The Nation Expands

Cherokee People  Cherokee – Indian tribe that help Jackson at Battle of Horseshoe Bend  Adapted to white way of life – owned land, slaves, and farmed  Sequoyah – Most well known Cherokee leader, responsible for creating a Cherokee Alphabet – published a Cherokee newspaper  Gold will be found in Cherokee Nation – tensions will soon rise between US and Cherokee

Cherokee Indian Picture

Indian Removal Act  Congress passes a law giving the government the authority to remove the Cherokee and other tribes from the Southeast (Gold!)  The Cherokee will appeal to the courts, hoping to save their homelands *Video 24*

Worchester v. Georgia  What? – Cherokee Indians appealed to court for help in keeping their homes in the Southeast  Issue? – Whether or not the US Government had the right to remove a group of people from their homes.  Ruling? – Court ruled that the Cherokee had the right to remain on their land  Andrew Jackson however refused to obey and still sent troops to remove the Cherokee  Trail of Tears – 800 mile march of Cherokee from Southeast to Oklahoma

Trail of Tears Picture

Tensions with Britain  1840’s – Tensions break between the United States and Britain at the border of Canada (British territory)  Webster-Asheburton Treaty – US Secretary of State Daniel Webster & British Ambassador Lord Asheburton signed treaty that specified the US- Canada border

Webster-Asheburton Map

Lewis and Clark  Merriwether Lewis & William Clark – appointed by Thomas Jefferson (1803) to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean  Lewis and Clark Expedition – May 1804 – September 1806  Explored all the way to Pacific Coast and back…many people believed they had died along the way  Their information about the western territories increased westward expansion  Oregon Trail – pathway traveled by settlers from Missouri to Pacific Northwest

Lewis and Clark Picture

Oregon Trail Map

Missouri Compromise As the nation expanded, slavery rose to the forefront of controversial issues regarding expansion  1819 – Missouri wanted to enter the union  Debate rose in Congress over whether it would be slave or free (States were equal at the time)  Missouri Compromise – Missouri would enter as a slave state (Maine as a free state), Southern border of Missouri (36-30 line) would cut country in half  States above would enter as free, states below would enter as slave

Missouri Compromise Map

The State of Texas  1821 – Mexico gains independence from Spain  Stephen Austin – leads US settlers into Texas – which is part of Mexico now  General Antonia Santa Anna – seizes power of Mexico in 1834 – tightens his grip on US settlers  Sam Houston – leads Texan settlers in declaring Texas a free and independent territory  The Alamo – Texan settlers make last stand against Santa Anna’s forces – all Texans die (Davey Crocket) *Video 13*  Texans defeat Santa Anna eventually and Texas becomes a free state

Alamo Picture

1844  Texas seeks to be annexed by US – President Andrew Jackson favors but is met with opposition – Why? Think Missouri Compromise  Election of 1844 – Annexation of Texas was top issue  James K. Polk – wins election, first “dark horse” to do so  Campaigned with the promise to annex Texas and Oregon

James Polk Picture

 The Convention of 1818 had formed an agreement between US and Britain to occupy Oregon jointly  Polk had promised Oregon to the people and threatened the British with the slogan “54-40, or fight” – Meaning Britain should move north of the parallel and out of Oregon  Britain, not wanting a fight, accepts the deal and Oregon becomes a state (49 th parallel agreed to)

Oregon Map

War With Mexico  Manifest Destiny – idea that it is God’s will for the US to expand and possess territory from Ocean to Ocean  Therefore, US annexes Texas – Mexico views this as an act of aggression  General Zachary Taylor – sent into Texas  When negotiations broke over the purchase of California and New Mexico, President Polk ordered Taylor into the disputed territory  Taylor attacked by Mexican soldiers

End of War  Polk pleaded to congress that “Mexicans had shed American blood on American soil.”  Congress declares was on May 13 th, 1846  Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo – After 2 years of fighting, treaty signed in 1848 that ended the Mexican-American War *Video 14*  Treaty included the Mexican cession – giving up of California and New Mexico territories in exchange for financial compensation

The Wilmot Proviso  Slavery continued to be an issue of debate amongst the colonies  How has this been seen as evident already?  Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot put forth the Wilmot Proviso  Proposed banning slavery from ANY land gained from Mexico  How did the nation vote? North? South?

Wilmot Proviso Map

Cali-Forn-Ia  1848 – Gold discovered in Sacremento, CA  1849 – California Gold Rush – gold seekers from across the country moved to California in search of gold and riches *Video 15*  Became known as 49ers – why?  Compromise of California entered as a free state 2. New Mexico (Arizona/Nevada) – not denoted as slave or free 3. Slave trade ended in DC – but not slavery itself 4. Fugitive Slave Laws – Law for citizens to return escaped slaves

Compromise of 1850

Gold Rush Picture