1. Manifest Destiny Triumphs Chapter 14 section 4

2. Election of 1844 The Democrats’ candidate for President in 1844 was James K. Polk. James K. Polk defeated Whig candidate Henry Clay in the election of 1844. James K. Polk (11 th POTUS) V.P.- George M. Dallas Polk was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny.

3. James K. Polk

4. Annexing Texas and Oregon When Polk was elected President, Congress quickly annexed Texas, which became a state in 1845. Once in office, Polk turned his attention to Oregon. In the past, the United States had offered to divide Oregon Country with Britain at the 49 th parallel of latitude.

5. Annexing Texas and Oregon Britain refused the divide at the 49 th parallel. Now, Polk and the Democrats were demanding all of the Oregon Country 54 40 degrees north latitude. The Democrats rallied behind the slogan, “Fifty Four Forty or Fight.”

6. Annexation of Texas 1845

7. The United States of America 1845

8. Oregon Country

9. Oregon Country “54 40 or Fight”

10. Mexico’s Reaction to Texas Annexation Meanwhile Mexican officials were enraged over the annexation of Texas. They became even angrier when the United States claimed the Rio Grande as its boundary with Mexico.

11. The Mexican-American War 1846- 1848 In late April 1846, Mexican troops fired at an American patrol along the Rio Grande, killing or wounding 16 soldiers. On May 12, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.

12. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in February 1848, marked the final triumph of Manifest Destiny. Mexico had to give up more than 500,000 square miles. In return for this land, known as the Mexican Cession, the United States paid 15 million dollars.

13. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848

14. Gadsden Purchase 1853 In 1853, the United States acquired still more land from Mexico. James Gadsden, the United States minister to Mexico, negotiated the $10 million dollar purchase of a strip of land south of the Mexican Cession. The U.S. wanted to build a railroad and this land was the only part of the West that was relatively flat.

15. Gadsden Purchase 1853

16. California As a part of Mexico, California had a tiny population. With the discovery of gold, many people rushed to California. Gold was first discovered on land belonging to john Sutter. A Swiss by birth he had come to California in 1839 and built a trading post where Sacramento is today.

17. California On January 24, 1848 one of his workers scooped up a handful of sand from the American River. In it he found flakes of gold. In 1849, at the height of the rush, as many as 80,000 gold seeking “forty-niners” poured in to California.

18. California 1850 Although few “forty-niners” made a fortune, many stayed in California to farm or start businesses. So many people rushed in seeking gold that the population got large enough that California became the 31 st state in 1850.