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WESTWARD EXPANSION

Chapter 12

©2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

The American Nation, 12e Mark. C. Carnes and John A. Garraty

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TYLER’S TROUBLES

• When Tyler became president after Harrison’s death, he kept all of Harrison’s Cabinet

• Did not get along with Henry Clay who considered himself the true head of the Whig party– Tried to enact a new Bank of the

U.S. bill which Tyler vetoed causing his Cabinet, except for Secretary of State Daniel Webster, to resign

• Tyler abandoned Whigs and tried to form his own party

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TYLER’S TROUBLES

• Clay wanted to distribute proceeds from land sales to the states (to reduce federal revenue to justify raising the tariff)

• To win western votes for distribution, agreed to support Preemption Act of 1841, legalizing the right of squatters to occupy unsurveyed land and to buy it later at $1.25 an acre without bidding for it at auction

• Southerners insisted on an amendment pledging distribution would be stopped if the tariff were raised over the 20% level

• Initial result was a new tariff; was vetoed until Distribution Act was repealed, then Tyler signed 1842 tariff which raised levels to those of 1832

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THE WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY

• Dispute over border between Maine and New Brunswick

• Settled by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton since British needed only a small part of the territory to build a military road connecting Halifax and Quebec– Webster placated Maine and Massachusetts with a

phony map

• Ashburton made concessions elsewhere on Canadian and American border– British dependence on foreign foodstuffs was increasing– American need for British capital was rising

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THE TEXAS QUESTION• Texas was outside boundary of 1819

Transcontinental Treaty• 1821 Americans led by Stephen Austin began to

settle the area– At same time Mexico declared independence from Spain

• Cotton flourished and Mexican authorities offered free land and something approaching local autonomy to American settlers– By 1830 some 20,000 white Americans in Texas, 2,000

slaves, and only a few thousand Mexicans

• Purchase offers– John Quincy Adams had offered $1 million– Jackson tried $5 million

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THE TEXAS QUESTION

• By the 1820s, flood of American settlers was giving the Mexican government problems:– Most American settlers were Protestant though

supposed to be Catholic– When Mexico abolished slavery in 1829, Texans

freed slaves then signed them to lifetime contracts as indentured servants

– 1830: Mexico tried to prohibit further immigration into Texas by Americans

• 1835: series of skirmishes became full fledged rebellion

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THE TEXAS QUESTION• Mexican President

Antonio López de Santa Anna marched north with 6,000 soldiers to subdue the rebels, reaching San Antonio in 1836

• William B. Travis and 187 men walled up in the Alamo held off Santa Anna for 10 days until the Mexicans breached the walls on March 6

• They killed everyone inside

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THE TEXAS QUESTION

• After the Alamo and a similar slaughter at Golidad, peaceful settlement was out

• March 2, 1836 Texas declared its independence

• Sam Houston was placed in charge of the army which routed the Mexicans on April 21 1836– October: Houston was elected President– November: plebiscite revealed Texans favored

annexation to U.S.

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THE TEXAS QUESTION

• Andrew Jackson recognized Texas but nothing more

• Texas developed friendly ties with Great Britain

• Tyler decided to annex it but ran into difficulties when his Secretary of State was killed and he replaced him with Calhoun– Senate rejected treaty 35 to 16

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MANIFEST DESTINY

• Americans had originally wanted the entire continent before they knew what it would take

• By the 1840s, were ready to take it all• New York journalist, John L. Sullivan (1845):

“the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted to Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”

• Between 1830 and 1835, 10,000 entered Texas• Many more did so in early 1840s

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LIFE ON THE TRAIL

• Indians: while could be dangerous, usually settlers complained that they were lazy, dirty, and pitiably poor

• Greater dangers—accidents and unsanitary conditions

• 1840s: distances farther and comforts left behind greater

• Women– Westward settlement especially taxing– Often assumed tasks traditionally performed by men– Usually bone weary

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CALIFORNIA AND OREGON

• California– Owned by Mexico– 7,000 Spanish-speaking ranchers and a handful of “Anglo”

settlers from the west– 21 Catholic missions controlling 30,000 Indian converts

until 1830s when estates were broken up by anticlerical Mexican government

• Oregon– Vaguely defined area between California and Russian

Alaska– 1811 John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company established

trading posts on the Columbia– 1830s Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic missionaries

went to Willamette Valley (500 by 1840)

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CALIFORNIA AND OREGON

• “Oregon fever”– Land hunger– Manifest Destiny– 1843: 1,000 pioneers made

trek• Oregon Trail

– Most travelers were young families, many from Ohio valley

– Cost averaged $600 for a family of four

– Five month trip• Major western ports seen as

vital for Asian trade– San Diego, San Francisco,

Strait of Juan de Fuca

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THE ELECTION OF 1844

• Whigs nominated Clay, ignored Texas in platform

• Democrats: Van Buren wanted to keep Texas out of campaign but Calhoun wanted to make it an issue– Winner was dark horse candidate James K. Polk

