1. Manifest Destiny & the American West

2. Manifest Destiny

3. An Incentive to Move
Settlers could work a plot for 5 yrs & then get the land for free
Could also pay $1.25 an acre and own it after six months
Sad truth was that very few farmers could afford either method

4. New Territories
Mexico controlled all of present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, as well as parts of Colorado and Wyoming
British had Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of the Dakotas

5. Texas Government FIVE PROBLEMS Protestantism vs. Catholicism
American desire for slavery
Texas was attached to Coahuila
Heavy tax on U.S. imports
Mexico outlawed new immigration
* All of these events combined to produce tension before we get to the Alamo

6. Remember the Alamo
Originally named Misión San Antonio de Valero, soldiers referred to the old mission as the Alamo (the Spanish word for "cottonwood")
On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna caught the Texians by surprise
Held out for 13 days until March 6, 1836
20 women and children were spared, as was Joe, Travis’ slave

7. Texas Revolution
Texan constitutional convention formally adopted a Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836
On April 21, Houston attacked Santa Anna’s troops & captured the General the following day

8. Presidential Election of 1844
Mexico had never recognized Texan independence
If the 1820 Missouri Compromise held, western territories would be slave states
James K. Polk defeated Henry Clay by linking Texas, the tariff, Oregon, and California

9. Polk’s Wishlist
2) OREGON – Negotiated an 1846 treaty for ½ of Oregon, avoiding war with Britain
4) CALIFORNIA – Mexico refuses to sell us the territory…UH-OH!
3) THE TARIFF – Wanting to maximize revenue, Polk lowered the tariff which made the South happy
1) TEXAS – Annexation passed thru Congress because Mexico “surrendered” for $18 million

10. Mexican War of
The crux of why Mexico would object to our troops is a dispute over where the border was…the U.S. claimed it was the Rio Grande, while the Mexicans claimed it was 150 miles north at the Nueces River

11. Winning the Mexican War
Mexico simply did not have the resources to fight a war with the U.S.
Problem was they might surrender their whole country
War with Mexico cost 13,000 American lives, 50,000 Mexican lives, and $97 million