Manifest Destiny

Westward Expansion

Alexander Kent Markham 4th 2-16-12

Manifest Destiny

• Definition: The belief that America should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

• John L. O’Sullavian created the term in a paper in 1845. He was a journalist.

Oregon Country

• Oregon Country was in the Pacific Northwest, North of California

• Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming came from Oregon Country

• From Adams/Onis treaty with Britain• Oregon trail was 2,000 miles/ started in Missouri/ went

across Mississippi river, Rocky mnts., Great Plains, Snake River Valley

• Fifty-four forty or fight: line refered to what lin democrats thought was the U.S. owned, slogan in 1844 election of Polk

Texas• Davy Crockett was a frontiers men with shrewd common sense when he lost his senate seat in

Tennessee in 1835 he moved to Texas • 1830 when Mexico banned U.S. citizens from settling in Texas and When they put a high tax on U.S.

products• Stephen F. Austin: brought 300 families to Texas• They decreed that no more U.S. citizens could immigrate to Texas this angered many Texans and

Americans• Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became president of México in 1833• A battle occurred in which all the Texan defenders died and the fort was destroyed• Texas declared independence March 2, 1836 in Washington on the Brazos• Sam Houston became the leader of the Texan forces• Battle of San Jacinto• When April 21, 1836 • Battle cry: “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad”• At the end of the battle Santa Anna signed a treaty that gave Texas Independence • Jackson didn’t want to annex Texas because he didn’t want to inflame the slave issue • Texas became a state in 1845• Polk was president when Texas was annexed

War with Mexico• What states are in New Mexico: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, parts of Colorado and parts of Wyoming• The Santa Fe trail was a trade route from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It went across

prairies to the Arkansas river and followed it to the Rockies then turned down to Santa Fe• As trade increased Americans began to settle in the area • Spanish explorers and missionaries influenced California’s culture• The climate of California is mild, filled with scenic beauty, and is full of natural resources• Americans thought that being surrounded by the sea would be safer than if bordered by Mexico• The U.S. thought that the Rio Grande was the border and the Mexicans believed that the Nueces river was the

border• Polk called an emergency meeting after the Mexicans attacked Americans and decided to go to war with Mexico• Fredrick Douglass didn’t like the war because it was a way to spread slavery to new territories • A flag with a white background with a star and bear on it, Bear Flag Republic.• Polk sent Winfield Scott to capture Mexico City• The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war with Mexico February 1848 • Afterward the border became the Rio Grande• New states• California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, parts of Colorado and parts of Wyoming• Gadsden Purchase 1853 10 million dollars• States from Gadsden Purchase Southern New Mexico and Southern Arizona

California and Utah• Gold rush 1849/in California/ people who came were called 49’ers• They had to cross the Sierra Nevada mnts. to get to California • 49’ers came from the U.S., China, Australia, Mexico, South America, and Europe• Boomtown: a town that grew rapidly in population and economy• San Francisco grew from a small village to a town of more than 20,000 people• Levi Strauss was a Jewish immigrant who sold sturdy pants made of denim to

miners, invented jeans.• Utah• The Mormons took refuge in Utah • Joseph Smith was their founder. He got killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844 • Afterward Brigham Young became the leader of the Mormons• They settled in Utah• Utah became a state in 1896

Cause and effectCause

•Americans accept Manifest Destiny.•As east becomes crowded Americans want more land.•The West contains fur, lumber, and precious metals.

Effect•Native Americans forced off their lands.•U.S. war with Mexico.•The U.S. extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific