“Manifest

Destiny”Westward Expansion“From Sea to Shining

Sea”

• During the early 1800s, many settlers loaded everything they had into Conestoga wagons (especially their rifles and axes) and headed west.

• For these settlers, the Mississippi River and New Orleans were vital for shipping goods.

• In 1802, Spain denied Americans access to these resources.

• In a secret agreement, Spain gave the Louisiana Territory back to France. Napoleon was trying to establish an empire in Europe.

• Thomas Jefferson was worried and sent Robert Livingston to France to offer $10 million for New Orleans. Napoleon countered with $15 million for all of Louisiana. This was too good to pass up.

• Jefferson wasn’t sure, because the Constitution didn’t say anything about purchasing land from other countries.

• But he was so excited about land for farmers, he found a loophole allowing for treaties.

• In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was done and it immediately doubled the size of the U.S.

There’s More Land out There

• Jefferson wanted to know more about Louisiana. He assigned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to assemble a crew in 1804. They were later joined by a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea.

• The expedition left from St. Louis with these goals:

•Find a water route that stretched across the continent

•Establish good relations with Native Americans•Describe the plants, animals, and landscape

they saw• After Lewis and Clark returned from their

journey, many settlers were eager to move west.

Lewis and Clark

• Zebulon Pike was sent to explore the Southern half of the Louisiana Purchase.

• He searched for the source of the Arkansas and Red Rivers. He was captured by Spain after ending up at the Rio Grande. On his way back through the Great Plains, he described the area as a desert.

• Many Federalists disagreed with the LA Purchase. They, along with Aaron Burr, threatened to secede.

• Hamilton had never trusted Burr and was now worried about secession. When Burr lost his bid for NY governor, he blamed Hamilton.

• Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804 where he shot and killed Hamilton.

Not a Bowl of Cherries

•There were three long-lasting effects of Lewis & Clark and Pike’s exploration:1. Accurate Maps: Lewis & Clark created

more accurate maps that helped settlers move west.

2. Growth of the Fur Trade: Boosted interest. Hunters and trappers added to knowledge.

3. Mistaken View of the Great Plains: Pike said that because there were no trees, it was a desert and useless to farmers.

Some good… some bad

The Oregon Country• The Oregon Country was the vast area between the Rocky

Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, north of California.• In the early 1800s, four nations claimed the territory:

1) United States2) Great Britain3) Spain4) Russia

• The first Americans in Oregon were fur traders. These American adventurers were called Mountain Men.

• Mountain men made their living trapping beaver. The annual rendezvous was the highlight of their year.

• Mountain man Jedediah Smith discovered the South Pass, which became the most common way to cross the Rocky Mountains to Oregon.

• In time Mountain Men killed off most of the beaver. Many like Kit Carson became guides for families moving to Oregon.

Oregon Fever• The first settlers to arrive in Oregon were

missionaries. Their goal was to convert Native Americans to Christianity. (Marcus & Narcissa Whitman)

• In the early 1840s Oregon Fever swept the Mississippi Valley. Emigrants made the trip during the Great Migration.

• The trip to Oregon was roughly 2,000 miles and took five or six months along the Oregon Trail.

• Families loaded up their prairie schooners and often started from Independence, Missouri.

• From 1840 to 1845, the population of the Willamette Valley increased from 500 people to 5,000 people.

“Manifest Destiny”

• Many Americans began to feel the mission of the United States was to spread freedom by occupying the entire continent.

• John O’Sullivan, a NY newspaper editor, declared it was America’s “manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us.”

• Settlers in Oregon wanted the U.S. to have sole ownership of the territory.

• In the election of 1844, James K. Polk supported their wishes.

• Shortly afterward, the United States and Great Britain agreed to the 49° N parallel as the border in Oregon.

Settling Texas• Conflict in Texas began in 1803 with the Louisiana

Purchase. Americans believed that Texas was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Spain protested.

• In the Adams-Onís Treaty (1819), America dropped all claims to Spanish Texas.

• Most of the residents of Texas at this time were Tejanos. To encourage settlement, the Mexican government offered land grants to empresarios.

• Empresarios recruited families to settle in Texas.• Moses Austin received the first land grant, but he

died before he could bring settlers.• Stephen F. Austin took over and recruited families.

The group he recruited was called the “Old Three-Hundred.”

Trouble in Texas• The colonists who came to Texas promised to

1. Learn Spanish2. Become Mexican citizens3. Convert to Catholicism4. Obey Mexican law

• Most Texas settlers came from the United States. They soon outnumbered the Mexicans in Texas.

• Americans refused to adopt Mexican ways. And the U.S. twice offered to purchase Texas from Mexico.

• In 1830, Mexico passed a decree stopping all immigration from the United States and placing a tax on American made goods.

• Americans were furious. They were also angry over Mexico’s plans to ban slavery in Texas.

The Texas Revolution• After Santa Anna refused demands to make Texas a

separate state, Stephen F. Austin encouraged Texans to prepare for independence. He was arrested.

• Santa Anna made himself dictator and discarded the Mexican Constitution.

• In October 1835 Mexican troops attempted to take a cannon in Gonzales, Texas. The Texans defended the cannon, flying the “Come and Take It” flag.

• They drove back the Mexicans in the first fight of the Texas Revolution (Lexington of Texas).

• The Texans then liberated San Antonio from the Mexican army. However, they left the city afterwards.

