American Expansion & Mid 1850s

American Expansion

1. 1840s

   1. The area had expanded to twice its original size

   2. The population had grown to six times what it was originally

   3. Assumed the US would extend its dominion to the Pacific Ocean

      1. Bless democracy and civilization

American Mission

1. Empire for liberty

2. Louisiana Purchase

   1. After the War of 1812, they explored this, and then in the 1840s, there was a wave of expansion

3. Manifest destiny

   1. Belief that it was the United States’ destiny to stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean

Attitudes Toward the Frontier

1. Practical reasons

   1. Economic opportunities

   2. People left after the Panic of 1837

2. Abundance of land

3. Increased opportunities for trade

   1. China

   2. Japan

   3. Naval stations

Settlers and Native Americans

1. Black Hawk War

   1. Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa

      1. Had pushed Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River

         1. Band of Sauk and Fox Indians returned to northern Illinois, and white settlers freaked→ Governor of Illinois mobilized militia to remove the indians

         2. Native American nations visited Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk 

         3. 200 Natives were slaughtered and forcibly removed

2. Middle Ground

   1. Trading partners and guides

      1. West of Mississipi because of Indian Removal Act of 1830

3. Fort Laramie Treaty

   1. Small numbers of displaced Native Americans occasionally fought the settlers

   2. Us responded by calling a conference

      1. 1851

      2. Provided Native American nations control of the Central Plains

      3. Government pledged to honor the agreed upon boundaries and make annual payments

      4. Movement of settlers increased, lands were depleted of buffalo and elk, US government repeatedly violated hte terms of hte treaty

   3. In the end, there were subsequent treaties that demanded Native Americans completely abandon their lands and move to reservations

Texas

1. Only a few thousand Mexican settlers had migrated to what was known as Texas

   1. Rich natural resources and climate heavily conducive to agriculture

      1. Friction between Native Americans and Mexican inhabitants

2. Mission System

   1. Roman Catholic missions tried to convert Native Americans and settle them on mission lands

   2. Mexican government offered the surrounding lands to government officials and ranchers

      1. Mexicans captured groups of Native Americans for forced labor

         1. Comanche and Apache retaliated by sweeping through Texas

            1. Stole livestock that supported both Mexican and American settlers→ Tejanos

Impact of Mexican Independence

1. Trade opportunities btween Mexico’s northern provinces and the United States multiplied

   1. Livestock: Cattle

      1. Tallow

      2. Hides

      3. Commercial goods

   2. Trade in Santa Fe, New Mexico

2. Eased trade restrictions and made it with the US more attractive than intranationally

   1. Ignored the northern provinces

      1. Loosened ties between New Mexico, Cali, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah

3. Lack of cohesion

   1. Mexico city lay far from the northern provinces

      1. Ignored the plights of the settlers in Texas

         1. Native Americans continuously attacked these peoples, and this forced the Mexican Government to attempt to strength its ties

Mexico Invites US Settlers

1. 1. Wanted to prevent border violations and protect territory from Native Americans

2. Encourged US settlers to settle by offering land grants to agents

   1. Empresarios

      1. They attracted American settlers who eagerly bought cheap land in return for a pledge to obey Mexican laws and observe Roman Catholicism

Austin in Texas

1. Established a colony between the Brazos and Colorado rivers

   1. Had issued 297 land grants 

   2. Each family received 177 acres of farm land

      1. 4428 for stock grazing

      2. Ten year exemption from paying taxes

2. Confisdered an established town

   1. People believed texas would yield great wealth

   2. Discussed extending the US boundary to the Rio Grande

      1. Adams had offered to buy Texas for 1 million

      2. Jackson had offered to buy Texas for 5 million

Texan Indepdence

1. Anglo population outgrew Mexican population

   1. Tensions over cultural differences as well as slavery

2. Protestant settlers brought slaves with them

   1. Mexico had abolished slavery prior

3. 1830

   1. Mexico sealed its borders and placed heavy taxes on American goods

   2. Lacked sufficient troops to police its borders

      1. However, Anglo population still doubled

      2. Austin won a repeal of the immigration band

4. Santa Anna

   1. Suspended the Mexican Constitution after Austin and other big Emprasarios wanted a greater self-government for Texas

      1. Resulted in rebellions

Remember the Alamo

1. Santa Anna marched to San Antonio with a 4000 member army

   1. Austin and followers issued call for Texans to arm themselves

2. 1835

   1. Texans attacked

   2. Drove Mexican forces from the Alamo

      1. Abandoned mission and fort

3. Santa Anna swept north and destroyed small American garrison in the Alamo

   1. All US defenders of it died

   2. Hundreds of Mexicans perished as well

4. Goliad

   1. Santa Anna executed 300 rebels

5. Sam Houston

   1. Defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto

      1. “Remember the Alamo”

         1. Seen as a symbol of Texan sacrifice and self reliance

         2. Used to further the cause for Texan independence

Treaty of Velasco

1. Granted independence to Texas

Lone Star Republic

1. Houston became president of the Republic of Texas

2. Set up an army

3. Set up a navy

4. Had its own flag

Texas Joins the Union

1. Texas had declarerd independence during hte alamo

2. Texas rebels compared themselves to the American colonists who had suffered under British ruel

3. Ratified a constitution similar to that of the US

4. Sam Houston invited hte US to annex Texas

   1. Southerners supported this because they could use it to extend slavery

   2. Northerners feared that the annexation of more slave territority would tip the balance in the senat etowars the slave states

      1. Didn’t want war with Mexico either

5. Texas became 28th state of the Union 7 years after the US annexed them

Mexican American War

Polk urges War

1. Tensions had flared during the Texas Revolution of 1836

   1. Reignited over American annexation of Texas in 1845

2. Polk believed that war with Mexico would bring Texas, New Mexico, and California into the union

   1. Supported Texas’s claims in disputes with Mexico over the Rio Grande border

Sidell’s Rejection

1. Santa Anna was ousted as Mexico’s president

2. Polk the Purposeful sent spanish speaking emissary, John Slidell, to Mexico

   1. Wanted to purchase California and New Mexico and agree on borders

3. Mexican officials refused to receive him

4. Polk sent General Zackary taylor to Rio Grande to blockade hte river

   1. Viewed as a violation of Mexican sovereignty and rights

Sectional Attitudes Toward War

1. Abolitionist James Russel Lowell viewed the war as something that was committed in behoof of slavery 

2. Calhoun saw perils of expansionism

   1. Subject our institutions to political death

3. Southerners saw annexation of Texas as an opportunity to extend slavery and increase southern power

4. Wilmot Proviso

   1. Proposed amendment to a military appropriations bill of 1846 prohibited slavery in lands that might be gained from Mexico

   2. Attack on slavery solidified Southern support by transforming the debate on war into a debate on slavery

5. Northerners heavily opposed the war

6. Antislavrery Whigs and abolitionists saw it as a plot to expand slavery and ensure southern domination of the Union

   1. Believed that Mexican lives were being sacrificed for this cause

War Begins

1. Taylor positioned forces at the Rio Grande

2. John C Fremont led expedition through Alta California province

   1. Direct violation of territorial rights

3. Mexico sent troops across Rio Grande where they killed nine uS soldiers

   1. Polk sent message to Congress and declared that Mexico had started the War

4. Spot Resolution

   1. Asking Polk ot certify spot where skirmish had occurred

   2. Arose over beliefs that Polk had initiated this incident and that Mexico was actually in the right

5. Polk witheld key facts

   1. Fueled by the idea of manifest destiny

Kearny

1. Marched from Kansas to New Mexico

2. Upper class Mexicans wanted to join the United States

3. New Mexico fell to the US without any shots being fired

4. California

   1. More than 20 missions which ahd been taken ove rby Mexican government

   2. Fremont seized Sonoma and hoisted flag and independence from Mexico

   3. Joined forces with Kearny and Commodore Sloat’s naval expedition

War in Mexico

1. Poor leadership in the Mexican army allowed for Americans to quickly win each battle

2. Polk & Santa Annna

   1. Santa Anna promised to end war and mediate border dispute

   2. Santa Anna ordered attack fon Taylor’s forces in Buena Vista

3. Scott’s forces took advantage of Santa Anna’s failed strategy and captured Veracruz in March

   1. Set off for Mexico City which they also captured

Spoils of War

1. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

   1. Mexico Agreed to the Rio Grande border for Texas and ceded New Mexico and California to the United States

   2. US paid 15 million dollars for Cali, Nevada, NM, Utah, CO, WY, and AZ

   3. Guaranteed Mexicans living here freedom of religion, protection of property, biligual elections, and open borders

2. Fraklin Pierce– Gadsden Purchase

   1. Pay Mexico additional ten million for piece of territory south of the Gila River

Trails West

1. Santa Fe Trail

   1. Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico

   2. Feared attacks by Kiowa and Comanche 

   3. Entered Mexican province of New Mexico for silver, gold, and furs

   4. Established first visible American presence in New Mexico and Arizona

2. Oregon Trail

   1. Created by two Methodist missionaries

   2. Set up mission schools to convert Native Americans to Christiantiy and educate them

   3. Drove wagon as far up as Fort Boise

   4. Praised fertile soil and abundant rainfall

      1. Attracted hundreds of other settlers to the Oregon Trail

3. Mormon Migration

   1. Traveled along the Oregon trail

   2. Religious community

   3. Joseph West

      1. Creation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

      2. Moved West and then got murdered by an anti-Mormon wife when neighbors heard about their polygamy

   4. Brigham Young moved followers to Utah, which was out of the bounds of the US

      1. Awarded plots of land to each family

      2. Common ownership of water and timberland

4. Oregon territory

   1. Point of contentino between the US and Britain

   2. UK claimed areas in parts of what are Minnesota and Maine

      1. Settled by Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842

   3. Continued Joint occupation of the Oregon territory

      1. Prompted James K Polk to campaign on promise of annexing the entire territory

         1. 54-4o line was what he ran on

            1. Fur trade wa sin decline and Britain didn’t cre anymore

         2. Oregon Treaty

            1. Extended mainland boundary with Canada along the 49th parallel

Slavery in the Territories

1. Calhoun wanted slavery to be allowed throughout the territories won in the war with Mexico

   1. Declared that the South would secede from the Union

2. More populous North had greater representation in Congress

3. Wilmot Proviso

   1. Bill proposing that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any territory the United States might acquire as a result of the war with mexico

   2. Divided Congress along regional lines

      1. Northerners refused to vote for internal improvements

         1. Feared that adding slave territory would give slave states more members in Congress and deny economic opportunity to workers

      2. Southerners raised constitutional issues

         1. Viewed slaves as properities which the Constitution protected

         2. Feraed that if it became law, it would shif the balance of power permanently to the north

Statehood for California

1. California had skipped territorial phase of becoming a state

2. Held constitutional convention

   1. Adopted state consitution, governor, and a legislature

      1. Forbade slavery

      2. Lay south of 36-30 line

3. General Taylor (now president) supported California’s admission

   1. Believed South could best counter abolitionism by leaving it up to individual territories rather than to Congress

Senate Debates

1. Border dispute in which Texas claimed Eastern half of the New Mexico territory, where the slavery issue had not been settled

2. Northerners demanded abolition of slavery in DC

3. Southerners accused North of failing to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

Clay’s Compromise

1. Compromise of 1850

2. Provided California as a free State

3. More effective fugitive slave law

4. Popular soverignty in New Mexico and utah

5. Federal government would pay Texas 10 million dollars to surrender its claim to New Mexico

   1. Limited slavery in texas to within its current borders

   2. Help defray Texas’s expenses and debts from the war with mexico

Opinions

1. Calhoun

   1. Opposed any plan that allowed for any type of popular soveringty

2. Webster

   1. I wish to speak as an American”

   2. Urged northerners to compromise with the South by passing a stricter fugitive slave law

   3. Warned against secession

3. Seward

   1. Vehemently opposed the plan

   2. Argued against slavery on a moral ground

Compromise Adopted

1. Douglas unbundled package that Clay had created and reintroduced htem one by one

2. Taylor’s successor, Millard Fillmore, made it clear that he supported the compromise 

3. After eight months it was voted into law

Gold Rush

1. Rush begins

   1. Americans saw the West as a place for unlimited economic opportunities and growth

   2. People from Asia, South America, the US, and Europe all got involved

2. San Francisco

   1. Location as a supply center

   2. Grew tremendously

3. Economy

   1. Exploding population created demand for jobs

      1. People made money providing services

4. Diversity

   1. Exceded 100,000 people of nearly every race, religion, and background

5. The gold rush was not actually successful for many people, and it was heavily criticized as an example of pure American Capitalism and the need for America to be portrayed as a frontiersman