1. CH. 9 EXPANSION LEADS TO CONFLICT
CH MANIFEST DESTINY
American History

2. AMERICANS HEAD WEST
Hundreds of Americans headed west in the 1840s & 1850s
They went for different reasons and settled in different areas
They all shared a dream of new opportunities and a better life
“MULTIPLYING MILLIONS”
1840-USA population 6 times larger than during the American Revolution
The country’s geographic area had doubled

3. MANIFEST DESTINY—the idea that the nation had a God-given right to all of North America
REASONS FOR WESTWARD MIGRATION
Mountain men—trap and trade
Missionaries—convert Native Americans to Christianity
Lumberjacks & miners—capitalize on the region’s natural resources
Most pioneers were farmers
Farmers moved west to farm the vast, rich lands

4. ENTREPRENEURS—people willing to invest money in something to make a profit
Shopkeepers, carpenters, and others knew if they were among the first to practice their trade, they stood to have the most success and make the most money

5. MAJOR WESTERN TRAILS
Americans that headed west had the adventure of their lives but some lost their lives in the process
No train tracks or smooth highways
THE SANTA FE TRAIL
First major western trail
Independence, MO to Santa Fe, NM
Began as a commercial route or trade route
1821—war veteran William Becknell and a small band of traders left Arrow Rock, MO for Santa Fe.
It took 2 months to cover the 800 miles but the sold their good for a huge profit

6. THE OREGON TRAIL
Longest and most famous trail
Independence, MO to Willamette Valley, OR—2,000 miles
Native Americans, Lewis & Clark, fur traders, mountain men all used all or part of the trail
Migrants first used the trail in the 1840s
Danger was everywhere
Treacherous geography, conflict with Native Americans, disease took the lives of some 20,000 by 1859
Tens of thousands made it to OR
Oregon Territory (1848) & Statehood (1859—33rd)

7. THE MORMON TRAIL
1830—Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in NY
By 1835 there were 8,000 followers
The Mormon policy of men taking multiple wives went against other Protestant Church beliefs
It caused hostility
Violent mobs forced the Mormons out of New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois
They built a community in Nauvoo, IL
A mob killed Joseph Smith and his brother

8. Brigham Young became the new leader
He decided to vacate Nauvoo and move farther west
—16,000 Mormons migrated to an area around the Great Salt Lake in Utah
1,300 mile route became known as the Mormon Trail

9. THE GOLD RUSH
The largest migration west resulted from a hunger for gold
GOLD FEVER
1848—carpenter found gold at John Sutter’s sawmill in northern CA
Sutter tried to keep it a secret
People from Asia, South America, and Europe heard about gold from American sailors
Many headed to CA dreaming of striking it rich

10. Dec. 5, 1848—President James K. Polk announced in his State of the Union speech that the gold mines in CA “are more extensive and valuable than was anticipated…”
Polk’s speech promoted “gold fever”
RUSH TO CALIFORNIA
Mass migration to CA called “gold rush”
The migrants who left for CA in 1849 were called forty-niners
Their numbers approached 80,000

11. 80% of the people that came to CA were Americans
To reach CA, most people traveled along the CALIFORNIA TRAIL
Others booked passage on ships that sailed around the southern tip of South America
BOOMING CITIES
Many miners settled into mining camps and cities
San Francisco had a population of 800 in 1848
1849—25,000; 1860—60,000
CA became the 31st state in 1850 with Sacramento its capital

12. MAJOR EFFECTS OF WESTWARD MIGRATION
Use of western trails declined sharply after 1869 when railroad tracks finally ran unbroken from east to west
More than 350,000 migrants had followed the overland trails (about 1.5% of the American population)
THE OREGON TREATY
Presidential candidate James K. Polk promised in 1844 to secure the region for the USA
Since 1818 the USA and Britain had jointly controlled Oregon

13. Polk’s slogan was Fifty-four Forty or Fight!
He was referring to the north latitude line the marked the border of Oregon Country
His statement pledged war against Great Britain if it refused to give all of Oregon to the USA
Polk won the presidency but retreated from his pledge
He concluded a treaty with Britain that set the boundary between the USA and British Canada at the 49th parallel. This boundary still exists today.

14. COMMUNICATION LINKS
Businesses and government needed a way to stay in contact between east and west
First type of communication was mail service
BUTTERFIELD TRAIL—major southern route that a private stage coach ran on
—passengers and mail ran on this trail between St. Louis and San Francisco
1861—telegraph linked east and west
It made Pony Express obsolete because it was much faster

15. The greatest effect of the westward migration would be on the original inhabitants of the West: Native Americans.
Their lives would be forever changed.
The End