Territorial and Economic Expansion, 1830-1860

Concept and Roots of Manifest Destiny

• Definition: The term "manifest destiny" expressed the popular 1840s belief that the United States possessed a divine mission to extend its power and civilization across the breadth of the North American continent.

• Origins: The phrase was coined by John L. O'Sullivan in the Democratic Review (1845). He wrote: "Away, away with all these cobweb issues of the rights of discovery, exploration, settlement, . . . [The American claim] is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty."

• Driving Forces: Enthusiasm for expansion in the 1840s was fueled by several factors:     * Nationalism.     * Population increase.     * Rapid economic development.     * Technological advances.     * Reform ideals.

• Timeline of Ambition:     * 1840s-1850s: Targets included the West Coast, Mexico, Cuba, and Central America.     * 1890s: Sights shifted to Pacific and Caribbean islands.

• Opposition: Not all Americans supported the movement. Northern critics argued that expansionism was a cover for Southern ambitions to spread slavery into new western lands.

Conflicts Over Texas

• Mexican Frontier Policy: In $1823$, after winning independence from Spain, Mexico sought to attract settlers to its sparsely populated northern province of Texas.

• The Austin Family:     * Moses Austin (Missouri banker) obtained a large land grant but died before recruiting settlers.     * Stephen Austin, his son, succeeded in bringing $300 \text{ families}$ into Texas, initiating steady American migration.

• Demographic Shift: By $1830$, American settlers (both white farmers and enslaved Black people) outnumbered Mexicans in Texas by a ratio of $3:1$.

• Sources of Friction:     * In $1829$, Mexico outlawed slavery.     * Mexico required all immigrants to convert to Roman Catholicism.     * When settlers refused to comply, Mexico closed Texas to further American immigration.     * Southern Americans ignored the prohibition and continued to stream into the territory.

• Revolt and Independence:     * General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: In $1834$, he became dictator of Mexico and abolished the federal system of government.     * Declaration of Independence: Led by Sam Houston, American settlers revolted and declared Texas an independent republic in March $1836$.     * Military Conflict:         * Santa Anna captured Goliad and attacked the Alamo in San Antonio, killing all American defenders.         * Battle of the San Jacinto River: Sam Houston’s army surprised the Mexicans and captured Santa Anna.         * Treaty: Under threat of death, Santa Anna signed a treaty recognizing Texas independence and setting the border at the Rio Grande. The Mexican legislature later rejected this treaty, maintaining Texas was still Mexican territory.

• Annexation Struggles:     * Sam Houston, as first president of the Republic of Texas (Lone Star Republic), applied for annexation to the U.S.     * Presidential Hesitation: Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren postponed annexation due to Northerners' fears of expanding slavery and the potential creation of up to five new slave states.     * John Tyler (1841-1845): A Southern Whig who feared British influence in Texas; he attempted to annex Texas in $1844$, but the U.S. Senate rejected his treaty.

Boundary Disputes in Maine and Oregon

• Maine (Aroostook War):     * A conflict between rival lumbermen on the Maine-Canadian border (New Brunswick).     * Called the "battle of the maps."     * Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842): Negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British ambassador Lord Alexander Ashburton. The disputed territory was split between Maine and British Canada. The treaty also settled the Minnesota boundary, securing the iron-rich Mesabi range for the U.S.

• Oregon Territory:     * Claimed at various times by Spain (relinquished in the Adams-Onís Treaty of $1819$), Russia, Great Britain, and the U.S.     * British Claim: Based on the Hudson Fur Company’s trade with American Indians. However, by $1846$, fewer than $1,000 \text{ British settlers}$ lived north of the Columbia River.     * United States Claim: Based on Robert Gray’s discovery of the Columbia River ($1792$), the Lewis and Clark expedition ($1805$), and John Jacob Astor’s fur trading post in Astoria ($1811$).     * Settlement: Protestant missionaries and farmers settled the Willamette Valley in the $1840s$. Approximately $5,000 \text{ Americans}$ traveled the $2,000 \text{ mile}$ Oregon Trail to settle south of the Columbia River, a phenomenon called "Oregon fever."

The Election of 1844 and Polk’s Presidency

• Democratic Nomination: Martin Van Buren (anti-annexation) deadlocked with John C. Calhoun (pro-annexation). The party nominated a "dark horse," James K. Polk of Tennessee (a protege of Andrew Jackson).

• Polk’s Platform: Commitment to manifest destiny, favoring the annexation of Texas, the "reoccupation" of all of Oregon, and the acquisition of California.

• Campaign Slogan: "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" ($54^\circ 40'$ was the latitude of the northern border between Oregon and Russian Alaska).

• Whig Nominee: Henry Clay attempted to straddle the Texas issue, losing support in New York to the antislavery Liberty Party. This caused the Whigs to lose the state and the election.

• Annexation of Texas: Outgoing President John Tyler took Polk’s win as a mandate and pushed a joint resolution through Congress, requiring only a simple majority rather than a two-thirds Senate vote.