• Opposed high tariffs, did not want another bank, wanted to take Texas and believed generally in expansion

– Platform called for “reannexation” of Texas and “reoccupation” of Oregon

• Polk won by 38,000 out of 2.7 million votes; 170 to 105 electoral votes

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THE ELECTION OF 1844

• Whigs nominated Clay, ignored Texas in platform• Democrats: Van Buren wanted to keep Texas out of

campaign but Calhoun wanted to make it an issue– Winner was dark horse candidate James K. Polk

• Opposed high tariffs, did not want another bank, wanted to take Texas and believed generally in expansion

– Platform called for “reannexation” of Texas and “reoccupation” of Oregon

• Polk won by 38,000 out of 2.7 million votes; 170 to 105 electoral voted

• Liberty Party was decisive factor• Polk’s victory was taken as mandate for expansion

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POLK AS PRESIDENT

• Persuaded Congress to lower Tariff of 1842 and restore an independent treasury

• Opposed federal internal improvements

• Committed himself to obtaining Texas, Oregon, and the great Southwest

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OREGON TERRITORY

• Oregon: campaign had demanded all Oregon Territory but Polk told British minister Pakenham would accept 49th parallel, Pakenham rejected

• Polk asked Congress for one year notice to abrogate 1818 treaty of joint occupation; notified British in May 1846

• British decided to compromise– 5,000 Americans in Willamette Valley– No more than 750 British subjects– British now agreed to earlier proposal though

Vancouver Island remained British and both could use the Strait of San Juan de Fuca

– Approved by Senate in 1846

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WAR WITH MEXICO

• Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with U.S.• Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to defend border

—but which one?– Mexico insisted boundary was the Nueces River– U.S. insisted Rio Grande

• Taylor reached Nueces on July 1845 with about 1,500 troops

• November - Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico– Authorized to cancel Mexican debt in return for recognition

of annexation of Texas and Rio Grande boundary– Also offered $30 million for all or part of New Mexico and

California

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WAR WITH MEXICO• Mexican government refused to receive Slidell• Military coup put General Mariano Paredes in charge,

claimed all of Texas• Polk ordered Taylor to advance to Rio Grande

– By March 1846, army—now 4,000—had position near Matamoras

• Mexicans crossed river on April 25 and attacked; Polk got Congress to declare war and supply an additional 50,000 troops

• Americans were clearly superior in all engagements– Mexican army was poorly equipped and poorly led– U.S. Army had hard core of youthful West Pointers and

regulars trained in Indian fighting

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TO THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA

• Two leading generals of the Mexican War were Whigs—Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor

• Domestic opposition to war was growing– Northerners feared war would lead to

expansion of slavery– Others felt Polk had misled Congress about

original outbreak of fighting and U.S. was aggressor

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TO THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMAPolk had three part strategy

1. Clear Mexicans from Texas and occupy the northern provinces of Mexico

2. Take possession of California and New Mexico3. March on Mexico City

• June 1846 American settlers in Sacramento Valley seized Sonoma and raised the Bear Flag of the Republic of California

– Joined by John C. Frémont of American exploring party and naval squadron under Commodore John D. Sloat

• By February 1847 U.S. had won control of nearly all of Mexico north of capital

• March 9, 1847, Scott and U.S. army laid siege to Vera Cruz which they took three weeks later then moved on to Mexico City which took on September 14

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THE TREATY OF GUADELUPE HIDALGO

• Polk sent Nicholas P. Trist to act as peace commissioner and he met with Scott’s army in May 1847

• Met with peace commissioners in January 1848– Originally authorized to pay $30 million for New Mexico, Upper

and Lower California, and right of transit across the isthmus of Tehuantepec

– Polk became impatient and summoned Trist home– Trist ignored the order

• Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo– Mexico accepted Rio Grande as Texas border– Ceded New Mexico and upper California– U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million and take on $3.25 million in American citizens’ claims vs. Mexico

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THE FRUITS OF VICTORY:FURTHER ENLARGEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

• Territorial gains: Pacific coast from south of San Diego to the 49th parallel and all land between the coast and the Continental Divide

• In January 1848, James W. Marshall was building a sawmill on the American River in Sacramento Valley east of San Francisco when he noticed flecks that turned out to be GOLD!

