Transcript Expansion and Manifest Destiny

Expansion and Manifest Destiny
Expansion
• Manifest Destiny: belief that God wanted the
United States to own all of North America
• Trade with the newly independent Mexico
sparked what is now known as the Santa Fe
Trail
– Mountain Men: men who hunted and trapped furs
• Oregon Trail: trail used by missionaries
heading west to Oregon Country
Mormons Seek Refuge
• Mormons sought refuge in the West under the
leadership of Brigham Young and settled in
New Zion, now Utah.
Movement, Settlement, Conflict
& the Mexican-American War
Movement
• Mexican independence from Spain spurred
American trade and movement to new areas.
– Commerce along the Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico
– Manufactured goods for horses, mules, furs, and
silver
• Oregon Trail: Beginning in 1836, missionaries
like Marcus and Narcissa Whitman used this
route to reach Indian missions.
Movement
• Wagons traveled in groups called “trains”
– Avoided Great Plains region and mountains:
trouble
• Donner Party, April 1846: leave their home in
Springfield, Illinois and begin their journey to
California
– Harsh journey, trapped by snow in the winter
– Cannibalism
Movement
• Mormons seek refuge and begin their
migration to Utah
• Treaty of Fort Laramie: Law passed by the
federal government that required Indians to
remain on lands away from major trails
– Passed to protect migrants
Settlement of Texas
• To defend Texas from Americans, Mexico
allowed Americans to settle there.
– Had to become Mexican citizens, convert to
Catholicism, accept Mexican constitution: no
slavery
• Stephen Austin: leader of the settlement of
Texas
– Agriculture
– Outnumbered Tejanos 6:1
Conflict in Texas
• 1830: relationship between Anglo-Texans
(settlers) and the Mexican government had
deteriorated.
– Settlers had not converted and were smuggling
slaves into Texas
• General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna took
control of Mexico City in 1834
– Angered both Anglo-Texans and Tejanos
Conflict in Texas
• In 1835, Texas rebelled against Santa Anna’s
rule
– Declared independence a year later: Lone Star
Republic
• Santa Anna sent in his army to put down the
rebellion
– The Alamo: March 1836
• 12 days of intense fighting after Mexican troops
attacked the garrison, all Texans killed
– Davy Crockett & Jim Bowie
Conflict in Texas
• After the Alamo, Sam Houston drew out Santa
Anna’s army
– Crushed the Mexican Army at the Battle of San
Jacinto: 630 Mexican troops killed, captured 730,
including Santa Anna
– Santa Anna signs treaty to avoid execution
• Recognized Texas as independent and gave a generous
amount of land, including most of New Mexico
• Sam Houston is elected as the first president
of Texas and asked US to annex Texas.
Battle of San Jacinto Flag
Election of 1836
• 5 candidates:
– Martin Van Buren (Democrat)
– William Henry Harrison (Whig)
– Hugh L. White (Whig)
– Daniel Webster (Whig)
– Willie Person Mangum (Whig)
• Need 148 Electoral College votes to win
Martin Van Buren as President
• Won popular and electoral college vote
• Vice President: Richard M. Johnson
• Democratic Party much more organized than
the Whig Party
Panic of 1837
• A financial crisis that began a major recession
that lasted until the mid 1840s.
• Profits, prices, and wages went down
• Unemployment went up
• Causes: Economic expansion from mid 1834mid 1836, speculative lending practices, sharp
decline in cotton prices, & restrictive lending
policies in Great Britain
Panic of 1837
• May 10th, 1837: banks stopped specie
payments (giving you coin, gold, etc. in
exchange for your paper money.)
• Banks collapsed, businesses failed, prices
decline
• Unemployment: 25%
• Greatly affected the North: industry
• South: Cotton Belt hit hard because of low
profits
Texas Question
• Immediately after gaining independence,
Texas applies for annexation into the United
States
– Opposed by most Democrats and Whigs
• Texas was pro-slavery: slave conflict in Congress too
strong to bring in another debate over such a vast
territory
• Wanted to avoid war with Mexico, who was still bitter
over the loss of Texas
Election of 1840
• 2 candidates
– William Henry Harrison (Whig)
– Martin Van Buren (Democrat)
• Need 148 electoral college votes to win
William Henry Harrison
• “log cabin campaign”
• “Give him a barrel of hard cider, and…a pension of two
thousand dollars a year…and…he will sit the remainder of his
days in his log cabin.”
