Westward Expansion 1783 – 1853 Overview for “Ordeal by Fire” (Causes of the Civil War)

: Continental U.S. Obtained

The Two (or three) Biggest Acquisitions: Louisiana Purchase (1803) and Mexican Cession (1848) Texas Annexed in 1845

Other Acquisitions 1783: Treaty of Paris grants U.S. territory westward to Mississippi River 1803: Louisiana Purchase : From Spain we obtain... –Florida –Parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana 1820s and 1840s: From Great Britain border with p.d. Canada is fixed (affecting Maine, Minnesota, and Dakotas)

Other Acquisitions (cont’d) 1845: Annexation of Texas 1846: Treaty establishes p.d. Washington and Oregon as U.S. Territory 1848: Mexican Cession 1853: Gadsden Purchase brings in southern portions of Arizona and New Mexico

Persistent Theme #1: Expansion Accomplished through Diplomacy Most American acquisition of land came through negotiated treaties, not through warfare (or threat thereof) Often land was purchased: for example, from France, from Spain, from Mexico Notable exception: Mexican War (1848) Another exception: failed conquest of Canada in War of 1812 One of the most pressing issues facing Articles of Confederation Congress

Persistent Theme #2: America’s Population Expands Westward Relentlessly Issue of expansion a cause for rebellion (remember, Quebec Act) Facts speaking to the rapidity. By –All land east of Miss. River occupied and organized –Nine states west of Appalachians admitted –Majority of population lived west of original 13 states

Persistent Theme #3: West’s Economic Value Often Overestimated Fur trade the original draw to the West (French, then British, then Americans) By mid-19 th century: “Great American Desert” Mechanization and Homestead boom – trying to farm the marginally farmable 100 th degree longitude heuristic

Persistent Theme #4: Federal Government Guides Exploration and Development of West Organization and territory-statehood process determined early (1780s) –Precedent: federal gov’t and cheap(?) sale of land Several government-financed, quasi-military expeditions –Lewis and Clark ( ) –Zebulon Pike ( ) –Stephen Long ( ) –John C. Fremont ( ) Transcontinental railroad: first difficulties federal government encounters in development of West

Figuring Out What’s Out There

Persistent Theme #5: Policies toward Native Americans Narrow Scope of Indians’ Domain Treaties and military conflict squeezes Indians from original 13 states, old northwest, and old southwest Lands west of Miss. R. intended to be Indians’ domain, but... Settlement pressures force government to renegotiate: Indians forced to cede claims in p.d. KS and NB in 1854 (civilized tribes) Nomadic tribes on Great Plains and further west pose a dilemma for middle decades of 19 th century

By 1835

The Westward Expansion Dilemma for the Mid Nineteenth Century Relentless Surge of Settlers continues Slavery’s destiny and west linked in American consciousness and in politics South frightened by expansion westward