Objective – understand how the US gained the land west... Mississippi River

Objective – understand how the US gained the land west of the
Mississippi River
The belief that American expansion to the Pacific Ocean
was inevitable, that God was on our side.
Major Western Trails
Santa Fe Trail
The first major western trail was the Santa Fe Trail,
which stretched 800 miles from Independence,
Missouri, to the town of Santa Fe, the capital of
Spanish New Mexico. It began as a trade route
The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail stretched from
Oregon Trail Independence, Missouri, to the rich farming lands of
the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It was used by Native
Americans, Lewis and Clark, fur traders and mountain
men, and finally migrants.
Mormon Trail
Between 1847 and 1853, some 16,000 Mormons
migrated west following the 1,300-mile route that
became known as the Mormon Trail. It ran from
Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City in present-day
Utah.
News from Sutter’s Mill
In 1848 gold was discovered in the American River at
John Sutter’s sawmill in northern California.
Newspapers across the country carried the story, and
thousands of Americans caught “gold fever.”
•When most miners reached California, they moved into mining
camps in the gold fields.
•Many others—especially businesspeople—settled in cities.
•San Francisco, the port nearest the gold fields, grew from 800
people in 1848 to some 25,000 the next year.
The Oregon Treaty
•Presidential candidate
James K. Polk
campaigned in 1844 on
the promise of securing
the Oregon Country for
the United States even if
it meant war.
•The United States and
Britain had jointly
controlled Oregon since
1818.
•Polk won, but made a
treaty with Britain,
setting the boundary
between the United
States and British Canada
at the 49th parallel.
Americans Move into Texas
•Moses Austin
–In 1820, Austin proposed to Spanish colonial officials that, in
exchange for land, he would build a colony in Texas. The Spanish
agreed, but Austin died before he could start. His son, Stephen
F. Austin, would carry out his wish for a colony. By 1824 about
300 families lived on farms and ranches throughout Austin’s
colony.
•Mexican independence and the empresarios
–Mexico gained its independence in 1821. The new government
wanted Texas settled. They assigned large amounts of land to
empresarios, contractors who recruited settlers and established
colonies. Austin was the most successful of the empresarios.
–By 1830, Texas had more than a dozen colonies with 30,000
settlers. This included several thousand enslaved Africans and
4,000 Tejanos, or Texans of Mexican heritage.
The Texas Revolution
American settlers in Texas had to agree to certain conditions in
exchange for receiving land. They had to surrender their American
citizenship; swear allegiance to Mexico; adopt the Roman Catholic
religion; and hold the land for seven years.
The settlers ignored the Mexican rules. They kept
Tensions in bringing in slaves, even after Mexico outlawed slavery.
Texas
Settlers were still Americans, not Mexican. In 1830,
Mexico passed a law halting American immigration and
sent troops to Texas to enforce it.
Mexican officials suspected that the U.S. wanted to
International acquire Texas. Originally claimed as part of the
tensions
Louisiana Purchase, the U.S. had dropped its claim.
But when an offer was made to buy a large part of
Texas for $1 million, Mexicans refused, but their fears
of U.S. intentions were confirmed.
The Texas Revolution Begins
Tensions between settlers, now calling themselves Texans, and the
Mexican government grew continually worse.
After several bloody protests, Texans held conventions to discuss the
best course of action. A plan to make Texas a separate Mexican state
failed. The new Mexican president, Antonio López de Santa Anna,
supported a strong central government and enforced new laws
banning state militias.
War came when violence erupted at Gonzales over possession of a
cannon. Though small, it was the first battle of the Texas
Revolution, and hopes for a peaceful resolution between the Texans
and Mexico diminished. At a meeting, called the Consultation, the
settlers founded a government and asked Sam Houston to raise an
army.
From the Alamo to Independence
Rebel Texan forces captured San Antonio, which
The Alamo contained a fort called the Alamo. Santa Anna led an
army into Texas to punish the rebels and put down the
unrest once and for all.