– supposed to be criticism of him by Democratic newspaper
– Instead, used it to relate to common people
• “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”
• Slogan referring to Harrison victory during the Battle of
Tippecanoe
• Wins election with 53 % of popular vote
– 234 to 60 electoral college votes
– John Tyler becomes Vice President
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Harrison’s Inauguration
• Oldest president to take office at 68 years old, until
Ronald Reagan in 1981
• Inauguration Day: March 4, 1841
– Cold and rainy
– Rode horseback to inauguration rather than in a closed
carriage
– Didn’t wear a coat or hat
• Wanted to prove that he was still the steadfast war hero
– Delivered the longest inaugural address in American
history (took nearly 2 hours to read, approximately 8,500
words)
– Then rode away on horseback
– Attended three inaugural balls that night
Inaugural Parade
Death of a President
• After his inaugural address, Harrison became ill
with what was thought to be pneumonia
– Had tried to cure him with opium, leeches, and castor
oil
– 2014 medical analysis concluded he had enteric fever,
typhoid fever
• White House at the time was closely located to a sewage
and human waste dumping ground, contaminated the water
• Died 32 days later
• First president to die in office
• Led to constitutional crisis
Harrison’s Death
Whig Party Reaction
• Whig Party was worried
• Presidential succession clauses in constitution
were flawed
– Article II of the Constitution states that "In case of the
removal of the President from office, or of his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and
duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the
Vice President, ... and [the Vice President] shall act
accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a
President shall be elected“
• Does John Tyler become President or Acting
President until we elect a new president?
Decision
• Had to decide between whether Tyler would
serve the remainder of Harrison’s term or if
emergency elections would be held.
– Decided that Tyler would take oath of office and
become president
– This would serve as the precedent until the 25th
Amendment was passed in 1963, which more
finely detailed succession of the presidency
Tyler Takes Over
• Tyler sworn in as President on April 6, 1841
• Former Democrat, abandoned Whig platform
– Thought Whig platform was unconstitutional
• Vetoed several of their bills
• Most of his cabinet resigned; called him “His Accidency”
– Supporter of states’ rights
– Alienated from both parties in Washington
– Firm believer in Manifest Destiny
• Thought expansion would strengthen and preserve the
Union
– Wanted to annex the Republic of Texas
Annexation of Texas
• Tyler dedicated the last two years of his
presidency to annexing Texas
– Would be carried out by his successor James K.
Polk because Tyler did not have the party support
to run for president
Election of 1844
• James K. Polk (D): southern expansionist from
North Carolina, devout believer of Manifest
Destiny & annexing Texas
• Henry Clay (W): opposed to Manifest Destiny
& annexing Texas
Election of 1844
• Polk: promised not only Texas, but Oregon
also.
– “54°40’ or Fight!”: promised to annex Oregon
from Britain or war.
– Helped him win a decisive victory
• Polk: 170 electoral college votes
• Clay: 105 electoral college votes
– Immediately compromises over Oregon
• Cannot afford two wars
Territorial Expansion
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Original 13 Colonies
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Louisiana Purchase (1803)
Convention of 1818
Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)
Webster-Ashburn Treaty (1842)
Republic of Texas and Annexation of Texas
Oregon Territory (1846)
Mexican Cession
Gadsden Purchase
Original 13 Colonies
Treaty of Paris 1783
Louisiana Purchase (1803)
Convention of 1818: given to US
Convention of 1818: given to Great
Britain
Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)
Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)
Republic of Texas and Annexation of
Texas
Oregon Territory (1846)
Mexican Cession (1848)
Gadsden Purchase (1853)
Mexican-American War
• Congress votes to annex Texas: December
1845
– Slave state
– Border dispute: Polk believed that Texas extended
all the way to the Rio Grande (3x its original size)
• Mexico refused to recognize the annexation
• Polk drafts declaration of war: May 1846
– Occurred after dispute between Mexican police and
American soldiers
Mexican-American War
• US Advantages:
– Larger country
– Wealthier
– More populous: larger military
• Mexican Disadvantages:
– Lacked industry needed for war
– Less advanced weapons
– Smaller military
Mexican-American War
• United States won every major battle.
– Siege of Fort Texas: May 3rd, 1846
• Attacked by Mexicans, 13 Americans injured, 2 killed
– Palo Alto: May 8th, 1846
• Zackary Taylor’s army came to relieve the fort but were
intercepted by the Mexican army, “flying artillery,”
crushed Mexican army
– Battle of Resaca de la Palma: May 9, 1846
• Hand to hand combat, US seized Mexican artillery,
Mexican army forced to surrender
Battles
• First and Second Battle of Tabasco: Late 1846
and Mid 1847
– Naval battle, heavy artillery against port towns;
enforced blockade of ports
• Battle of Buena Vista: February 23, 1847
– Santa Anna’s army goes to trap Taylor in the
Buena Vista mountain pass
• 20,000 Mexican soldiers but many deserted
• Taylor’s Army: 4,600
• Upheaval in Mexico City caused Santa Anna and his
army to withdraw from the fight
– Taylor gained control of Northern Mexico
Victory
• Heavy desertions for the Mexican Army
• Soldiers and civilians had lost the will to fight
• Repeated Mexican retreats and surrenders
• Mexican-American War: US Victory
• War officially ended February 2, 1848 with the signing of
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo