1. Ch. 15: Manifest Destiny and the Growing Nation

2. Topic: Manifest Destiny and the Growing Nation Learning Goal: To understand how the U.S. acquired lands in the West. To explain the concept of Manifest Destiny.
Essential Questions:
Were Americans justified (right) in the idea of Manifest Destiny?

3. 1. Manifest Destiny

4. Manifest Destiny was the belief by many Americans that it was America’s “obvious fate” to move westward, expanding its borders from the Atlantic Ocean in the East to the Pacific Ocean in the West.

5. Debrief Explain (Discuss) the idea of Manifest Destiny to your group.
Paraphrase in PEN how you would explain Manifest Destiny to a friend.

6. 2.

7. Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the longest river in North America.
It is an important source of transportation for both people and goods.
Farmers living in the states could send their crops down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico, where they could be shipped around the world.
New Orleans

8. New Orleans
In 1803, the port city of New Orleans belonged to France. However, America wanted New Orleans for itself so that American farmers could ship their crops down the Mississippi River and out into the Atlantic Ocean. From there, those crops could go to Eastern cities or Europe. The city was seen as vital to American trade.

10. Debrief
Why was the Mississippi River important to Americans? Explain to your group.
Paraphrase in PEN – write down your explanation.

11. President Thomas Jefferson decides to send James Monroe to France to offer France $7.5 million for New Orleans.
France’s leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, offers to sell the entire Louisiana Territory to the U.S.

12. The Louisiana Purchase
U.S. bought the Territory
for $15 million from
France.
The Purchase doubled
the size of the United States

13. Debrief
How did the United States get the Louisiana Territory? Did we want it? How did we benefit from it?
Discuss and Paraphrase

14. 3.

15. Florida Spain had colonized Florida in the late 1500s.
In 1804, Jefferson sent two diplomats to Spain to buy Florida, but Spain refused to sell.
Many white Americans in the Southeast wanted Florida because escaped slaves ran away there and the Seminole Indians were carrying out raids in Georgia.
Florida

16. Debrief
Why did Americans want Florida?
Discuss and Paraphrase.

17. Andrew Jackson Invades Florida
In 1818, President Monroe sent General Andrew Jackson to Georgia to end the Seminole raids. Jackson was told that he could not chase the Seminoles into Florida, but he did anyway.
Jackson marched 1,700 troops into Florida and over the next few weeks had captured nearly every military post in the colony and had removed the Spanish governor and replaced him with one of his own officers.
Andrew Jackson Invades Florida

18. “Govern or Get Out”
Monroe asked his cabinet for advice; all but one of its members suggested removing Jackson and apologizing to Spain for his actions.
The one member of his staff who disagreed was John Quincy Adams. He advised sending Spain a blunt message – either govern Florida properly or get out.
Fearing war, Spain got out.
In 1819, the Spanish government agreed to give Florida to the U.S. in exchange for the U.S. paying off $5 million in settlers’ claims against Spain and to honor Spain’s longtime claim to Texas.
Not all Americans were happy about leaving Spain in charge of Texas.

19. Debrief How did the United States acquire Florida?
Discuss and Paraphrase

20. 4.

21. Texas
In 1821, Spanish officials granted American Moses Austin a huge tract of land in Texas. After his death, his son Stephen settled in it soon after Mexico had gained its independence from Spain. By 1827, there were 297 American families settled on Austin’s land.
Stephen Austin ( ) “Father of Texas”

22. Rising Tensions
Austin’s successful colony started a rush of American settlers to Texas.
By 1830, there were about 25,000 Americans in Texas compared to 4,000 Tejanos (Texans of Mexican descent).
Tensions rose between the two groups over the use of slaves (Mexico outlawed slavery; however Americans were bringing their slaves into Texas)
Ultimately, the Mexican government responded by closing Texas to further American immigration.

23. The Texans Rebel
While some Texans called for revolution, others like Stephen Austin asked the Mexican government to reopen Texas to immigration and to make it a separate Mexican state.
But when Austin presented the Texans’ demands to General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, he was tossed into jail for promoting rebellion.
Soon after Austin was released, Texas rose up in revolt. General Santa Anna marched north to crush the rebels with his army of approximately 6,000 troops.

24. Debrief
What started the conflict between Americans and Mexicans/Tejanos?
Discuss and Paraphrase.

25. The town of San Antonio, Texas was defended by about 180 Texan volunteers when a large part of Santa Anna’s army arrived.
They had taken over an old mission known as the Alamo.
Outnumbered by at least ten to one, the Texans held off the Mexicans for 12 days.
Eventually, the Americans were defeated.
Santa Anna ordered that those who had survived the battle be executed, a decision that would fill Texans with rage.
The Alamo

26. “Remember the Alamo”
The Battle of the Alamo showed how determined the Texans were to gain their independence and it encouraged those still fighting to seek revenge.
“Remember the Alamo” soon became a battle cry for the Texas revolutionary army.

27. Battle of San Jacinto
Sam Houston, the commander of the Texas revolutionary army, hoped to lure Santa Anna deeper into Texas. This would make it harder for him to supply his army and keep it battle-ready.
In April 1836, Santa Anna caught up with Houston near the San Jacinto River.