• Dividing Oregon: Polk compromised with Britain, backing down from the $54^\circ 40'$ slogan. They agreed to divide the territory at the $49\text{th parallel}$. The U.S. granted Vancouver Island to Britain and guaranteed navigation rights on the Columbia River. Some Northerners saw this as a "sellout" to Southern interests.

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

• Slidell Mission: Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico City to negotiate the purchase of California and New Mexico and settle the Texas border. Mexico refused to sell and insisted the border was at the Nueces River (Polk claimed the Rio Grande).

• Outbreak of War: Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to move his army to the Rio Grande. On April $24, 1846$, a Mexican army crossed the river and killed $11 \text{ Americans}$.

• War Message: Polk claimed American blood was shed on American soil. Northern Whigs, including Abraham Lincoln, challenged this, but Congress approved the war.

• Military Campaigns:     * General Stephen Kearney: Took Santa Fe, the New Mexico territory, and southern California with a force under $1,500$.     * John C. Fremont: Overthrew Mexican rule in northern California (June $1846$), proclaiming the independent Bear Flag Republic.     * General Zachary Taylor: Led $6,000 \text{ men}$ and won a major victory at Buena Vista (February $1847$).     * General Winfield Scott: Invaded central Mexico with $14,000 \text{ men}$, taking Vera Cruz and eventually Mexico City (September $1847$).

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848):     * Mexico recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas.     * Mexican Cession: The U.S. took California and New Mexico.     * The U.S. paid $\$15 \text{ million}$ and assumed responsibility for American citizen claims against Mexico.

• Wilmot Proviso: In $1846$, David Wilmot proposed forbidding slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. It passed the House twice but was defeated in the Senate. It is often seen as a prelude to the Civil War.

Further Expansionist Efforts

• Ostend Manifesto (1852): President Franklin Pierce’s diplomats secretly negotiated to buy Cuba from Spain for $\$100 \text{ million}$. The scheme was leaked and dropped after an angry antislavery reaction in Congress.

• Walker Expedition: William Walker, a Southern adventurer, took over Nicaragua in $1855$. He aimed to create a proslavery empire. He was defeated by a coalition of Central American countries and executed in $1860$.

• Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850): Agreement between the U.S. and Britain that neither would take exclusive control of a future Central American canal. Replaced in $1901$ by the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty.

• Gadsden Purchase (1853): U.S. bought a strip of semidesert land from Mexico for $\$10 \text{ million}$ for a railroad; it forms parts of New Mexico and Arizona.

• Alaska: Purchased in $1867$ by Secretary of State William Seward.

Settlement of the Western Territories

• The Great American Desert: The arid region between the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific Coast, passed over by early settlers for California and Oregon.

• Mountain Men: Explorers like James Beckwourth, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith who traded for furs in the Rockies in the $1820s$ and provided trail information.

• Overland Trails: Huge migrations to California and Oregon via the Oregon, California, Santa Fe, and Mormon trails. Wagons moved at $15 \text{ miles/day}$. Major threats included disease and depression.

• Mining Frontier: Gold discovery in $1848$ triggered rushes to CA, CO, NV, and the Dakotas. California’s population grew from $14,000$ in $1848$ to $380,000$ by $1860$. By the $1860s$, one-third of miners were Chinese.

• Farming Frontier: Facilitated by the Preemption Acts of the $1830s$ and $1840s$, allowing squatters to buy land cheap. A trip west cost $\$200$ to $\$300$, making it largely a middle-class movement.

• Urban Frontier: "Instant cities" like San Francisco and Denver; Salt Lake City served as a supply point.

Industrial and Economic Growth

• Technology: Rapid industrialization in the Northeast post-$1840$ (shoes, sewing machines, firearms, precision tools).     * Elias Howe: Invented the sewing machine.     * Samuel F. B. Morse: Invented the electric telegraph ($1844$).

• Railroads: Briefly replaced canals as the primary industry. Required massive capital and labor.     * First federal land grant: $2.6 \text{ million acres}$ for the Illinois Central Railroad ($1850$) from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico.     * Tied the Midwest commercially to the Northeast rather than the South.

• Foreign Commerce:     * Whaling boom between $1830-1860$.     * Clipper Ships: Cut travel from New York to San Francisco to $89 \text{ days}$.     * Steamships: Replaced clippers in the mid-$1850s$ for greater storage and reliability.     * Commodore Matthew C. Perry: Forced Japan to open trade via the Kanagawa Treaty ($1854$).

• Panic of 1857: Economic crash; hit Midwestern farmers and Northern cities hard. The South was less affected due to high cotton prices, leading to a false sense of economic superiority.

Historical Perspectives: What Caused Manifest Destiny?

• Traditional View: Celebrated the heroism of pioneers bringing civilization and democracy to the wilderness.

• Modern View: Recognizes racist undercurrents and the desire to exclude non-Anglo populations. Focuses on the impact on American Indians, Mexican culture, and the roles of women and ethnic minorities (African Americans/Asians).

• Mexican View: The war was a disaster that cost half of Mexico's territory and created long-term developmental problems.

• Commercial Imperialism View: Argues the U.S. took California primarily as a base for Pacific trade with China and Japan to preempt Great Britain.