1. Chapter 5
Manifest Destiny

2. Section 1: Migrating to the West
SP settled NM in the early 1600’s but came into blows with the native Apache groups there.
The SP found TX as a “buffer colony”
Not that many people were there at first
CA was the same way but the SP started setting up missionaries and by 1821 you had 20 missions w/ 18k converts.

3. Manifest Destiny
belief God wanted the US to own all of North America
Term coined by journalist John L. O’Sullivan
Americans move westward for economic opportunities
Oregon Trail
Expansion came at the expense of the Natives & Mexicans

4. Santa Fe trail – Merchants from MO w/ Santa Fe and they offered manufactured goods and got furs, horses
Mountain Men – These guys went hunting for furs in the Rockies and went through the South Pass in WY.
Jedediah Smith continued on through Salt Lake and into CA…this was the CA trail

5. Oregon Trail – OR trail was founded by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman who found a mission in Walla Walla. They were consequently killed by Native Americans.
The Whitman’s compound was a post for future expeditions

6. The people that went out West traveled in packs of 10 –100 wagons w/ 50- 1000 people.
It was a tough journey and the Donner party got lost and resorted to cannibalism in 1846
Between ’40 and ’ k went out there

7. Texas & the Mexican-American War
Section 2

8. Don't mess with Texas Spanish settles Texas and Mexico
Mexico wins freedom from Spain 1821
Treaty of Cordoba
Texas then wins its freedom from Mexico in 1836
Battle at the Alamo

9. Texas
Mexico told Americans that they could settle in TX if they became MX citizens, Catholic and accepted the MX Constitution which banned slavery
Stephen Austin led the charge and they found Austin, TX
By ’35, 30k Americans were there known as Anglo-Texans
In 34’ Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, took over Mexico in a coup and wanted a authoritarian gov’t.
Anglo-TX didn’t like this and they declared independence in 35 – Lone Star Republic
In ’36 Santa Anna went up to TX to crush the revolt and in March he attacked a small garrison – The Alamo – Everyone was killed including Davy Crockett
US rallied around “Remember the Alamo”
Led by Sam Houston, the Texans trapped Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto and he signed over TX

10. Election of 1844
Houston became Pres of TX and wanted to US to Annex it but Jackson couldn’t get Congress to
In this election TX became a big deal and James K. Polk was an expansionist. He was a (D) and slaveholder
He appeased the (N) by saying that he would get them the OR territory which was currently split w/ GB
“54 40’ or Fight”
He only got them ½ of it – current day OR, WA and ID

11. US annexes Texas
despite political fight in Congress over it
1836 Texans vote to join Union
John Tyler signed treaty of annexation with Texas in April of 1844
Whig dominated Senate defeated the treaty – afraid of war with Mexico
James Polk then becomes president and annexes Texas
US goes to war with Mexico over the borders and refusal to sell us Cali and New Mexico.

12. Mexican American War Causes (1846) Annexation of Texas
Dispute over southern boundary of Texas
Mexican refusal to sell Cali and New Mexico
Skirmish w/Taylor’s forces in south Texas– “American blood on American soil”
Declaration of War May 13, 1846

14. During the War
California is taken over by Americans and declared the Republic of California
By January 1847 US takes control of New Mexico and California

15. Effects of Territorial Expansion
Section 3

16. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848
1) Mexico gave up claim to Texas, Rio Grande established as southern border of Texas
2) New Mexico and California became US territories
3) $15 million paid to Mexico
4) claims to American citizens totaling $3 million
Ends Mexican American war and led to more disputes between slave/non-slave states over the expansion of slavery as the US gained Texas, California, and New Mexico
Texas becomes 28th state, Dec 1845
Gadsden Purchase: we buy S. Arizona and New Mexico
- 1853, bought to assist with RR crossings

18. Effects of Expansion Wilmot Proviso
1846, proposed by Whig Rep David Wilmot of PA
Becomes attached to bills and tries to prohibit slavery in areas acquired from Mexico as part of their annexation but never becomes law
**reveals growing gap between the North and the South (shows division by section of country rather than by party)
Passed the House, but failed the Senate for next 15 years
Weakened the 2 major parties

19. California Gold Rush 1848-gold discovered
Thousands (80k) flock to Cali and seek statehood- Gold Rush—nicknamed the Forty-niners
- they came from S. America & China (w/I 5 years, CA pop was 225k)
California’s admission in 1850 into the Union as a free state would upset balance between free and slave
- at the time it was 15/15
- pop. mostly made up of Northerners & they didn’t want to compete with southern slave owners who could use slaves to search for gold
Uproar in nation!
New Mexico and Utah also likely to be free states
Clay proposes a compromise (we will see in Ch 6)

20. Long Story Short
Westward expansion and the idea of Manifest Destiny increase regional tensions and push us closer to War