American Pageant Chapter 17 APUSH Review

Election of 1840

• Whigs chose William Henry Harrison
• Vice President John Tyler
  • Former Democrat
• Dies 32 days after taking office

Beef with President Tyler

• Tyler still holds many Democrat beliefs
• Starts to block goals of the Whig party (led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster)
• Attempts to annex Texas - Defeated by Congress

Election of 1844

• Polk Wins!

Texas Annexed

• Lame duck President John Tyler submitted proposal and Congress annexed Texas
  • Accomplished by a joint resolution (only needs a majority of both houses)
  • Does not need 2/3 approval by Senate

Goals of James K. Polk

• Lower the tariff
• National Expansion: MANIFEST DESTINY
  • Expansion into Oregonn "540° 40, or Fight!" threat to England
  • Annexation of Texas
  • Aquisition of CA

Manifest Destiny

• Belief that it was America's destiny to conquer and civilize the entire continent
  • Built upon belief of white superiority
• Term coined by John O'Sullivan in 1845
  • Western expansion been going on for some time
  • Louisiana Purchase (1803)
  • Missouri Compromise 1820
  • Jackson's Indian Removal policies in 1830s
• Issue of slavery complicates the issue of western expansion

The Oregon Dispute: “54° 40’ or Fight”

• Anglo-American Convention of 1818: U.S. and England agreed to peacefully jointly occupy Oregon territory
• Oregon Trail: Many American settlers flood into the area
• Major issue in the Election of 1844
• Oregon Treaty 1846: 49th parallel, No war needed

Beef with Mexico

• Mexico still viewed Texas as part of Mexico
  • Dispute over river Rio Grande & Nueces river
• Polk attempts to buy California from Mexico
  • Slidell Mission: Mexico refuses offer of $25 million for CA
• Polk sends Zachary Taylor into disputed territory between Mexico and Texas
  • U.S. forces attacked in April 1846
• Mexican American War begins: 1846-1848

Controversial

• Northern Whigs oppose the war
  • See it as an attempt by Southerners to extend slavery
• Lincoln introduces the "Spot Resolution" demanding to know if attack really took place on U.S. soil
• Wilmot Proviso: attempted to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico
  • Passed-by-House rejected by Senate

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848)

• Mexico gave the U. S. California, New Mexico, and rest of Southwest.
  • Increases U.S. territory by 1/3
• Mexico gave up claims to Texas
  • Accepts Rio Grande border
• Mexico lost about half of its territory
  • Strains relations between the U.S. and Mexico

New Controversies: (or the return of old)

• New territories were brought into the Union which forced the issue of slavery into the center of national politics!

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