Chapter 11: Imperial Ambitions

Who did Mexico win its independence from and when?

Spain in 1821

What did Mexico do to encourage migration to Texas?

offered large land grants to anyone

Who acquired 180,000 acres of land and sold it to 1,500 families?

Moses Austin and his son Stephen F. Austin

What was the area of land acquired by Moses Austin and Stephen F. Austin nicknamed?

Austin’s Colony

How did Mexico’s constitution change in 1835?

it created a strong central government, dissolved state legislatures and abolished slavery

What was America’s view on Mexico’s constitution change?

they were divided

Who led the “War Party?”

Sam Huston

What was the “War Party?”

they wanted independence from Mexico

Who led the “Peace Party?”

Stephen F. Austin

What was the “Peace Party?”

they wanted greater political role in government, including exemption for slavery

Did the Mexican government agree with the “Peace Party?” What happened after that?

they agreed but then Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna nullified these concessions

What happened on March 2, 1836?

Texas rebels declared independence and adopted a new constitution legalizing slavery

What happened as a result of the Texas rebels declaring independence?

Santa Anna led 6,000 Mexican soldiers into Texas to put down the rebellion

What happened to the Texas rebels at the Alamo?

they were wiped out

What was the phrase “Remember the Alamo?”

it became a rallying cry in Texas and the US which urged Americans to join the rebellion

What was the Battle of San Jacinto?

General Sam Huston’s rebels defeated Santa Anna’s army

When was the Battle of San Jacinto?

April 21, 1836

What happened as a result of the Battle of San Jacinto?

Santa Anna was forced to recognize Texas Independence and Texas becomes its own country

What did Southerners continue to use as their source of wealth instead of industrialization?

slave labor agriculture and cash crops like rice, sugar, cotton, and tobacco

What was the task system?

a labor system in which slaves were assigned a daily task to complete and then slaves had the rest of the day to themselves

What was the gang labor system?

while most slaves worked in the fields, others were hired out by their masters as teamsters, steamboat workers, railroad builders, etc

What were some punishments or ways slave masters used to control their slaves?

whippings, beatings, torture, rape, food or special privileges, hobbling

What were some ways slaves resisted?

slowed the pace of work, feigned illness, losing or breaking master’s tools, setting fire to their master’s crops/ barns/houses, poisoning their master’s food

Where did slaves escape to?

Upper South slaves escaped to the North and Lower South Slaves escaped to Spanish Florida or Mexico

What was Manifest Destiny?

it meant Americans were destined by God to settle the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean

Who coined the term Manifest Destiny and when?

John O’Sullivan in 1845

What did Manifest Destiny include?

cultural/racial superiority of white settlers over the western Native Americans and whites would teach democracy and Protestantism to Native Americans

Who was the Oregon Territory split between and why?

England and the US because of the joint trade agreement in 1818

What caused “Oregon Fever?”

1842 reports on great harbors, vast forests and ample farmland

How many Americans moved the 2,000 miles from Independence, MO to the west coast along the Oregon Trail?

250,000

Who settled in California after Mexico wins its independence from Spain?

mestizos and Californios

What are Californios?

Mexican ranchers who built huge estates

What event led to 185,000 American settlers to move to California?

1840s Gold Rush

Who encouraged the annexation of Texas and Oregon?

President John Tyler (from the Whig Party)

What did Southerners want Texas to do?

expand slavery

What did Northerners want Oregon to do?

to expand manufacturing and trade

Who did the Democrats nominate for President?

TN governor James K. Polk

What was James K. Polk’s slogan?

“Fifty-four forty or fight!”

What did “Fifty-four forty or fight!” refer to?

the border of the Oregon Territory

What happened when the US annexed Texas in 1845?

Mexico cut diplomatic ties with the US

What happened to the Oregon Territory in 1846?

it was divided in half between the US and England/Canada at the 49th parallel

What Native American tribes in the Southwest began to raid settlements in northern Mexico?

Comanche, Kiowa, Apaches, and Navajos

Could the Mexican government stop the attacks and what did Polk see an opportunity to do?

no, he saw an opportunity to acquire all Mexican territory between Texas and Pacific Ocean

Who did Polk send on December 1845 to occupy Sacramento, California and the San Francisco Bay?

troops under General John Fremont and the US navy

What did the US insist the Texas border was?

the Rio Grande River

What did Mexico insist the Texas border was?

Nueces River

What did the US offer Mexico for California and New Mexico? Did Mexico accept?

30 million dollars. Mexico refused

What did Polk ask Congress for after he sent 2,000 troops to occupy the Rio Grande River in May 1846?

declaration of war

Who occupied the Rio Grande and the Mexican towns of Monterry and Matamoros?

US general Zachary Taylor

What was the Bear Flag Revolt from 1846-1847?

American settlers allied with Fremont’s troops captured Sonoma, California and declared independence

Who captured the coastal city of Veracruz and Mexico City?

US General Winfield Scott

What was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?

Mexico surrender and ceded lands of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California to the US for 15 million dollars and the Rio Grande was the US/Mexico border