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!