COS Standard 7
Describe causes, courses, and consequences of United States’
expansionism prior to the Civil War, including the Treaty of Paris of
1783, the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Ordinance of
1787, the Louisiana Purchase, the Indian Removal Act, the Trail of
Tears, Manifest Destiny, the Mexican War and Cession, Texas
Independence, the acquisition of Oregon, the California Gold
Rush, and the Western Trails.
Treaty of Paris 1783
 Treaty that ended American Revolution, signed
September 3, 1783
 America dominates North America
 America gives France colonies in the Caribbean
and Africa.
 Britain gives Spain Florida.
 Britain must recognize the US as a new nation
with the Mississippi River as its western border.
Treaty of Paris 1783
Land Ordinance of 1785
 Old Northwest to
be sold to pay for
national debt
 Sets up how
towns should
look
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 Northwest Ordinance of 1787: determines how
a territory becomes a state
 Provides a framework to govern the territory
 60,000 people must live in a territory before it
can become a state
 Bans slavery
Louisiana Purchase
 In 1803, Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to meet
Robert Livingston (a diplomat already in France).
 They were instructed to buy New Orleans and as much
land as they could get for $10 million.
 If negotiations failed, they were instructed to form an
alliance with Britain. (France and Britain were at war.)
 Napoleon decided to sell all of Louisiana to America.
 Napoleon failed to reconquer Santo Domingo: sugar.
 His attempt to take over Europe was taking too long, so he
sold it to America, instead of later giving it to England.
Louisiana Purchase continued
 Livingston started negotiations and told France
he could buy the territory for $15 million.
 Jefferson was startled by the news.
 Is this legal? Did Jefferson have the authority to sign a
treaty with another country that gives America land?
NO
 It didn’t matter. America wanted LAND!
 Significance: doubles the size of the US
 $0.03 an acre
Napoleon and Robert Livingston
Louisiana Purchase
Exploring Louisiana
 Thomas Jefferson funded an expedition of the
newly acquired land.
 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored from
St. Louis to the Pacific Coast.
 Sacagawea was their guide.
 The trip expanded the knowledge of the
territory, as well as laid claim to the Oregon
territory.
Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea
Indian Removal Act: 1830
 Andrew Jackson hated Native Americans.
 He supported the idea of moving all the Native
Americans to the Great Plains.
 Indian Removal Act: gave funds to relocate the
Native Americans.
 Cherokee do not want to move.
 Jackson forcible removes them on the Trail of
Tears.
 Thousands of Cherokee die on the journey to
Oklahoma.
Trail of Tears
Manifest Destiny
 John Louis O’Sullivan
 The idea that God
gave America to us
and we should settle it
from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean.
Acquisition of Oregon
 Britain and America both vie for Oregon.
 Why?
 Americans do not want to settle in the Great Plains.
They thought it had poor farm land.
 Missionaries settle Oregon to convert Native
Americans.
 James K. Polk runs for president.
 In public his campaign slogan is “Fifty-four Forty or
Fight.”
 In private, Polk makes a deal with Britain to draw the
boundary line at the 49 north latitude line.
Oregon and James K. Polk
California Gold Rush
 Starts in 1848, by 1849
the rush is on
 “Forty-Niners”
 Need a government to
maintain order,
California applies for
statehood.
 Has enough people to skip
the territory stage and
immediately applies for
statehood.
 Free state
 Confronts slavery issue
Western Trails
 Oregon Trail
 Donner Party
 Mormon Trail:
Utah
 California Trail
 Santa Fe Trail:
New Mexico
Texas Independence
 Texas was part of Mexico.
 Mexico opened Texas to Americans to settle.
 At first, Americans agreed to be Mexican citizens, but not
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adopt Mexican customs.
Haden Edwards attempted to take over Texas and rename it
Fredonia. Stephen Austin stopped Edward’s revolt.
In 1830, Mexico closed its borders to American
immigrants, banned slavery and discouraged trade with the
US.
People in Texas were angered by the change in Mexico.
America attempts to talk Mexico to get them to reopen
their borders.
Texas Independence continued
 A convention was set up to separate Texas from Mexico.
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They wrote a constitution and sent Austin to negotiate with
the Mexican government.
Negotiations failed. Austin wrote a letter suggesting Texas
should organize their own state government. The letter
Austin wrote was intercepted, he was arrested and jailed.
When he was released from jail, Austin urged Texans to
organize an army.
Meanwhile, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, president of
Mexico, makes himself the dictator of Mexico.
Texas’s first victory was at Gonzales.
Sam Houston took command of the Texas army.
Texas Independence continued
 At the Alamo, Santa Anna met 180 Texan rebels.
 William Travis joined by 32 settlers held off Santa Anna for 13
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days. Santa Anna’s army defeated the Texan forces.
In the meantime, Texas declared independence from Mexico.
At Goliad, the Texans lost and Santa Anna executed over 300
Texans.
At San Jacinto, Houston launched a surprise attack. They
captured Santa Anna, who was forced to sign a treaty giving
Texas their independence.
Sam Houston was elected the president of the Republic of
Texas.
They applied for annexation to be a slave state (controversial).
Alamo,
Stephen
Austin, Sam
Houston and
Santa Anna
Mexican War and Cession
 When Mexico refused to discuss the purchase of California,
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President Polk sent troops to cross the Nueces River.
Mexico sees this as an invasion of their country. Mexico
attacks. The Mexican War started.
Zachary Taylor and his troops attacked the Mexican army on
four occasions and won.
John Fremont fought in northern California. On June 14,
1846, the settlers in California declared independence from
Mexico.
Despite the defeats in Mexico and California, the Mexican
army refused to surrender.
Mexican War and Cession continued
 Winfield Scott replaced Zachary Taylor.
 Scott captured Mexico City on September 14, 1847.
 On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
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signed ending the Mexican War.
Mexico gave up land in California, Utah, Nevada, New
Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming. Also, the new
border of Texas became the Rio Grande.
America agrees to pay Mexico $15 million and assume $3.5
million in Mexican debts.
Significance: opens land to American settlers.
The impact of Expansion on America: slavery became an
issue.
Zachary Taylor and John C. Fremont
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo