Ch 11 Goin’ West, Ma! Manifest Destiny, Westward trails, Oregon Country, American Claims, Treaties, and California (Gold Rush and statehood)

Manifest Destiny The belief that the United States, having the best government and culture in the world, had the right and duty to control all lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was also based on racism, that Americans were superior to Indians and Mexicans, which meant they had the right to these lands. John Q. Adams said that expansion to the Pacific was inevitable.

Oregon Trail West The Oregon Trail: The most practical route to the Pacific, covering over 2,000 miles, from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City. Pioneers walked with their Conestoga wagons across plains, deserts, and mountains for over six months in search for farmlands or gold. Oregon Country: Britain, the U.S., Russia, and Spain claimed it

Mormon Trail West The Mormon Trail: Followers of the Mormon Church, religious and political outcasts from Illinois leave in 1846. Led by Brigham Young, over 30,000 settlers make their way on the long trail to the Great Salt Lake region of Utah.

Santa Fe Trail West The Santa Fe Trail: Independence Missouri to Santa Fe, Mexico,William Becknall reaches Santa Fe in 1821 with a pack of mules and supplies to trade for furs. As traders follow, this becomes an important trade route, and Americans begin settling the region.

California Trail West The California Trail: 1841-1869, Followed the Oregon and Mormon Trails west, across the Sierra Nevada Mountains by routes used by fur traders into the gold fields and cities of California

California’s Gold Rush James Marshall strikes gold in the American River in Cali. 1848. For the next two years, over 100,000 “Forty-Niners” rush to California in search of gold Many sailed by sea from the East coast around South America to Cali., and others along the Oregon/Santa Fe Trails

California’s Gold Rush, Cont. The Migration: Though most forty-niners were American, others came from Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and China (the first large group of Asian immigrants to the U.S.) Boomtowns: cities looking for gold grow over night. Statehood: The Compromise of 1850, to balance power between free and slave states, California is admitted as a free state, and slavery was permitted in new lands in the south. Also, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed.

California’s Gold Rush, the Impact Rapid growth of cities leads to statehood in 1850 World’s gold supply more than doubles Though most forty-niners did not find gold, most turned to farming. Agriculture, shipping, to meet the needs of the people Most Californios, Hispanic Californians, lost their lands after the Land Law of 1851, unable to provide official documents proving ownership transcontinental railroad was created native populations decimated