Transcript American Expansionism

American
Expansionism
Week 2 Days 1 and 2
How the United States became
a much larger country
Lewis and Clark
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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were two U.S. Army officers
commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the land
acquired by the Louisiana Purchase and beyond.
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Their expedition took 3 years and took them from Illinois to present day
Oregon.
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The explorers collected scientific data, discovered water routes and
mapped the entire territory
Missouri Compromise
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This was a controversial agreement
in the U.S. Congress allowing the
new state of Missouri admittance into
the United States as a slave state.
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Southern states wanted this happen
because they believed it would allow
slavery to remain legal.
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Northern states, who anti-slavery,
such as New York fought against
Missouri’s admittance.
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The Missouri compromise was struck
to allow Missouri citizens to own
slaves if Maine was admitted without
slaves.
Indian Removal Act of 1830
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Law passed by Congress and
supported by President Andrew
Jackson to relocate Native Tribes
from Southern territories to the Great
Plains.
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Areas vacated: were Florida, North
and South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama and Georgia.
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Areas relocated to: Oklahoma,
Nebraska, Iowa, North/South Dakota.
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The relocations were involuntary and
the “Indians” were placed on
reservations
The Cherokee nation sued for
their land rights in the Worcester
vs. Georgia court case but
Jackson refused to honor the
decision giving land rights back.
Trail of Tears
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After the forced the relocation of the Cherokee nation and other
tribes due to the Indian Removal Act.
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Many Native Tribes tried to resist the relocation but they were
outnumbered and outgunned by the U.S. Military.
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The route that the natives traveled with filled with sadness, misery
and tears
Sequoyah
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An important Cherokee nation
member who admired the writing
system of whites.
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He became a silversmith and
businessman.
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His most important contribution to
the Cherokee nation was his
creation of a written language.
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The Cherokee language was so
complicated decided to create
symbols for each syllable instead
of each letter.
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His writing system was
responsible for increased the
literacy rates of the entire
Cherokee Nation.
The Alamo and Texan conflicts in Mexico
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In the early to mid 1800s Mexico wanted
Americans to migrate to Mexico to develop
the land and bring residents to the area.
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The Americans came and were led by
Stephen F. Austin who later became upset
at the level of taxes charged by Mexico.
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Americans rebelled and were crushed at an
old Spanish Fort named the Alamo
American was killed by the Mexican army.
Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842
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During the 1700s and 1800s there border disputes between the British
and French. Later on the disputes were between the Americans and
France.
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Thousands of Native Americans also lived in these territories which
made the conflicts trickier because more people meant more bloodshed.
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In 1842 the Webster-Ashburton Treaty created a permanent border
between Lake Superior and Maine, U.S./New Brunswick, Canada.
Oregon Trail
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The Oregon Trail was an over 2,000 mile land route [traveled road]
staring in Missouri and ending in present Oregon.
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It was started in parts buy men trading animal furs and later
completed/used by Mormon religious pilgrims.
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The terrain [land surface] was rough, hilly, mountainous and occupied
by hostile native tribes. Thousands of people died along the route for
reasons such as disease, starvation and “Indian attacks.”
54º40’ or Fight!
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The dispute [argument] over the
border between Oregon and
Canada caused a lot of concern
in the U.S. Government.
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Because the U.S. wanted to
expand it was willing to fight to
gain property rights to the Pacific
Northwest.
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At first England and the U.S.
agreed to share the territory but
the term 54º40’ or Fight!
Refers to Americans willing to
fight for the land.
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A treaty signed later settled the
dispute and a border was
accepted by both sides.
Election of 1844
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The presidential election of 1844 was one the closest in U.S. History
[decided by less than 10,000 votes].
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The election was so close because disputes over borders with Canada
and Mexico.
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James Polk was in favor of peaceful settlements. War hawk Henry
Clay was in favor of fighting to end the disputes if necessary. Polk
won the election.
James K. Polk
Henry Clay
Texas Annexation
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Stephen F. Austin and the
Texans had defeated the
Mexican Army led by Mexican
General Santa Anna in several
battles.
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For 6 years (1836-1842) Austin
served as the leader of the
Republic of Texas. This
territory was not recognized by
Mexico.
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In 1845 the United States
annexed [took in] Texas as the
28th state. Mexico was furious
about this and this led to a war
between the U.S. and Mexico
from 1846-1848.
Wilmot Proviso
 Congressman David Wilmot from
Pennsylvania proposed an
amendment to a federal law
banning slavery in any territory the
United States captured from
Mexico.
 This was similar to the situation
dealing with the Missouri
compromise.
 Southern states were concerned
banning slavery anywhere would
lead to banning slavery
everywhere.
 The Wilmot proviso was not
passed.
Mexican War, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and Mexican
cession
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After the United States annexed Texas Mexico was furious and
declared war in 1846 to regain the territory.
Because the U.S. had a more powerful army with more effective
weapons it was able to defeat Mexico within 3 years by 1849.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed ending the war.
Mexico ceded [gave up, transferred] California, Arizona, Nevada,
Utah and New Mexico to the U.S. for $18 million.
49ers

The Mexican cession of California gave citizens an opportunity to
start new communities. Thousands of people headed West.

Prospectors discovered gold in Northern California in 1849. News
spread to other parts of the U.S.. American men from all over
rushed to California they were called 49ers [because of the
year].

The mad scramble was called the Gold rush of 1849. Boomtowns
sprang up all over where people discovered gold.
Gadsden Purchase
 The Transcontinental Railroad had been spreading across the United
States.
 Because of bad geography [poor soil conditions] the U.S. decided to
buy land South of New Mexico and Arizona.
 The sale of the land by the U.S. for $10 million from Mexico was called
the Gadsden Purchase.
Four Corners
 Lewis and Clark were courageous for going on
their expedition into the Louisiana Territory
 It was perfectly acceptable to forcefully remove
and relocate the Cherokee off their land
 Mexico had the right to be upset when the United
States annexed Texas
Image sources
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http://www.ohs.org/education/focus/images/lewis_clark_mast.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carte_Lewis-Clark_Expedition-en.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AndyJackson.jpg
http://www.cherokee-indian-art.com/images/Cherokee%20Trail%20Of%20Tears.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sequoyah_Arranged_Syllabary_.png
http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his325/WEBSTER.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oregoncountry.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JamesKnoxPolk.png
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Wilmot.png
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hummingbird/California/mexican.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California_Clipper_500.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gullgraver_1850_California.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gadsden_Purchase_Cities_ZP.svg