From the Atlantic to the Pacific Manifest Destiny From the Atlantic to the Pacific

Manifest Destiny In the 1840s, many Americans believed in Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny was the belief that it was the nation’s destiny to expand from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast

The Will of God The term “Manifest Destiny” was coined by a New York Editor, John L. O’Sullivan He suggested that it was the will of God or a divine sort of destiny that the nation should encompass all that land

Westward Expansion Of course, the Louisiana Purchase made Manifest Destiny possible From France, Jefferson – the usually strict constructionist – gained the Great Plains, the Mississippi River, and the port of New Orleans

Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea And the maps of the Louisiana Territory produced as a result of Lewis and Clark’s expedition with the help of Sacagawea made it easier for Americans to venture west

Other Factors Americans also settled in Texas Initially with the blessings of the Mexican government if they converted to Catholicism and pledged loyalty to Mexico

Texas Independence Eventually, the American settlers declared independence from Mexico and fought the Mexican government First at the Alamo, a former mission, where many Americans were killed

Annexation But over time and with more battles, Texans achieved independence And by 1845, Congress voted to annex Texas

Just a Little More Land The Americans wanted the border between Mexico and the USA to be at the Rio Grande But the Mexican government believed the border was the Nueces River

The Mexican-American War 1846 – 1848 Mexico was defeated The United States gained California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico

The Gadsden Purchase In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico completed U.S. expansion in the southwest

The Oregon Territory In an agreement with Great Britain in 1846, the line dividing Canada and the United States was extended westward to the Pacific, giving the U.S. part of the Oregon Territory

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight” Before the U.S. gained the Oregon Territory, Americans wanted the line of latitude for this territory to be the 54°40′ line of latitude Thus, the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight” but then settled on the 49th parallel

President Polk President Polk is the President associated with Manifest Destiny He was president from 1845 – 1849

The Gold Rush Gold was also discovered in California in 1848 By 1849, Americans rushed westward in hopes of finding gold in California

The Decline of the Plains Indians As Americans moved west, they confronted Native American Indians Indian Wars ensued Eventually, Native American Indians were placed on reservations

The End of A Way of Life As buffalo were killed for sport by American settlers, the very way of life of the Plains Indians was destroyed

Now that the Buffalo are Gone For the Native American Indians, westward expansion and Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life and of their freedom

Alaska And although it was not Atlantic to Pacific related, the United States also acquired Alaska In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million

The Railroad Too The railroad also encouraged westward expansion As a transcontinental railroad was built with often free federal land, Americans could more easily move west