Manifest Destiny 1841-1848 Pageant Chapter 17

1. Politics of the 1840s The key theme of the 1840s is WESTWARD EXPANSION Dramatic things take place in the 1840s William Henry Harrison is the first president to die in office in 1841. He only serves a month in office. The new president – John Tyler from Virginia Tyler was a Democrat – he advocated for states’ rights; rejected ideas for a new Bank of the U.S. Also, we have more trouble with Britain in the 1840s We thought they were snobs; they thought we were dirty Tensions mounted when a small revolution against Britain took place in Canada and some fiery Americans got involved More tensions mounted when the U.S. and Britain got into a boundary dispute Britain’s Lord Ashburton and the U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster worked it out, and settled the issue over what is today Maine.

2a. Texas and Oregon Texas Belonged to Mexico, then declared independence and became an independent republic Then applied for statehood into the United States This was an issue in the Election of 1844, and the man who would solve this was James K. Polk (D) The Democrats wanted expansion, the Whigs, who nominated Henry Clay, didn’t Tyler left office, and his last act was to admit Texas to the Union in 1845 This angered Mexico who still claimed Texas as theirs

President John Tyler

The United States - 1845

2.b. Texas and Oregon The British, as we just saw on the map, still owned land in North America Oregon Territory A wave of curiosity and exploration overcame many Americans in the 1840s who took to the Oregon Trail The British who were already there, saw themselves highly outnumbered by excited settlers and avoided a boundary dispute So, the United States claimed Oregon as their territory, setting up the present day northern boundary with Canada along the 49th parallel

3.a., b. War With Mexico Texas was a good addition, but many Americans wanted the rich and spacious territory of California. Polk offered to buy California from Mexico and sent lawyer John Slidell to do the deed but relations were too embittered and Mexico insulted the offer. Deadlock with Mexico also continued over Texas’ boundaries The disputed claim was over the boundaries of the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to march 4,000 men dangerously close to Mexican forces along the disputed boundary…why? April 25th, 1846 – Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and attacked, killing 16 American troops Did Polk provoke war? Bottom line – He could have worked it out, but he wanted California and didn’t want to wait to negotiate…

3.c. War With Mexico General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led the forces of Mexico For the U.S. – Stephen W. Kearny and John C. Fremont Kearny and Fremont helped secure California General Zachary Taylor won a big battle in the city of Buena Vista in 1847 General Winfield Scott won the major battle that took Mexico City in late 1847 The Mexicans were outmatched by the U.S. Army

4. Consequences of the Mexican War Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848. It confirmed America’s title to Texas It gave the U.S. California Mexico got $15 million Lives lost – 13,000 American lives were lost American Military – It was here that the U.S. Army learned how to fight – soldiers gained priceless experience Latin Americans - America was seen as a greedy and untrustworthy bully by Latin America

4. Consequences of the Mexican War Probably another significant effect of the War was that it brought the issue of slavery up to the forefront again. With most of the land gained BELOW the 36/30 latitude agreed upon in the Missouri Compromise, the Northern states were upset about the addition of many more slave states Enter David Wilmot and his great idea that never was to be The Wilmot Proviso – Proposed that all land won from Mexico would be slave free Significance – It proved that the issue of slavery and sectionalism in the U.S. was far from over…

President James K. Polk