Westward Expansion

Westward Expansion

Westward Expansion1820s-1850 • Introduction • Texas • Early Settlement • Texas War • Manifest Destiny • Polk and Texas • Oregon • Joint Occupation • Oregon Treaty • California • Background • Mexican War • Conclusion

Themes • Expansion of U.S. Territory • Manifest Destiny

Westward Expansion • Size of the U.S. • 1790 • 900,000 Sq Mi • 1850 • 3,000,000 Sq Mi

Latin American Indepedence

Early Settlement and Texas • In early 1820s about 3,000 illegal immigrants lived in Mexico • Mexico Government: Passed Mexican Colonization Law: • Goal immigrants would become loyal Mexican Citizens

Mexican Colonization Law • Americans immigrants could receive a league (4,400 acres for grazing) and labor (170 acres of farmland) of land if they… • Became Mexican citizens • Obey Mexican laws • Mexico outlawed slavery • Convert to Catholicism

Texas Colonizers • Stephen Austin • An empresario • Empresarios moved Am. Families to Mexico • Agents received land grants in return for recruiting settlers • Over 35,000 Am. moved to TX by 1835

Check Up!

Mexican Government • Goal of Texans – More autonomy • Goal of Santa Anna – Limit the power of Mexican states • Results – Texas War for Independence began in October 2, 1835

Texas War for Independence • Texans vs. Mexico • Sam Houston led Texan Army • Some Am. volunteered for TX army, but the U.S. gov. did not get involved.

Texas War for IndependenceMajor Battles • Alamo – 187 Texans vs. 5,000 Mexicans • Goliad – Texan POW’s were killed • San Jacinto – Texans defeated Santa Anna and won independence

Lone Star Republic • Texans had won their independence and attempted to join the U.S. • From 1836-1845 Texas was an independent nation: Lone Star Republic • Sam Houston became the first President

Manifest Destiny • Manifest Destiny (1840s) • The nation’s obvious destiny was that it expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

Manifest Destiny • Manifest Destiny (1840s) • The nation’s obvious destiny was that it expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Check Up! - Is this concept and John O’Sullivan’s quote in line with the founding principles of the U.S. • “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 and federative self-government entrusted to us.” • John L. O’Sullivan

Presidential Election of 1844 and Manifest Destiny • James Polk • Promised • Acquire Oregon, Texas and California • Retire after one term as President • After his election but prior to his inauguration Texas is admitted into the Union

Oregon • Oregon was jointly occupied by G.B. and the U.S. • Americans outnumbered the British • Polk’s Slogan • “54⁰ 40’ or fight” • Negotiated with Great Britain for the Oregon Treaty of 1846

Polk tried to purchase California, New Mexico, and gain recognition of U.S. sovereignty over Texas • Mexico refused to meet to discuss the deal • Polk sent troops under Zachary Taylor • Americans troops were attacked • Congress declared war in May of 1846

Opposition to the War • Weakened Congressional power to declare war • Threat of the expansion of slavery to new areas • War of conquest

The Ethics of a War of Conquest • Whigs: Mr. Polk’s War • “A most unrighteous war.” • John Quincy Adams • Spot Resolutions • Abraham Lincoln The spot resolutions were offered in the United States House of Representatives on 22 December 1847 by Abraham Lincoln, Whig representative from Illinois. The resolutions requested President James K. Polk to provide Congress with the exact location (the "spot") upon which blood was spilt on American soil, as Polk had claimed in 1846 when asking Congress to declarewar on Mexico. So persistent was Lincoln in pushing his "spot resolutions" that some began referring to him as "spotty Lincoln." Lincoln's resolutions were a direct challenge to the validity of the president's words, and representative of an ongoing political power struggle between Whigs and Democrats. • It was a war of “aggression, of invasion, of conquest, of rapine – marked by ruffianism, perfidy, and every other feature of national depravity.” • William Lloyd Garrison

Mexican War1846-1848 • Polk and his allies supported the war • But many in the U.S. were opposed • Weakened Congressional power to declare war • Threat of the expansion of slavery to new areas • War of Conquest? • Abraham Lincoln, a young H.R. from Illinois spoke out against the war.

Key Battles Mexican War1846-1848 • Zachary Taylor • Monterrey and Buena Vista • Stephen Kearney • New Mexico • John C. Freemont • California • Winfield Scott • Occupied Mexico City

Consequence of the Mexican War • 13,000 Americans died • 110 per 1,000 died • Experience for future commanders in the Civil War • Robert E. Lee • Ulysses S. Grant • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • Rio Grande became border between Mexico and U.S. • U.S. received California and territory in Southwest • U.S. gave Mexico $15 million

The Slave Question • Would the new territories be open to slavery based on the Missouri Compromise? • The war with Mexico was “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation,” and the Civil War was “our punishment” • Ulysses S. Grant

Cause Event Consequences Mexican- American War

Links • Manifest Destiny • Mexican War (PBS) • Mexican War • James K. Polk

Resources • http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/index.html

Westward Expansion