Transcript Mexican American War and the Politics of Slavery GUIDE

MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR
AND THE POLITICS OF
SLAVERY
The Mexican American War
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After the annexation of Texas and beginning
of westward expansion, tensions between the
US and Mexico began to rise
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War to expand the US was debated and
viewed by many as a plot for the South to
expand slavery.
The Mexican American War
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After the Mexican government failed to meet
American demands during a border dispute,
troops were sent to blockade the RIO GRANDE
RIVER.
The Mexican American War
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Americans then sent an exploration party
through Mexican CALIFORNIA, which angered
the Mexican Government
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Mexican troops then met the American
blockade where the first skirmish was fought
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The US blamed Mexico FOR STARTING THE
WAR.
The Mexican American War
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After a 800 mile march, Colonel Stephen
Kearny took over New Mexico without a shot
being fired
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A group of American settlers in California
seized the town of SONOMA and raised a flag
with GRIZZLY BEAR , declaring it to be the
republic of California.
The settlers met up with Kearny and a naval
expedition leaving the US in control of
California
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The Mexican American War
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Although Mexicans forces were strong, they
lacked the great leadership the US had,
including Captain ROBERT E LEE and Ulysses
S. Grant
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Mexico lost nearly half of its LAND and 25,000
lives, the US lost 2,000 troops to battle and
11,000 from disease.
The Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo
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Mexico agrees to sell present day
CALIFORNIA, Nevada, NEW MEXICO, Utah,
Colorado, and Wyoming to the US for 15
million.
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Mexican citizens in these areas are granted
citizenship, bilingual elections and open
borders.
The Gold Rush
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Shortly after war hero ________ is elected
president, Gold is found in California’s Sierra
Nevada mountains
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In ____ thousands of Americans left their lives
and moved to California to make their fortune.
The Gold Rush
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Cities like _______ sprung up overnight.
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California’s population quickly exceeds
100,000 and becomes a state in____.
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Its population is composed of a diverse group
of people, including freed slaves.
John C Calhoun
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Senator
_______threatens
succession if the land
gained from the
Mexican American
war does not enter the
union as slave states
Industry in the North
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The Industrial revolution
brought thousands of
_______(form Europe
and the US) to the North
to work as laborers
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These ______ were
______ because they
feared slave labor would
be competition for free
labor.
The South
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The Industrial
revolution did not
affect the South,
and immigrants did
not come because
there was no need
for labor.
The North became
more for
___________ and
________
California
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In 1850
California
decides to enter
the union as a
_______.
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Why would this
surprise many
southerners?
Slavery in the Territories
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The proposed ________________ prohibited
slavery in any new western territories.
This amendment split to congress between
North and South
Southerners saw this as a way to limit
southern power
The Senate Debates
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As tensions rise, the South threatens to
______while senators ___________
Calhoun
Webst
er
The Senate Debates
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“And such a war as it would be, following the
dissolution of the Union! Sir, we may search
the pages of history, and none so ferocious, so
bloody, so implacable, so
exterminating…would rage with such
violence…I implore gentlemen, I adjure them,
whether from the South or the North…to pause
at the edge of the precipice, before the fearful
and dangerous leap be taken into the yawning
abyss below.” Henry Clay
Clay’s Compromise
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Henry Clay drafts__________
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The compromise gave popular sovereignty
to __________________
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Although initially rejected the compromise
was eventually adopted
Compromise of 1850
Assignment
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1. When California applied for statehood in
1850 Mississippi government Jefferson Davis
warned “for the first time, we are about to
permanently destroy the balance of power
between the sections. Why might Davis have
felt this way?
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2. Do you think the North of the South made
out better during the compromise of 1850?
Explain your answer.