• Santa Anna was furious. He sent two forces into Texas. He led soldiers to San Antonio, and General Urrea led forces to Goliad.

Remember The Alamo• Roughly 180 men were left to defend San Antonio at

the Alamo. The leaders of the Texans were • Davy Crockett• James Bowie• William B. Travis

• After a twelve day siege, in February 1836, the Mexican army was able to break through the walls of the Alamo.

• Santa Anna said after the battle, “The Texans fought more like devils than like men.”

• On March 2, 1836, the Texans declared independence.• General Urrea, who had marched to Goliad, captured

the Texans, led by James Walker Fannin. • The captured Texans were executed on Santa Anna’s

orders.

Texas is Annexed• Sam Houston was commander in chief of the Texas forces.• Houston made plans to surprise Santa Anna at San Jacinto.• The Texans shouted “Remember the Alamo! Remember

Goliad!”• The Mexican army lost 600 soldiers. But no Texans lost their

lives.• Santa Anna was captured shortly after the battle of San Jacinto

and signed a treaty recognizing Texas independence in 1836.• Sam Houston was elected the first president of Texas. He asked

the U.S. to annex Texas.• But Texas was a slave state, and it would upset the balance

between slave and free states in the Union.• James K. Polk was elected president in 1844 and supported

Manifest Destiny. • Texas was annexed to the United States in 1845, becoming the

28th state.

Gaining the West• New Mexico was the region between Texas and

California. Because of its size, Mexico had little control.• William Becknell was the first American trader to reach

Santa Fe in 1821. His route became known as the Santa Fe Trail.

• Spanish explorers and missionaries were the first settlers in California.

• Missions were very important to the settlement of California. Missions were used to convert Native Americans to Catholicism.

• Mexican settlers bought land in California and built ranchos similar to plantations in the South. Rancheros treated Native Americas working their land like slaves.

Tensions Increase• Americans wanted to reach the Pacific Ocean, which

would include California.• The new American President, James K. Polk, twice

offered to buy New Mexico and California. Mexico refused both times.

• Polk plotted to pull Mexico into a war. If they started it, he could justify the war to Congress and the people.

• When the U.S. annexed Texas, tensions increased. In addition to claiming the annexation was illegal, they disagreed over the location of the border:– Mexico: Border was the Nueces River– United States: Border was the Rio Grande

• Polk sent John Slidell to offer $30 million for New Mexico and California. Mexico refused and announced plans to reclaim Texas.

War with Mexico• President Polk sent Zachary Taylor to the disputed

territory south of the Nueces River. The Mexican government sent troops north of the Rio Grande.

• After the Mexican troops attacked, James K. Polk said that Mexico had shed American blood on American soil. On May 13, 1846, Congress declared war against Mexico.

• Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both opposed the war with Mexico.

• Polk had a three part war plan:1. Drive Mexico out of the disputed territory2. Seize California and New Mexico3. Take the capital, Mexico City

• All three parts were successful. The U.S. lost 1721 men and 11,000 to disease. The war cost the U.S. $100 million.

The Mexican Cession• Mexico fared much worse than the U.S. After the

war, Mexico lost half its territory.• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in

1848 ending the Mexican War. The terms were:– Mexico gave up all claims to Texas and agreed to the Rio

Grande as the border– In the Mexican Cession Mexico ceded California and New

Mexico to the U.S.– The United States paid Mexico $15 million for the territory.

• In 1853 the United States paid Mexico $10 million for a small strip of land along the southern edge of Arizona and New Mexico.

• This was called the Gadsden Purchase. With the Gadsden Purchase, America reached its present size and completed Manifest Destiny.

The California Gold Rush• In 1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on the

American River in California.• 80,000 people came to California looking for gold in

1849. Those people were called forty-niners.• Many gold seekers came by sea. Some came

overland.• The Treat of Guadalupe Hidalgo made Californios

citizens of the U.S. and also guaranteed their rights to their land.

• But Californios had to prove they owned the land or white settlers could move in and claim it.

• People built boomtowns in California and cities flourished.

• The Gold Rush doubled the world’s supply of gold.

Statehood for California• Very few forty-niners became wealthy. They found little gold and

wasted money the had earned on gambling.• Merchants made HUGE profits. They were able to charge

whatever they wanted for goods.• During the Gold Rush, a dozen eggs cost a miner $10.• Levi Strauss made a fortune selling sturdy denim pants to miners.• Many miners were lonely (few female miners). They spent their

time gambling, drinking and fighting.• There were no police, so vigilantes took the law into their own

hands.• The Gold Rush ended in a few years but had long lasting effects

on California’s economy.• California applied for statehood in 1850. Its application caused a

crisis in Congress because it would upset the balance between slave and free states.

• California eventually became a state later that same year.

Mormons go to Utah• The Mormons moved to Utah to fulfill their visions of a godly life.• Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church in New York in 1830.

They supported polygamy.• The Mormons left New York because of opposition to their way

of life and headed to Illinois.• Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in Illinois. Brigham Young took

over, leading the Mormons to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.• In 1846 12,000 Mormons went to Utah in the single largest

migration in American history.• They settled in Deseret, later known as Salt Lake City. They

planned towns, built irrigation systems, and developed industries.

• Utah became a territory in 1850 with Brigham Young as its governor.

• Because of many conflicts with the American government, Utah did not become a state until 1896.