compromise constitutional?

In Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), the Supreme Court ruled:

- Dred Scott had no right to sue because blacks are not citizens

- Congress did not have the power to stop slavery in western territories so the Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional

- Northern abolitionists were furious

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

- In 1858, Democrat Stephen Douglas ran against Republican Abraham Lincoln for the Illinois Senate

- Lincoln was unknown at the time, but during the campaign he argued that Congress must stop the spread of slavery (free soil argument)

- Lincoln lost the Senate election, but his argument against slavery made him a popular national figure

John Brownś Raid at Harperś Ferry, Virginia

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led an unsuccessful raid on a federal armory at Harper's Ferry, VA in an attempt to free slaves in a massive slave uprising:

-Brown was caught & executed

-But he was seen as a martyr by many in the North

-Southerners believed Northerners were using to violence to end slavery

The Election of 1860

The Election of 1860 proved to be the final straw for the South:

Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln who argued for "free soil" & a strong national gov't

● Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas who argued for popular sovereignty

● Southern Democrats nominated John Breckenridge who argued for states rights & the protection of slavery

● Democrats in the North & South were split over the issue of slavery

- Lincoln won the election without a single Southern vote

-Southerners assumed slavery would soon be abolished & began to discuss the possibility of seceding (breaking away) from the USA

Sectionalism: 1856-1860

In December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union

In 1861, more Southern states seceded & the Civil War between North & South began

■From 1856 to 1860, sectionalism in America increased due to:

-Slavery became the most important political issue of the time

-Growing Southern fears that the North would end slavery (John Brown's raid, election of Lincoln) ■No compromises could prevent a Civil War between the North & South