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12 Territorial and Economic Expansion, 1830 - 1860

Opening Remarks Manifest Destiny Many Americans thought that God had manifestly destined the U.S. to take control of the Western Hemisphere o They were wanting to go as far west (Pacific Ocean and beyond) and south (Mexico and then beyond to Central America) as possible o Coined in 1844 by John L. Sullivan o Used by supporters of territorial expansion o Sources for enthusiasm for expansion Nationalism, reform ideals, economic development, population increase, technological advances There were opponents to expansion o Northerners thought this was driven by southern ambition to spread slavery.

I. TEXAS a. The beginnings of How Americans got into Texas i. Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821 and got ownership of Texas in 1823. ii. Mexico wanted people (Mexicans or White-Anglos) to settle their land iii. Stephen Austins father got a land grant in Texas. 1. Stephen brought 300 American families into Texas. 2. This started a steady migration of Americans. iv. By 1830 Americans outnumbered Mexicans 3 to 1 (20,000 people) b. Relations between Mexicans and Americans turn bad i. Mexican independence led to restrictions. Mexicans. 1. Outlawed slavery 2. And required all settlers to become Roman Catholics ii. Americans didnt obey new restrictions iii. As a result, Mexico stopped allowing Americans into Texas iv. Americans kept coming anyway. c. Revolt and Independence i. Relations intensified 1. In 1834, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became dictator of Mexico. 2. He insists on enforcing Mexicos laws in Texas 3. Sam Houston led a group of Americans to declare Texas an independent republic (1836) ii. Conflict Beings 1. With a Mexican Army, Santa Anna attacks The Alamo, killing all American defenders 2. Sam Houston captures Santa Anna in the battle of San Jacinto a. The Mexican leader signs treaty that recognized Texas independence and granted the new republic

American pioneers migrating west into Oregon and south into Texas lead to the U.S. interest in pushing out its borders.

iii. Response of Mexico legislature 1. They rejected the treaty and insisted Texas was still part of Mexico. d. Annexation denied i. Sam Houston becomes first president of the Republic of Texas. ii. Andrew Jackson refused to allow Texas to be added to (annexed) the United states as a new state iii. Jacksons reasons for denial: 1. Political opposition by Northerners. a. Expansion of slavery b. Uneven number of slave/non-slave states, if so 2. Mexico threatened war if U.S. would annex a. This would be costly for U.S. iv. President John Taylor (1841-1845) tries for annexation 1. He sees that the British are interested in TX 2. The Senate reject Taylors treaty in 1844 II. Boundary Dispute in Maine (1842) a. Focus of dispute: i. A lack of defined boundary between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick b. Underlying cause for dispute: i. Britain still had ownership of Canada ii. Americans still had little regard for Britain c. How the disputed started: i. Rival groups of lumbermen broke out in a fight at the border 1. Known as Aroostook War, or battle of the maps d. How the dispute finished: i. Creation of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 1. The disputed land was split between Main and British Canada. III. Boundary Dispute in Oregon (1846) a. Oregon Territory was a BIG area i. Stretched as far north as the Alaskan border b. It was claimed by four countries, mainly British and United States i. British reason from claim 1. Hudson Fur Companys profitable fur trade with Native Americans. 2. BUT, few Brits were living there in 1846 ii. United States reason for claim 1. Discovery of Columbia River in 1792 2. Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805 3. Established fur trading post and a the having a fort there in 1811 c. Oregon Fever i. Protest Missionaries and farmers successfully settled Willamette Valley in 1840. 1. Americans caught the fever and came in big numbers. IV. Concluding Thoughts a. By 1844, Americans thought it was their destiny to take Oregon and annex Texas b. Also, Expansionists wanted Mexico to give up the West Coast (California) i. 7,000 Mexicans there. But Americans were coming in big numbers to play the Texas game.

V. The Election of 1844 a. There was a deadlock between Martin Van Buren and John C. Calhoun b. BUT, the decision went a dark horse (lesser known candidate) i. John K. Polk from Tennessee 1. Andrew Jackson protg 2. Committed to expansion and manifest destiny 3. He favored annexation of Texas, reoccupation of Oregon and California. 4. Democratic slogan: Fifty-four Forty or Fight! a. This is a reference to the line of latitude that marked the border between the Oregon Territory and Russian Alaska c. Whig Nominee was Henry Clay i. He straddled the controversial issue of annexation of Texas 1. He was against it, then for it. ii. Clay lost the electoral college votes from New York, causing James K. Polk to take the win. VI. Annexing Texas and Dividing Oregon a. John Tyler, the outgoing President, pushes for annexation of Texas. i. By annexing Texas as he was leaving office, this left John Polk to deal with Mexicos reaction to annexation. b. John Polk no longer fights (Fifty-four Forty or Fight!) for Oregon i. The Reason: 1. War with Mexico was starting. He didnt want to war with Britain also. ii. The compromise: 1. Polk takes the southern half of Oregondivided at the 49th parallel.

