1. Manifest Destiny Objectives:
Summarize the reasons settlers headed West.
Describe Texas settlement, struggle for independence, and annexation.
Explain the causes and consequences of the War with Mexico.
Analyze the California gold rush.

2. Settling the Frontier Americans Pursue Manifest Destiny
In the 1840’s, expansion fever gripped the country
Manifest Destiny – Belief that the US was ordained by God to expand to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory
Most Americans had practical reasons for moving West
Abundance of land
Trails West
Settlers traveled west along old Native American trails as well as new ones
Santa Fe Trail – Stretched 780 miles from Missouri to New Mexico
Settlers traveled in groups for protection
Covered wagons
Oregon Trail – Stretched from Missouri to Oregon
The Mormon Migration
Mormons – Religious group that moved west to escape persecution
Led by Joseph Smith
When Smith was murdered by an anti-Mormon mob, a leader named Brigham Young urged Mormons to move further west into what is now Utah
Salt Lake City

3. Texas Independence Mexican Independence and Texan Land Grants
After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 it began to offer land to American settlers
Many Americans rushed to buy the inexpensive land in Texas
The number of English-speaking settlers soon surpassed the numbers of Mexican settlers
The Texas Revolution
Differences over cultural issues intensified between Anglos and the Mexican government
Many American settlers had brought slaves with them
Mexico had abolished slavery
As conflicts between American settlers and the Mexican government intensified, Mexican politics became unstable
Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna suspended local powers in Texas and other Mexican states
Texas Revolution

4. Texan Independence Remember the Alamo Texas Moves Toward the Union
The commander of the Anglo troops, Colonel William Travis, moved his troops into the Alamo, a mission and fort in the center of San Antonio
On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna attacked
All 187 US defenders were killed
Davy Crockett
Jim Bowie
The defeat at the Alamo whipped Texans into a fury
In April of 1836, the rebels, under the command of Sam Houston, defeated Santa Anna and his army near the San Jacinto River
“Remember the Alamo”
Treat of Velasco – Granted Texan independence
Texas Moves Toward the Union
Most Texans hoped that the US would annex Texas
US opinion was divided upon sectional lines
Southerners wanted Texas in order to extend slavery
Northerners feared that annexation of more slave territory would tip the uneasy balance in the Senate in favor of slave states - and prompt war with Mexico
Election of 1844
President James K. Polk
Slaveholder who firmly favored the annexation of Texas

5. The War with Mexico Polk Urges War The War Begins
In 1845 Texas joined the US
Angry over this, Mexico ceased all diplomatic relations with the US
Realizing a war might bring New Mexico and California into the union, Polk backed Texan claims that their border extended south to the Rio Grande
When the Mexican government refused to receive US diplomats to discuss the border dispute, Polk ordered troops into the contested area
The War Begins
In 1845, an American military exploration party ventured into California, violating Mexico’s territorial rights
In response, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and engaged in a skirmish with American troops
As a result, the US declared war on Mexico

6. The War with Mexico The Republic of California
In California, a group of American settlers seized the town of Sonoma
These rebels declared their independence from Mexico and proclaimed the nation the Republic of California
America Wins the War
In Mexico, American troops scored one military victory after another
After about a year of fighting, Mexico conceded defeat
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) – Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico and ceded the New Mexico and California territories to the US

7. The California Gold Rush
The Forty-Niners
In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the California Sierra Nevada mountains
News of the discovery spread quickly
Prospectors flooded the region seeking their fortune
Included many different groups
The Golden Economy
The discovery of gold revolutionized California’s economy
Gold financed the development of farming, manufacturing, shipping, and banking
“Go West, Young Man”
In the spirit of manifest destiny, countless settlers traveled west