28. Texas Wins Its Independence
Houston staged a surprise attack and the Texans overran the Mexican camp.
Santa Anna fled, but was captured the next day.
In exchange for his freedom, he ordered all his remaining troops out of Texas, granting Texas its independence
in 1836.

29. To Annex Texas or Not?
Texas became known as the Lone Star Republic because of the single star on its flag.
But most Texans were Americans who wanted to make Texas part of the U.S.
In the U.S., southerners wanted to annex Texas (make it part of the U.S.) because it was a slave state. However, northerners who opposed slavery wanted to keep Texas out. Others feared annexation would lead to war with Mexico.
In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state.

30. Debrief Explain the Texas Revolution Why did it happen?
What was the outcome?
Why didn’t United States annex Texas in 1836, but waited until 1845?
Discuss and Paraphrase

31. 5.

32. Oregon Country was a tree-covered wilderness stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. and Britain both claimed ownership but agreed for a time to a peaceful “joint occupation” of Oregon.
Oregon Country

33. Discovering Oregon Lewis & Clark
America’s claim to Oregon was based on the Lewis and Clark expedition, which President Jefferson had ordered following the Louisiana Purchase.
Jefferson wanted them to explore the Louisiana Territory to see exactly what the U.S. had just purchased from France.
Between 1804 and 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had led a small band of explorers to the Oregon coast.

35. Oregon Fever
The first American settlers to travel to Oregon were missionaries. While they were unable to convert many Oregon Indians to Christianity, their reports of Oregon’s fertile soil and abundant forests soon attracted more settlers.
Early settlers described it as a “pioneer’s paradise” and in 1843 about 1,000 pioneers packed their belongings into covered wagons and headed for Oregon.
A year later, the number of pioneers headed for Oregon doubled.

37. All of Oregon or Half?
President James K. Polk was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny and he had played a key role in Texas becoming part of the U.S.
He would also play a key role in determining the fate of Oregon Country.
Polk struck a deal with Britain that divided Oregon roughly in half at the 49th parallel.

38. Debrief Why did the United States want Oregon?
How was Oregon acquired?
Discuss and Paraphrase

39. 6. The Mexican-American War

40. War with Mexico
After gaining Texas and Oregon, President Polk (to the right) was determined to have the huge areas of California and New Mexico as well– either through purchase or war.
He sent a representative to Mexico to try and buy the territories, but Mexican officials refused even to see him.
After Texas became part of the U.S., Polk sent General Zachary Taylor (to the left) to defend the Texas-Mexican border in case Mexico tried to take it back.

41. The annexation (taking in) of Texas by the U. S
The annexation (taking in) of Texas by the U.S. upset Mexico, which believed it to be an act of war.
In addition, Texas and Mexico had never agreed on a border.
On April 25, 1846 Mexican soldiers fired on American troops who were patrolling the Rio Grande, killing or wounding sixteen Americans.
Polk used the incident as an excuse to go to war.
War Breaks Out in Texas

42. War Breaks Out in Texas
At the time, American President Polk stated that Mexico “has invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil.”
Mexican President Mariano Paredes (on the bottom left) saw it differently, declaring that a greedy people “have thrown themselves on our territory The time has come to fight.”

43. Debrief What caused the Mexican – American War of 1846?
Discuss and Paraphrase.

44. The Fall of New Mexico
A few months after declaring war, General Stephen Kearny led his army into New Mexico and captured it without firing a shot.

45. Meanwhile, a group of Americans led by the explorer John C
Meanwhile, a group of Americans led by the explorer John C. Fremont launched a rebellion against Mexican rule in California.
They arrested and jailed the Mexican commander of Northern California.
Then they raised a crude flag showing a grizzly bear sketched in blackberry juice.
They declared California the Bear Flag republic.
The Fall of California

46. The United States Invades Mexico
At this time, General Zachary Taylor had pushed into Mexico, capturing the Mexican city of Monterrey.
General Santa Anna marched north to meet Taylor with an army of 20,000 Mexican troops.
The two forces battled in February 1847 near a ranch called Buena Vista.
The fighting was fierce but General Santa Anna was eventually forced to make a retreat.

47. The United States Invades Mexico
A month later, American forces led by General Winfield Scott landed at Veracruz in southern Mexico.
Over the next six months, Scott’s army would fight their way to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico.
Scott’s army captured Mexico City in September 1847.

48. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
In 1848, Mexico and the U.S. signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war.
In the treaty, Mexico agreed to give up Texas and a vast region known as the Mexican Cession (about half of the country).

49. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This area included the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, as well as parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
In exchange, the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million and promised to protect the 80,000 to 100,000 Mexicans living in Texas and in the Mexican Cession.
$15 million

50. Debrief Explain the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Discuss and Paraphrase

51. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

52. “From Sea to Shining Sea”
In 1853, the U.S. acquired more land from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase.
James Gadsden arranged for the U.S. to buy a strip of land just south of the Mexican Cession for $10 million so that railroad builders could build a railroad through it.
While most Americans were pleased with the new boundaries of the nation, many had believed the U.S. to be too good a nation to bully or invade its weaker neighbors.
The war with Mexico changed that and Americans now knew the dark side of Manifest Destiny.
“From Sea to Shining Sea”
Gadsden Purchase

53. Night At The Museum - Manifest Destiny

54. “From Sea to Shining Sea”5 2 6 1 7 4 3