1. Unit 4 Day 29: Manifest Destiny

2. Manifest Destiny  Term coined by editor John O’Sullivan, 1845

3. Lone Star Republic  Mexican Independence 1821, US settlement encouraged  1823 Stephen Austin leads 300 families  Expected to become Mexican, convert to Catholicism and ban slavery  They don’t comply  Mexican dictator: Santa Anna, throws Austin in jail

4. Lone Star Republic  March 2, 1836 Texas reps declare independence from Mex.  March 6, Santa Anna siege on Alamo  13-day holdout, 187 Texans vs 5K w/Santa Anna  “Remember the Alamo” –May 14 Santa Anna grants TX indep  Tejano: Spanish speaking settlers in TX supported TX Revolution  Texan Americans wanted to be annexed by US, Jackson ignored b/c slavery issue

5. 54˚40’ or Fight  Dispute over Oregon Territory  Treaty of 1818: joint occupation of US and Eng  1840’s popular settler destination  Conestoga Wagon caravan  Native American resistance  6 months to reach “west”  James K. Polk: Manifest Destiny!  Called for exp. Including TX, CA, OR (all)  Slogan: “Fifty-four Forty or Fight!”  GB compromises: split OR at 49 th parallel, no conflict

6. American Blood on American Soil  TX admitted to Union, Mexico outraged  Boundary dispute: Nueces River  Territory between NR and Rio Grande “no man’s land”  Polk dreams of CA  Sends John Slidell, offer Mex $30 mil  Land between NR and RG, New Mexico territory, CA  Mexican gov’t refuses, Polk goes to War  Polk sends Gen. Zachary Taylor  4K troops to RG river, May1846 Mexico fires back  ‘Am blood on Am soil’—even anti-expansionist Whigs angry  Congress declares war

8. Mexican-American War  Army gains 60K volunteers, US Navy dominate sea  Polk sends 4-prong attack to Mexico  Fremont/Kearny sent to control CA and NM  “Bear Flag Republic” secure in 1847 (joke)  Aug 1846, capture Santa Fe, governor of NM flees  No casualties  Taylor and Scott attack Mexico  Taylor fights Santa Anna’s troops  Invade Mexico City (Capital) to negotiate

9. End of Mex-Am War  Whigs oppose war (misleading? Unconstitutional?)  Henry David Thoreau jailed for refusing taxes, writes Civil Disobedience  War concludes with Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo  US recieves Texan territory, NM and CA  Paid Mexico $15mil (same as for LA territory)  13K deaths, US military won every battle

10. Wilmot’s Proviso  Northern Whigs vs. Southern Democrats  Abolitionists fear cotton planting in new territory  Slaveholders fear prohibition of slavery & lose power in Congress  David Wilmot –northerner (racist?), proposition divides Congress  Aug 8, 1846:  “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist” in lands won in Mex-Am War.  Never became law  Years after, arguments for/against slavery  Gag Rule passed: forbids discussion of slavery in Congress