MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR AND THE POLITICS OF SLAVERY

The Mexican American War  After the annexation of Texas and beginning of westward expansion, tensions between the US and Mexico began to rise  War to expand the US was debated and viewed by many as a plot for the South to __________.

The Mexican American War  After the Mexican government failed to meet American demands during a border dispute, troops were sent to blockade the ________.

The Mexican American War  Americans then sent an exploration party through Mexican ______, which angered the Mexican Government  Mexican troops then met the American blockade where the first skirmish was fought  The US blamed Mexico _________

The Mexican American War  After a 800 mile march, Colonel Stephen Kearny took over New Mexico without a shot being fired  A group of American settlers in California seized the town of ____and raised a flag with_________, declaring it to be the republic of California.  The settlers met up with Kearny and a naval expedition leaving the US in control of California

The Mexican American War  Although Mexicans forces were strong, they lacked the great leadership the US had, including Captain _______and Ulysses S. Grant  Mexico lost nearly half of its _____ and 25,000 lives, the US lost 2,000 troops to battle and 11,000 from disease.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo  Mexico agrees to sell present day______, Nevada, ______, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to the US for 15 million.  Mexican citizens in these areas are granted citizenship, bilingual elections and open borders.

The Gold Rush  Shortly after war hero ________ is elected president, Gold is found in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains  In ____ thousands of Americans left their lives and moved to California to make their fortune.

The Gold Rush  Cities like _______ sprung up overnight.  California’s population quickly exceeds 100,000 and becomes a state in____.  Its population is composed of a diverse group of people, including freed slaves.

John C Calhoun  Senator _______threatens succession if the land gained from the Mexican American war does not enter the union as slave states

Industry in the North  The Industrial revolution brought thousands of _______(form Europe and the US) to the North to work as laborers  These ______ were ______ because they feared slave labor would be competition for free labor.

The South  The Industrial revolution did not affect the South, and immigrants did not come because there was no need for labor.  The North became more for ___________ and ________

California  In 1850 California decides to enter the union as a _______.  Why would this surprise many southerners?

Slavery in the Territories  The proposed ________________ prohibited slavery in any new western territories.  This amendment split to congress between North and South  Southerners saw this as a way to limit southern power

The Senate Debates  As tensions rise, the South threatens to ______while senators ___________ Calhoun Webst er

The Senate Debates  “And such a war as it would be, following the dissolution of the Union! Sir, we may search the pages of history, and none so ferocious, so bloody, so implacable, so exterminating…would rage with such violence…I implore gentlemen, I adjure them, whether from the South or the North…to pause at the edge of the precipice, before the fearful and dangerous leap be taken into the yawning abyss below.” Henry Clay

Clay’s Compromise  Henry Clay drafts__________  The compromise gave popular sovereignty to __________________  Although initially rejected the compromise was eventually adopted

Compromise of 1850

Assignment  1. When California applied for statehood in 1850 Mississippi government Jefferson Davis warned “for the first time, we are about to permanently destroy the balance of power between the sections. Why might Davis have felt this way?  2. Do you think the North of the South made out better during the compromise of 1850? Explain your answer.