1. Manifest Destiny
“Go West, Young Man”

2. Settling the Frontier 1840s
Belief that westward movement was predestined by God

3. Trails to the Frontier Santa Fe Trail: Missouri to New Mexico
Oregon Trail: Missouri to Oregon

4. Mormon Migration Smith Mormons moved west to escape persecution
                         
Mormons moved west to escape persecution
Founded by Joseph Smith in 1827
Murdered and Brigham Young took over
1847: ended up at the Great Salt Lake
Created settlements and farms
Young

5. Texas Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821
Mexican govt encouraged Americans to settle in Texas
Cheap land
Stephen F. Austin:chief leader of
settlement
1830: more than 20,000 in Texas

6. Texas Revolution Cultural issues between Anglos and Mexicans
Language
Slavery (Mexico abolished)
Austin and Mexican president Santa Anna disagreedrebellions
Santa Anna moved to San Antonio and war was inevitable

7. “Remember the Alamo!”
Men moved into the Alamo (mission and fort) to prevent Santa Anna from moving further north
1836: SA attacked the rebels inside
Texans declared independence from Mexico
13 day siege: all defenders inside died (189)

9. Cont… Santa Anna executed 300 rebels
Sam Houston and soldiers took revenge
Killed 630 Mexican soldiers
Captured SA
Let him go after Treaty of Velasco: Texas independence
1845: Texas annexed into US as a slave state

10. Mexican-American War 1846-1848
President Polk sent troops into Mexican territory after they refused to talk about sale of CA and NM
John Fremont led a group into CA against Mexico’s rights…Polk and Congress declared war
US gains New Mexico

11. Cont… Rebel settlers in CA declared their independence from Mexico
US gains California
Continued fighting in Mexico, led by Zachary Taylor
Mexico surrendered
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Rio Grande is border between US and Mex.
US gets NM, CA, NV, UT, AZ, CO, WY

13. California Gold Rush 1848: Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill
Gold fever took over CA and world
Migration rose from 400 people in 1848 to 44,000 in 1850
Gold changed CA’s economy and put it on the world’s stage
Peak over by 1853: total gold mined valued at $2 billion

14.                                            
Distance: about 3,000 miles Estimated travel time: 3 to 7 months                                          Distance: 7,000 miles Estimated travel time: 2 to 3 months                                    Distance: 15,000 miles Estimated travel time: 4 to 8 months