AP Chapter 14 Territorial Expansion of the U.S.

 Less than 60 years since independence more than half the population lived west of the Appalachian Mts.  Fur trade flourished from and allowed for the exploration and expansion westward  Jebediah Smith a ‘Mountain Man” explored westward and made contact with the Native Americas Westward Expansion

 Lewis and Clark Expedition mapped out the west and led to some small military expeditions  John C. Freemont mapped the overland trails to Oregon and California in the early 1840s  Explorers mapped out trails, rivers and mountain ranges that eventually led to settlement westward

Lewis and Clark

John C. Freemont

 Indians began being removed from their homelands in OK, NE and KS to make way for white settlers  Santa Fe Trail- 900 mile long trail used by merchants that traded throughout the Great Plains  Trail allowed for commerce to move but also led to conflict with the Indians Expansion and Indian Policy

Santa Fe Trail

 Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis (1890) talked about the U.S. frontier experience and how it impacted our country  Manifest Destiny- coined by John O’Sullivan preached U.S. efforts to control the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans b/c it was our god given right  Expansion was tied to politics and slavery Political Expansion

 2,000 mile trip on the Overland Trails from the Missouri River to Oregon/California took at least 7 months and was dangerous  Pioneers often traveled in groups to prevent Indian attacks and help get across the rivers  Wagons trains experienced exhaustion, diseases along with nature The Overland Trails

 U.S. and GB had shared the territory  1840s both countries claim to own more land than the other  “54-40 or Fight”- became a battle cry for war over the area  1846 Settlement set a dividing line along the 49 th Parallel Oregon Territory

Oregon Dispute

 When Mexico won its independence they allowed American merchants to Santa Fe  Indian attacks along the trail were more common than along the Oregon trails  Congress voted for protection along the trail even though most of it was in Mexico  Americans and Mexicans intertwined economically and socially The Santa Fe Trade

 Texas territory was controlled by Mexico but many of the inhabitants were Americans who owned slaves  Stephen Austin (U.S.) was a powerful land agent in Texas  Austin tried to mediate a peace between Mexicans and U.S. settlers but war broke out in 1835 Texas

Annexation of Texas

 Americans lost badly at the Alamo but led by Sam Houston they defeated Santa Anna’s forces  1836 Texas wins its independence and was a free country from mainly over a boundary dispute on the Rio Grande  Mexicans were furious over the lost territory and refused to recognize the treaty

 Texas tried to become a slave state but denied b/c it would upset the balance in the Senate  Texans wanted to be annexed by the U.S.  Pres. Tyler lost the election to James K. Polk (D)  Tyler's last action made Texas the 28 th state and the 15 th slave state Election of 1844

 Mexico was upset by losing Texas and Americans wanted to fulfill their Manifest Destiny desire  John C. Freemont led the Bear Flag Revolt and declared California’s independent from Mexico  Pres. James K. Polk was an expansionist and went to war with Mexico Mexican American War

 Polk had tried to buy Rio Grande border between Mexico and Texas but they refused  Congress declared war in May of 1846  War divided the American people and Whigs were against it  Henry David Thoreau refused to pay taxes that he felt would support the war and went to jail

Henry David Thoreau

 By late 1846 the U.S. had secured most of the territory that they had hoped for but the war dragged on  Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended the war the U.S. acquired the Mexican Cession, Rio Grande border and paid $15 million to Mexico  Gadsden Purchase- $10 million was done for the purpose of a southern transcontinental RR

Mexican Cession

Gadsden Purchase

 The war was the first with regular on scene reporting by the press  Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott became famous from the war  U.S. fulfilled its goal of Manifest Destiny  Mexico lost a huge portion of its territory and resentment remained for years to come

 1848 Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill by James Marshall in California which led to the Gold Rush of  Thousands of Americans and Asians begin to flock to California  Americans did not like the Chinese and later placed a tax on foreign miners Gold Rush in California

California Gold Rush

 Merchants that sold goods to the miners made the most money  Levi Strauss became famous for his tough work pants sold to the miners  Mining towns sprung up wherever gold/silver was found and were dirty, violent places  California’s population skyrocketed and was very cultural diverse

 Congressman Wilmot (PA) proposed that the new Mexican Territory ban slavery  Debate over the bill led to clear divisions between the North and South over the issue of slavery  Whigs and Democrats from both sections joined together to support or oppose the Proviso Wilmot Proviso

 Started off as the Liberty Party and by 1844 became the Free Soil Party that supported the abolition of slavery  Free Soiler’s were okay with slavery remaining in existing states but were against the extension into the new territories  Some even proposed to limit blacks from migrating west Free Soil Movement

 Lewis Cass (D) vs. Z. Taylor (W) vs. Van Buren (FS) battled for the presidency  Popular Sovereignty became a major issue of the election  Taylor won the presidency but died in office Election of 1848

 U.S. wanted to expand its borders no matter what  Manifest Destiny became the rallying cry for U.S. expansion  U.S. acquired land through conquest, purchase, treaties, annexation and war Conclusion