• Created international sensation– $200 million was extracted in next 4 years

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SLAVERY: THE FIRE BELL IN THE NIGHT RINGS AGAIN

• Would new territory be slave or free?– Slavery seemed to have little chance in California or

New Mexico and none in Oregon

• Extremely partisan issue• Congress could not control slavery in the states

but could in the territories• Northern Democrats increasingly uneasy with

slavery– August 8, 1846, Congressman David Wilmot

introduced an amendment banning slavery from any territory acquired from Mexico

– Passed House but failed in Senate

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SLAVERY: THE FIRE BELL IN THE NIGHT RINGS AGAIN

• In response to Wilmot Proviso, Calhoun proposed that Congress could not legislate regarding slavery in territories since area belonged to all states, slave and free

• Seemed merely a step away from demanding Congress guarantee the right of slave owners to bring slaves into the territories and establish slave codes in the territories

• Two potential compromises– Extend Missouri Compromise line to Pacific– Allowed territories in without mention of slavery,

leaving it to local legislatures to decide (popular sovereignty)

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THE ELECTION OF 1848

• August 1848 Congress barred slavery from the Oregon Territory

• Election of 1848– Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor, offered no platform– Democrats nominated Lewis Cass, father of popular

sovereignty, but did not endorse particular scheme for territories

– Barnburners (dissatisfied Democrats) joined with Liberty Party to form Free Soil Party which nominated Van Buren

• Polled nearly 300,000 votes, about 10% of total

• Voters elected Taylor: 1.36 million to 1.22 million

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THE GOLD RUSH• By summer of 1848 San Francisco had

become a virtual ghost town and two-thirds of the adult males in Oregon had headed to the California gold fields

• During 1849, 25,000 Americans made their way from the east to California by ship

• 55,000 crossed the continent by overland routes

• 8,000 Mexicans, 5000 South Americans and number of Europeans joined the rush

• Between 1849 and 1860 about 200,000 people (nearly all males) crossed the Rockies to California and thousands more came by ship

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THE GOLD RUSH

• Newcomers referred to those of Latin American origin as “greasers” and sought by law and violence to keep them from digging for gold

• Local Californians were also discriminated against

• Free blacks were treated no better

• Indian population was almost wiped out: 150,000 in mid-1840s but only 35,000 in 1860

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THE QUESTION OF CALIFORNIA

• Taylor recommended that California be admitted as a state with popular sovereignty while rest of Mexican cession should be made into another state; no need to trouble Congress

• Californians had a constitution by October 1849 that banned slavery and by December a state government was functioning

• Southerners were horrified at thought that California would be admitted as free state

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THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

• Henry Clay proposed compromise plan on January 29 1850:– California should be allowed in as a free state– Rest of southwest should be organized as a territory

without mention of slavery; southerners would retain the right to bring slaves there though unlikely they would do so

– Empty lands in dispute along Texas border should be assigned to New Mexico Territory and in exchange U.S. should take over pre-annexation debts of Texas

– Slave trade, but not slavery itself, should be abolished in Washington DC

– Effective federal slave law should be enacted and enforced in the North

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THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

• Calhoun, too weak to deliver his speech, watched while Senator James Mason explained that while the plan might save the Union, Clay believed that the North should yield on every issue and if it failed to do so the South should secede

• Daniel Webster argued in favor of Clay’s proposal, due to geography the Wilmot Proviso was unnecessary, North had a constitutional obligation to turn over escaped slaves

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THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

• July 9, 1850 President Taylor died and Vice President Millard Fillmore took over

• Even then the compromise only passed when it was broken up and voted on in several parts– California became the 31st state– New Mexico and Utah Territories– Texas received $10 million to pay debts in

exchange for giving up land claims– Slave trade abolished in DC effective January 1,

1851

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THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

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THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

• Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was amended to provide for the appointment of federal commissioners with authority to issue warrants, summon posses, and compel citizens under pain of fine or imprisonment to assist in capture of fugitive slaves– If commissioner decided accused was a runaway,

received larger fee than if they declared person free

• Bills only passed due to shifting coalitions

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WEBSITES

• From Slave to Masterhttp://moa.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/sgml • Sam Houston and the Texas Revolution, 1825-

1836http://www.lnstar.com/mall/texasinfo/shouston.htm • On the Trail to Kansashttp://www.ukans.edu/heritage/owk/128/trails.htm/#oregon

• “Been Here So Long”: Selections from the WPA

American Slave Narrativeshttp://newdeal.feri.org/asn/index.htm • Slave Narrativeshttp://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/texts.html

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WEBSITES

• From Slave to Masterhttp://moa.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/sgml/moa-idx?

notisid=ABT6752 • Sam Houston and the Texas Revolution, 1825-1836http://www.Instar.com/mall/texasinfo/shouston.htm • On the Trail in Kansashttp://www.ukans.edu/heritage/owk/128/trails.htm/

#oregon • “Been Here So Long”: Selections from the WPA

American Slave Narrativeshttp://newdeal.feri.org/asn/index.htm

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WEBSITES• Slave Narrativeshttp://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/texts.html • The Settlement of African Americans in Liberiahttp://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam003.html • Images of African Americas from the Nineteenth

Centuryhttp://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19 • The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Acthttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4 • Words and Deeds in American Historyhttp://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/corhome.html