An Empire in the

West

Chapter 14Lecture Outline

© 2013 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Tyler Presidency

• The Death of Harrison

– VP John Tyler

• Unlike the other Whigs

• Did not like nationalism

• Hates the American

System and Henry Clay

• Domestic Affairs– Repeal Treasury Act

– Denied 3rd national bank

– All about states’ rights

• Supported nullification

– Whig cabinet resigned

– Tyler “man with no party”

Drunk History Harrison:https://youtu.be/CDukCTcITLY

The Tyler Presidency

• Foreign Affairs

– British navy checking for slave trade off Africa

• British outlaw ships with slaves 1807, colonies: 1834

– Slave revolt on the Creole & sailed into Bahamas

– Most slaves given freedom, 19 who rebelled put on trial for piracy but

found innocent as they were illegally slaves and were fighting for

freedom (17 were freed in 1842)

– Creole finally makes it to US in 1841 with 3 women and 2 children

slaves, Southerners outraged about their lost of property

The Tyler Presidency

• Foreign Affairs

– Webster-Asburton Treaty of 1842

• Joint effort to check for slave trade

• Settle Canada border dispute in U.S.

The Western Frontier

• “Manifest Destiny” is born

– God deems US should be coast to coast & beyond

– Newspaper propaganda to justify taking more land

The Western Frontier

• The Spanish West and Mexican Independence

– Mexico achieves independence in 1821

• The Rocky Mountains and Oregon Country

– Traders in the Rocky Mountains would become stereotypical “mountain men,” cut off from civilization and enjoying their independence.

– Rich soil = rush of settlers “Oregon fever”

Fur Traders Descending the Missouri (1845) One of George Caleb Bingham’s paintings from his winter in central Missouri. A bear cub is

depicted at the bow.

America, Story of Us: Westward 10:50 -16:35 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2b1k9y

The Western Frontier

• The Settlement

of California

– Missionaries

– Saving native

souls cost

many native

lives.

– 72k in 1769 to

18k in 1821

– 1846: around

800 Americans

compared to

8000-12000

Hispanics

The Western Frontier

• Early Development of California

– Between 1841 – 1867 350k Americans went to California/Oregon

– Many also went to Colorado, Texas, Arkansas…

Moving West• The Santa Fe Trail

– Santa Fe to St. Louis, Missouri

– So popular silver peso was main currency in Missouri

• The Overland Trails

– 2000 mile trek

– average 1 grave every 80 yards along trail

– scarcity of water

– hostile Indians

– 6 months in covered wagon caravans

1845: 5k/year

1849: 30k/year

1850: 55k/year

Moving West

• The Indians and Great Plains Ecology– Fort Laramie Treaty– 10k Indians (some at war with each other) met with US officials & 3 weeks of

discussions led to treaty:1. Govt pays cash annually for compensation of damage done by wagons to land2. Stop harassing white caravans3. All federal forts to be built4. Confine themselves to a specific area (foreshadowing: “reservation”)

• The Donner Party– became lost on the way to California and were forced to resort to cannibalism

before they were rescued http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us/videos/the-donner-party

Moving West

• The Pathfinder: John Frémont

– Mapped several trails including Oregon

– Maps widely circulated

• California in Turmoil

– Presidents from Jackson to Tyler had tried to purchase California from the Spanish & then the Mexican governments

Annexing Texas• American Settlements

– invited settlers if they became citizens

– Too many & too many with slaves

• Texas Independence

– Santa Anna…Alamo in San Antonio

– March 2, 1836 declares independence

– April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto

Sam Houston was commander in chief of the Texas forces.

Annexing Texas

• Negotiations for Annexation

– Would tip free/slave state balance

– Could cause war with Mexico

– Jackson and Van Buren won’t but Tyler pushes for it

– Calhoun’s Annexation treaty fails in Senate

Annexing Texas

• The Election of 1844

– Texas annexation was the key issue

– Whigs (Clay) denounced, Democrats (Polk) adopted it

Polk’s Objectives

-Destory 3rd National Bank return to Independent Treasury-Settle Oregon issue-Annexation of Texas -Remove Cali from Mexico

Annexing Texas

• The State of Texas

– Tyler asks for congress to pass resolution

– Tylers final action as POTUS was to sign resolution 3/1/1845

– Mexico dispatches troops to Rio Grande

• Oregon

– Americans ready to go to war over Oregon but British decided it wasn’t worth war.

Polk’s Dream (1846) The devil advises Polk to pursue 54°40´ even if “you deluge your country with seas of blood, produce a servile

insurrection and dislocate every joint of this happy and prosperous union!!!”

The Mexican War• The Outbreak of War

– Border dispute causes hostilities…Congress grants Polk his declaration of war

• Opposition to the War

– JQA “unrighteous”

– Abraham Lincoln’s “spot resolutions”

– Clay fears was will fracture Union

– North worried it was about slavery

The Mexican War

• Preparing for Battle

– four fronts (New Mexico, California, Texas, and Mexico)

– takes two years

– Commanders: Winfried Scott than Zachary Taylor

• The Annexation of California

– John C. Fremont declares independence in CA and himself military governor

The Mexican War• US vs Mexico

– 7k vs 32k

– By end US grew to 79k

– 31k were state militias with

no morals

– Many Mexico soldiers forced

into army (prisoners or poor)

– Weapons obsolete

• Scott first in command

– Scott seemed a future

political threat to Polk

– Taylor in Matamoros

– Polk disliked terms on

surrender

– Taylor ordered to stay put

but he attacks Santa Anna

– Scott put back in command

to attack through Veracruz

• same route as Cortez

– conquers Mexico City

The Mexican War

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

– America received from California to New Mexico in return for giving Mexico $15 million in compensation

• The War’s Legacies

– a surge in national pride

– Would provide expectations of a quick and easy war 15 years later…

The Mexican War

• Several firsts…

– Successful Imperial American war

– Occupation of enemy capital

– West Point grads played major role

– War correspondents

• Combat experiences for:

– Robert E Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, George B. McClellan, George Meade