Annexation of Texas led to trouble with Mexico o President Polk sends John Slidell to talk with Mexico govt Get California and New Mexico Settle the Mexico-Texas border issue o Mexicos response We aint selling California Insisted Texas border is on Nueces River NOT Rio Grande I. Immediate Causes of the War a. Polk orders General Zachary Taylors army to Rio Grande i. April 24, 1846, Mexican army crossed the Rio Grande. 1. Killed 11 American troops b. Polk uses this incident to push for war i. Northern Whigs (Abraham Lincoln being one) opposed going to war over American bloodshed; not on American soil! II. Military Campaigns a. California/New Mexico Area i. General Steven Kearney takes So. Cal, Sante Fe, and New Mexico ii. John F. Fremont overcomes Mexican rule and declares California independent republic. He puts a bear on the flag of the new republic

1. Bear Flag Republic b. Texas Area i. Zachary Taylor wins at Buena Vista (feb 1847) ii. General Winfield Scotts army captures Vera Cruz and Mexico City in 1847 III. Consequences of the War a. Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoMexican Cession (1848) i. Negotiated by American diplomat Nicholas Trist 1. Rio Grande is southern border of Texas 2. Mexico Cession a. US pays $15 million for New Mexico and California ii. Whigs still see treaty as immoral effort to expand slavery b. Wilmot Proviso i. PAs Congressman David Wilmot proposed an appropriations bill 1. It said: Slavery will be forbidden in New Mexico territories 2. This bill was defeated in the Senate c. Prelude to civil war? i. Acquiring new land renewed the sectional debate over the extension of slavery. 1. Southern plot to extend the slave power ii. Wilmot Proviso is seen as the first round in the political conflict that ultimately led to civil war IV. Manifest Destiny to the South a. Americans still wanted new land i. This time, CUBA is first and forefront b. Ostend Manifesto (1852) i. Polk offered $100 million for Cuba. 1. Spain refuses to sell last remnant of their once-glorious land. ii. Small expeditions to Cuba, for the purpose of taking the island by force, were defeated. iii. President Pierce (1852) sends 3 diplomats to Ostend, Belgium, where they secretly try to buy Cuba from Spain. iv. U.S. press finds out, Anti-slavery folk didnt like it. Pierce has to drop his scheme. c. Walker Expedition i. Some Expansionists sought new empires with or without the federal governments support ii. William Walkers efforts 1. failed to capture Baja California 2. Successful in Nicaragua iii. While trying to create a proslavery Central America, coalitions in that area invaded and defeated him. 1. He was executed in 1860 d. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) i. Signed by Britain and United States ii. Treaty prevented both countries from building any canal in Central America e. Gadsden Purchase

i. President Pierce buys present-day southern strip of New Mexico and Arizona for railroad purposes ($10 million) V. Expansion After the Civil War a. 1855-1870, Manifest Destiny is still important, but slightly overshadowed by other issues (civil war, slavery, union issues, postwar construction)

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After acquiring Oregon and California, Americans made their way out there. They settled California and Oregon before the Great Plains (aka Great American Desert), which they had to pass over to get to CA and OR Fur Traders Frontier a. Known as Mountain Men b. They were in the West before most, 1820s i. Their knowledge of the area helped early settlers Overland Trails a. Other groups of pioneers (besides the fur traders) went West to clear the forests and farm the fertile valleys of California and Oregon b. Their efforts allowed many to travel by 1860 i. Travelers followed the certain trails 1. Oregon Trail 2. California Trail 3. Santa Fe Trail 4. Mormon Trail c. Route of Westward travel i. Started in Missouri or Iowa ii. Went through Great Plains iii. Stop at foothills of Rockies or face desert of southwest iv. Tried to pass through Sierra Mountains or Cascades before snow d. Complications they had: i. Attack of Indians, depression, disease, weather, e. Time Travel: i. 15 miles a day at best Mining Frontier a. Discovery of Gold in California in 1848 started it all i. This gold rush started gold and silver rushes in Colorado, Nevada, ect ii. California population went form 48K to 380K from 1848 to 1860 b. From around the worldby 1860, one in three minors were Chinese Farming Frontier a. People traveled West, but it was expensive. b. Govt help i. Govt provides land grants for cheap $$ and provided small lots to buy c. B/c it was expensive i. Most who traveled were middle-class or higher d. Rural communities began rising where folk settled. i. They copied (schools, churches, clubs, political parties) of the East Urban Frontier a. Businessmen started coming out west after cities arose due to railroads, mineral wealth, and farming

i. San Francisco, Denver (Gold and Silver) ii. Salt Lake City (stopping point for westward journey)

During the 1840s to 1857, there was also remarkable economic growth I. Industrial Technology a. 1840s, industrialism grows out from textile mills of New England to include other states. b. What these new factories produced: i. Shoes, sewing machines, ready-to-wear cloths, firearms, precious tools, products, and electric telegraphs ii. Elias Howeinventor of sowing machine iii. Samuel F. B. Morseinventor of telegraph II. Railroads a. 1840-1850s, railroads dominated expansion over canals i. mostly in Northeast and Midwest b. Railroad industry soon became Americas largest industry c. To build this massive industry, they needed capital, labor, and a complex business structure i. Local merchants and farmers bought stock so they could get their product out to more people ii. Local and state govts gave loans, etc iii. U.S. gave a land grant to build the Central Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico. 1. First federal land grant. d. How railroads helped in other ways i. Promoted western agriculture by connecting with Northwest ii. United commercial interests in Northeast and Midwest iii. Gave North strategic advantages in the Civil War III. Foreign Commerce a. Causes of increase in imports and exports of goods i. Western grains and southern cotton ii. Shipping firms got ships to move on a regular schedule iii. Whaling boom to supply oil for lamps in homes iv. Improvements in designs of American ships v. Steamships: cheaper and easier to follow schedule vi. Matthew C. Perry went to Japan to ask them to open ports for U.S. trade b. Panic of 1857 i. Serious drop in prices for Midwestern farmers, unemployment in northern states ii. South didnt suffer