1. The Mexican War: Manifest Destiny or a Slaveholder Conspiracy?

2. I. Texas Fights for Independence from Mexico (1836) Context: -- Mexican Independence from Spain (1821)

3. Stephen Austin & a Growing “Gringo” Population in Texas

4. Increasing Tension in Texas: Religion, Slavery & Santa Anna’s Dictatorship

5. The Fighting: Texas’ Defeat at The Alamo -- then Victory

7. C. A Slaveholder Conspiracy? Sectionalism and US Neutrality

8. II. The US Annexes Texas A. The Dangers of an Independent Texas

9. B. The 1844 Election: Polk Promises Manifest Destiny

11. C. Nueces or Rio Grande? US Annexation of Texas & the Border Dispute (1845)

12. D. Spotty Lincoln: American Blood on American Soil?

13. III. The Mexican-American War and Its Impact A. Surprising Victories: California, Buena Vista, Mexico

14. B. The Impact The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), The Gold Rush & American Expansion

15. The Wilmot Proviso & the Beginning of the Sectional Crisis

16. Expansion + Slavery Debate  Civil War