Westward Expansion

Market, Communication, Transportation Revolution

• Market– People bought and sold goods,

rather than making goods for themselves

• Communication– People in better contact

• Telegraph

• Transportation– Steamboat– Canals– Trains developed in 1840s

New Markets Link Regions

• Northeast– Shipping and Manufacturing

• West– Farming cash crops: wheat and corn

• South– Crops: tobacco, cotton, rice

Question: How does this link the regions?

Manifest Destiny

• Definition: to express their belief that the United States’ destiny was to expand to the Pacific

Manifest Destiny

• Causes of American Expansion in 1830s and 1840s – Economic factors

• Exhaustion of good lands in the east • Effects of the Panic of 1837

– Psychological factors• manifest destiny

– Attractive regions-- east Texas, California, Oregon

– Advertising the West • Santa Fe traders • Mountain men--fur trappers and traders

Problems with Natives in the West

• Black Hawk War– Natives lead by Chief Black Hawk rebelled– 200 Sauk and Fox killed by Illinois militia

• Fort Laramie Treaty– Occasional attacks by Natives lead to government

intervention– Natives: control of central plains (400 mile land east

of Rockies), annual payment from Gov.– Settlers: promise from natives would not attack

• Oregon Territory – Expansionists urged seizure of Oregon from England

– "54 40 or Fight"

– Oregon Treaty (1846) set boundary at 49th parallel

The Oregon Trail

Westward Expansion• Texas

– American colonization began in the 1820s under Austin. 20,000 settlers by 1830

– Texans remained loyal to US but became increasingly frustrated by Mexican rule

– San Jacinto--Mexicans defeated, Santa Anna captured, Texas independence recognized by Mexico

– Jackson refused to annex Texas

– Texas admitted to Union in 1845

Mexican-American War • Causes of the war

– American grievances against Mexico

– Mexican grievances against the U.S.

– Snub of the Slidell mission to buy New Mexico and California

– Nueces/Rio Grande River dispute• Mexico claimed the Nueces river as the boundary between the US

And Mexico

• US claimed the Rio Grande at the boundary between the US and Mexico

• Opposition to the Mexican-American War – Lincoln's spot resolutions – Enlistments from northeast and southeast were low

because of unpopularity of war – Thoreau's statement of civil disobedience

• “Civil Disobedience" criticized expansionist warfare. • He believed that the war expanded slavery

• Campaigns – Northern Mexico

• Kearny takes Santa Fe (1846)• Battle of Buena Vista: With a much larger army

(20,000 to Taylor's 5,000), Santa Anna is unable to defeat Taylor's American forces (1847)

• Veracruz: Winfield Scott and 14,000 men capture port and begin following Cortez's route to Mexico City (1847)

This cartoon depicts U.S. General Zachary Taylor sitting atop the

skulls of Mexican-American war casualties.

• California – Bear Flag Republic established 1846

• John C. Fremont and volunteers capture town of Sonoma and hoist Bear Flag.

– Americans capture Monterey 250 sailors capture Mexico's California capital without a shot. 1846

– Battle of San Pascual In fierce fighting, Kearny's forces barely survive attack of Mexican lancers. 1846

– Battle of San Gabriel California forces retreat as American forces cross San Gabriel River and take Los Angeles 1847

• Mexico City – September 1847

• U.S. captures city. Santa Anna loses 4,000 of his 25,000-man army, while Scott loses 900 of his 10,000.

• Results

– Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo

• California and New Mexico territories added to U.S.

• Texas border at Rio Grande accepted

• Mexico gives up all claim to Texas.

• U.S. pays Mexico $15 million and agrees to assume American citizens' claims ($3,250,000) against Mexico.

• Renewal of slavery conflict

– Wilmot Proviso sought to restrict slavery from new territories

– Southerners (led by Calhoun) stated that Congress had no right to restrict slavery's expansion.

Political cartoon depicting David Wilmot and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison as witches.  Wilmot is chanting "Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble, Boil Free Soil, the Union spoil"