Westward Expansion Total Notes

Manifest Destiny

the idea that white Americans had the divine right (given by God) to settle the entire continent of North America

Autonomy

the ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else

Annex

to take possession of an area of land or a country and add it to a larger area, usually by force

Peculiar

strange or odd; unusual

Chattel

a personal possession

Imminent

ready to take place or happening soon

Servitude

slavery or anything resembling it

Reside

to live, have your home, or stay in a place

Cannonade

a period of continuous heavy gunfire

Bombardment

a continuous attack with bombs, shells, or other missiles

Genocide (general)

a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in whole or in part

Massacre

the act of an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty

Genocide (UN)

Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures instead to prevent births, forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Florida annexation

from Spain in 1819

Florida annexation cause (wars)

pressure from Latin American Independence wars

Florida annexation cause (cost)

the cost of maintaining the military in Florida by Spain

Republic of Texas

a Mexican territory during the years 1835 to 1836

Main population of the Republic of Texas

Americans told by the Mexican government to immigrate to the territory

Texas annexation year

1845

Texas annexation cause

tensions between the Mexican government and Texans

Texas annexation effect

Mexican and US governments cutting diplomatic ties

Oregon Territory discovery year

1846

Oregon Territory discoverers

Lewis and Clark expedition for the Americans and James Cook for Great Britain

Oregon Territory ceding cause

American immigration

Mexican American War year

1848

Mexican American War effect

Mexico cedes 55% of the territory

Mexican American War end

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Mexican Texas centralization

Antonio Lopex de Santa Anna centralized Government power, restricted immigration to Texas, and enforced prohibition of slavery

Battle of the Alamo dates

February 23rd, 1836 to March 6th, 1836

Texas Independence date

April 1836

Texas annexation state number

28th

Heroic Anglo Narrative

interpretation describing “heroic white defenders fighting the tyranny of Mexican dictator Santa Anna”

Tejano School

interpretation describing the role of Texas settles of Mexican descent (Tejanos) at the Alamo and in Texas

Southern Revival School

interpretation emphasizing the importance of slavery in the Battle of the Alamo

Genocide term creator

Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin

Genocide word

Greek prefix genos (race or tribe) and Latin suffix cide (killing)

Genocide UN

recognized as a crime under international law by the UN in 1946

Genocide definition year

defined in 1948 in the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

David Stannard identifiers

immediately after the first human contact

Richard White identifiers

instances of what can be called genocide

Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz identifiers

in the convention, any one of the five acts

Gary Clayton Anderson identifiers

for genocide to occur, a legitimate government

David Stannard stance

US purposefully committed acts of genocide against Native Americans

Richard White stance

US committed specific genocidal acts, but not a sustained period

Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz stance

US had policies of genocide over time against Natives

Gary Claryton Anderson stance

No sustained policy of genocide was promoted by government

Attempt at Assimilation

Five Civilized Tribes adopted European customs, Cherokee tribe created nation and government but the Supreme Court did not recognize it, settlers raided Chrokee and moved them out of their land

Involuntary Exchange of Lands

Cherokee in Georgia were promised rights, settlers wanted more land, gold was found in Georgia and settlers rushed in, 1830 Indian Removal act by Andrew Jackson, Native land east was exchanged for Native land west, Natives moved to Oklahoma

Native Americans and Supreme Court

Georgia went to Supreme Court to settle issues with Natives, Supreme Court curled in Johnson v. M’Intosh that Natives had right to live on land but they didn’t own it, Natives tried to sue Georgia, Supreme Court said Natives couldn’t sue because “domestic dependent nation”, Supreme Court ruled that states don’t have power over Natives, but ruling was ignored

Two Illegal Treaties

Five Civilized Tribes forced to sign treaties and move, treaties weren’t valid because signers weren’t official representatives, Seminole fought back in Florida and when negotiations offered, leader was tricked and jailed, Cherokee refused and got 16,000 members to petition to stay

Betrayal and a Forced March

Chrokee refused because treaties were unlawful, forced out by the military, many died from disease/starvation when captured, when all captured forced to walk west, trail known as Trail of Tears, death of nearly 4000 Cherokee people