1. Warm up: Dec. 13th based on The Travis Letter
1. From your analysis, what other message is travis trying to convey other than a call for reinforcement?
2. What does this letter tell us about the personality and character of William B. travis?

2. Manifest Destiny & Oregon Trail
7.2 Westward Expansion (Techbook)

3. Westward Expansion WHY? MANIFEST DESTINY ABUNDANT LAND MISSIONS GOLD
TRADE

4. Manifest Destiny
The belief that it was America’s God given right to expand west to the Pacific
This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is a representation of Manifest Destiny. Here Columbia, a personification of the United States, leads civilization westward with American settlers, stringing telegraph wire as she travels and carrying a school book. The different economic activities of the pioneers are highlighted and, especially, the changing forms of transportation. The Native Americans and wild animals flee.

5. WESTWARD TRAILS OREGON TRAIL
Over 2,000 miles crosses Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon
Free land and missionary work led most people here
SANTA FE TRAIL
About 800 miles, crosses Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico
Trade with Mexico led most people here

6. CONESTOGA WAGON/PRAIRIE SCHOONER
supplies for one adult: 150lbs of flour, 20 cornmeal, 50 bacon, 40 sugar, 10 coffee, 15 dried fruit, 5 salt, 2 tea, 5 rice, 15 beans Guns for hunting fresh game and protection were also necessary.

7. FIRST HAND ACCOUNT ON THE OREGON TRAIL
Amelia Stewart Knight after a 5 month journey to Oregon
Friday, May 6th — “Pleasant. We have just passed the Mormon graveyard. There is a great number of graves on it. The road is covered with wagons and cattle. Here we passed a train of wagons on their way back, the head man had drowned a few days before, in a river called Elkhorn, while getting some cattle across, and his wife was lying in the wagon quite sick, and children were mourning for a father gone. With sadness and pity I passed those who perhaps a few days before had been well and happy as ourselves. Came 20 miles today..”

8. “FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT”
After years of travel to Oregon the population was growing and President Polk was ready for annexation.
Polk was in the midst of a campaign and used this as a slogan
Britain and the U.S. agreed upon the border at the 49th parallel after realizing the land north of it was unsuitable

9. EXPANSION INTO TEXAS
Mexico encouraged farmers to settle in their northern territory by offering Land Grants (provided a buffer from Native attacks)
American settlers had to promise to obey Mexican law and observe the official religion-Catholicism
They soon outnumbered the Mexican population and lived as naturalized citizens
Several attempts were made to gain Texas
John Q Adams offered to buy Texas for $1 million
Andrew Jackson offered $5 million
Mexico began to question its open borders to Americans

10. WAR DRAWS NEAR Dispute over border between Texas and Mexico
Texas claims the Rio Grande as the border
??100miles??
Mexico claims the Nueces River

11. TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO 1848
Rio Grande becomes official border between U.S. and Mexico
New Mexico and California are ceded to the U.S. for $15 million (California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah)
Mexicans living in these areas were given freedom of religion, protection of property, bilingual elections and open borders

12. GOLD RUSH
1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains
Forty-niners were fortune seekers leaving home to strike it rich
Helped expand US from the Atlantic to the Pacific – 31st state in 1850
All types of people – Europeans, South Americans, Asians, Free Blacks, Whites
Huge increase in population – 400 in 1848 to 44,000 in 1850
HUGE POPULATION INCREASE THROUGHOUT CA DIVERSE GROUP OF SETTLERS
FEW BECAME WEALTHY FROM GOLD
THOSE PROVIDING BASIC NECESSITIES TO PANNERS MADE $$$
LED TO A HUGE DEBATE IN CONGRESS OVER EVENTUAL STATEHOOD (SLAVERY)

13. What is Manifest Destiny?
Exit Ticket:
What is Manifest Destiny?