On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s force of 6,000
soldiers reached San Antonio. A demand of surrender
Santa Anna
was met with cannon fire from William Travis. The
Mexican army laid siege to the fort, pounding it for 12
days and nights. The fort was finally stormed, with
nearly all defenders killed.
March 2,
1836
While the Alamo was under siege, a small group of
Texans met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to issue the
Texas Declaration of Independence. They wrote a
constitution for the new, independent nation.
Fighting for Independence
The Runaway Scrape
•Santa Anna’s army continued
to defeat the Texan rebels.
Prisoners were held in the
presidio at Goliad.
•After Mexican soldiers
executed 340 prisoners at
Goliad, Houston retreated to the
east with his poorly trained
army.
•In what would be called the
Runaway Scrape, thousands of
Texans, including many Tejanos,
fled Santa Anna’s advancing
army.
Texans victorious
•Santa Anna’s army followed
Houston’s forces to San Jacinto,
where Houston managed to take
the Mexican army by surprise.
Texans shouted, “Remember the
Alamo!” and “Remember Goliad!”
as they won a quick victory.
•The captured Santa Anna was
forced to sign the Treaties of
Velasco, ending the war. Mexico
had to withdraw its troops and
recognize Texas independence.
•Problems with Mexico continued
for the Republic of Texas.
The Annexation of Texas
Proponents
Opponents
•Americans who believed
in Manifest Destiny
wanted to admit Texas to
the Union.
•Americans were
concerned that the U.S.
would have to bear the
substantial Texas debt.
•Southerners supported
annexation because
Texas allowed slavery,
and its admission would
boost the South’s political
power.
•Northerners opposed
annexation because it
would spread slavery
westward and increase
slave states’ voting power
in Congress.
The Annexation of Texas
•A Republic for nine years
–The annexation question was a significant issue
in the 1844 presidential election. When James K.
Polk, the pro-annexation candidate, won, Mexico
warned that it would consider the annexation of
Texas as a declaration of war.
•Texas becomes a state
–Voters in Texas overwhelmingly approved
annexation, and Texas became a part of the
United States on December 29, 1845.
Tensions between the United States and Mexico
Mexico responds
Polk and
Manifest
Destiny
The boundary
dispute
The annexation of Texas enraged the Mexican
government. Mexico had refused to recognize the
Republic of Texas, and they broke off diplomatic
ties with the U.S. after the vote for annexation.
In March 1845, James K. Polk became president.
He wanted the nation to acquire the land between
Texas and the Pacific Ocean. These sparsely
populated territories, New Mexico and California,
belonged to Mexico. Polk sought an opportunity to
acquire these remote regions.
The U.S. needed to secure the boundary between
Texas and Mexico. Texans put the border at the
Rio Grande. Mexico maintained it was at the
Nueces River. There were also disputes about
money, and Polk wanted these issues resolved.
Slidell’s Trip
In the fall of 1845, Polk sent a special envoy to Mexico.
John Slidell arrived with a U.S. offer to cancel the $3 million in claims
against Mexico in exchange for Mexico’s recognition of the Rio Grande
as its boundary with the U.S.
He was further authorized to pay Mexico up to $30 million to
purchase New Mexico and California for the United States.
Neither of the rivals for Mexico’s presidency would meet with him. An
angry Slidell recommended to Polk that Mexico be punished.
The Mexican-American War
The war starts
While Slidell was in Mexico, Polk ordered General
Zachary Taylor to take his troops into the disputed
border territory. The U.S. used the event of a minor
skirmish to declare war on Mexico.
Fighting the
war
American forces under Taylor advanced into northern
Mexico. General Winfield Scott marched his forces
into Mexico City. In a matter of months, U.S. forces
had captured New Mexico and California. When their
capital fell, the Mexican government was forced to
give in.
Results of
the war
Gadsden
Purchase
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) forced
Mexico to turn over a huge tract of land known as the
Mexican Cession, while the U.S. paid Mexico $15
million. Debate continues over whether the MexicanAmerican War was justified.
1853, last piece of the continental US, southern Arizona
and New Mexico.Purchased from Mexico for $10 million
for the construction of a southern railroad