Expansion Leads to Conflict Unit 1 Section 1 Part 5

1. Manifest Destiny Thousands of Americans migrated West in the 1840s and 1850s People believed it was their God-given right to settle all the way to the Pacific This belief was called Manifest Destiny There were several trails that led west: Santa Fe Trail -from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe New Mexico Oregon Trail -longest and most famous trail -led from Independence to Oregon Territory

Mormon Trail -Many Mormons were persecuted for their beliefs -they migrated West to Utah, so that they could practice their religion freely

2. The California Gold Rush In 1848, gold was discovered in California People from all over the world began to rush to California The mass migration of miners and business men to California is called the Gold Rush The miners who went to Ca. in 1849, were called the forty- niners Due to the population increase Ca. was allowed to become a state in 1850 Most miners lived in mining camps around San Francisco, Sacramento, and Stockton

3. Major Effects of Western Migration Use of the trails declined sharply after RR’s connected the east to the west The migration to the west had significant effects: The Oregon Treaty -because so many Americans lived in Oregon, presidential candidate James K. Polk wanted to buy it -Oregon Treaty -set the border for the U.S. and British Canada at the 49 th Parallel

4. Communication Links Mail was the 1 st way messages traveled from East to West The Pony Express offered fast mail service using young riders on fast horses Eventually, telegraph lines connected the East and West, which made the Pony Express obsolete The greatest effect of westward expansion was on Native Americans More and more were pushed off of their land

5. Texas Independence In the early 1800s, Texas was owned by Spain In 1820, the Spanish allowed Moses Austin, an American to make a colony in Texas Moses dies and his son Stephen Austin actually builds the colony in 1823 By the time the colony was built, Mexico had become independent from Spain By 1830 there were 30,000 Americans in Texas

6. Texas Revolution Mexicans made American settlers in Texas swear allegiance to the Mexico They also made Americans become Catholic None of the settlers actually committed to the Mexican demands Mexicans tried to decrease American influence in Texas Stephen Austin went to ask the Mexican government for independence, but was thrown in jail

Meanwhile Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana becomes the Mexican President He was more harsh towards Americans in Texas, so Texas declared its independence

7. The Alamo American settlers captured the Mexican town of San Antonio This made Santa Ana angry and he sent a force of 6,000 soldiers to take it back The settlers were under the command of William Travis -they barricaded themselves in the Alamo It took Santa Ana 12 days to beat 200 Americans Afterwards, Santa Ana was captured and forced to give Texas their Independence Texas was now the Republic of Texas

Mexican American War Soon after Independence, many people wanted the U.S. to annex Texas Northerners did not want to because it would be a slave state When James K. Polk became president, he made it a state This angered Mexico, because they still believed Texas to belong to them Polk also wanted California and New Mexico He sent a diplomat to offer to buy the territories, but a dispute broke out which started the war

America makes short work of Mexico and they sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The U.S. got a huge amount of land This acquisition of land will help start the Civil War Should slavery be allowed in the new territories?