MANIFEST DESTINY
Unit 4
Manifest Destiny

Belief in divine blessing as America expands
west
 “It is our birthright”
Land acquired through annexation,
negotiation, and war
Relentless pressure Westward on Indian
settlements
Manifest Destiny in the East

The US was increasingly challenging all countries in the
Americas as it expanded both geographically and
economically
 Monroe
Doctrine
 “The sun never sits on the British Empire”


US vs. Britain over control of the Great Lakes
Aroostook War or Pork and Beans War
 Figurative
war, not literal, over boundary between the state of
Maine and Canada (Britain)
Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Treaty between the US and Britain in 1842
 Settled
Maine boundary dispute
 Demilitarized the Great Lakes


Led to dramatic increase in trade between US and
Canada
Failed to address the disputed “Oregon Country”
Manifest Destiny in “Oregon Country”

“Oregon Country” was claimed by both the British and US
 1844
Presidential election James K. Polk slogan “54 40 or
fight”
 Many
Americans thought all of the land rightfully belonged to the US
because of Manifest Destiny despite the land belonging to Indians,
Russia, Canada, Mexico, and Britain

After threat of war a treaty was agreed upon that gave
the US a little over half of the disputed territory
 Helped
rule
cause Canada to eventually break away from British
Manifest Destiny in Texas
Mexico won it’s independence from Spain in
1821, but was not formally recognized till 1836
 After independence Mexican leaders
encouraged U.S. settlement in Texas
 Very sparsely populated; immigrants brought
money and created towns and cities

Free and Slave States and Territories, 1848



Americans immediately became the majority and in
turn Mexico eventually tried to limit immigration and
their rights
 Particularly by ending slavery
Texans revolted in 1835
 “Remember the Alamo”
Mexico’s Santa Ana was eventually defeated and won
independence in at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836
Annexation of Texas

Petitioned US for annexation, but Jackson &
Van Buren refused to act due to other disputes
over tariffs, Indian Removal, and the national
bank
 “Lone

Star State” / Republic of Texas
Texas eventually admitted
10 years later in 1846
 Admitted
despite dispute
over slavery
MANIFEST DESTINY PART II
Mexican War: 1846-48

US tried to buy the “Southwestern US” from
Mexico
 US offered 25-30 Million for the land
681-818 Million today
 US would also forgive 3 Million in damages
caused by Mexican independence from Spain
82 Million Today

Mexico refused, mad over Texas independence,
which eventually leads to war
 Unofficial
battles had been fought for the previous
decade between Mexico and Texas

Many Americans (Whigs) in the US opposed the war
effort as they thought it was a Southern attempt
solely to expand slavery
Bear Flag Revolt
Shortly after the Mexican-US War started
American settlers living in California rebelled
against Mexico
 Easy victory as there were very few Mexicans
living in California
 The flag carried by the rebel leaders became
the state flag and namesake
of the rebellion

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Peace treaty after the war, granted the US land
rights to most of present day “Southwestern
US”
 aka “Mexican Cession”
 US did pay Mexico 18 million for the land as a
peace offering after the war
 Debate today over rightful land owners

Free and Slave States and Territories, 1848
Gadsden Purchase
Created present day US between US and
Mexico
 Bought to build a railroad connecting Texas and
California
 Southern Arizona and New Mexico
 Bought for 10 Million

 260

Million in today’s money
US hoped to buy up much more of Northern Mexico,
but Mexico refused
Free and Slave States and Territories, 1848
Manifest Destiny & the Caribbean
Ostend Manifesto was an attempt by us to
purchase Cuba from Spain for approximately
100 million
 Revealed deep divide over slavery in US
Congress
 Southern Democrats strongly supported it
 Northern Whigs vehemently opposed it

Expansion and Slavery
New territory acquired through Mexican War led
to debates over slavery as each new state is
created
 Wilmot Proviso would have outlawed slavery
in the new territories
 Defeated twice by Democrats
 Makes slavery the dominate issue till the Civil
War

Wagon Trains
Western expansion appealed to immigrants and
dreams of finding their own land, riches and
freedom
 Numerous trails sprung up leading settlers West
in search of wealth and religious freedom
 Oregon Trail – Farm Land
 Donner Party – Resorted to cannibalism so
survive winter in the Rocky Mountains

 Mormons
in Utah by 1847 – Led by Brigham
Young
Church of Latter Day Saints were being
persecuted in Eastern and Midwestern US
 Church leader Joe Smith killed by a
mob
 Polygamy
 California Gold Rush in 1848-49(49ers)
Overland Trails
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Seward’s Folly
Purchased from Russia for 7 million in 1865 by
William H Seward
 Lincoln’s Secretary of State
 Purchase treaty only passed by 1 vote as most
thought it was a barren waste land
 1898 Gold Rush
 Huge Oil Reserves

Discussion Questions
What is Manifest Destiny? Why was it important
to the U.S. in the 1800s? Is it still important
today?
 Scrutinize the Mexican War. Why did it start?
What was gained in the war? Was it a justifiable
war?

ABOLITION MOVEMENT
Abolitionists
After 1830s calls for abolition in North become
increasingly common
 Oppose slavery
 Abolitionist message increasingly vehement against
slavery & the South
 William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator began
publishing in 1831

Growing Issue of Slavery
Evangelicals adopted antislavery postal campaign in
1835
 Bombarded Congress with antislavery petitions in
1836
 State’s began to censor postal campaign
 Federal govt. did nothing
1st Amendment

 “Gag
rule” on slavery related petitions in Congress
Chose not to read them
 Reflected Democrats’ (Jackson’s) efforts to protect
State’s Rights (slavery) while maintaining the Union



American Anti-Slavery Society organized in 1833
 Attracted Evangelical Christians
 2nd Great Awakening; Social Gospel
 Political, but not social equality
American Colonization Society
 Henry Clay and James Monroe’s plan to return freed
slaves to Africa
 Liberia; Capital is Monrovia
Criticized Democratic party support for slavery

Frederick Douglass
 Runaway slave who became leading vocal
abolitionist and women’s rights voice
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an
American Slave became an
abolitionist call to arms

Harriet Tubman
 Runaway slave who made 13 return trips to the
South and saved more than
70 slaves
Underground Railroad
Helped recruit for John
Brown’s raid on Harper’s
Ferry
Slave Revolts

Escapes more common than revolts
 Stono or Cato Rebellion in 1739
1st major slave rebellion
 Gabriel
Prosser’s Revolt
Planned to gather a slave army to seize
Richmond
 Denmark
Vesey conspiracy, 1822
Slaves would seize Charleston, commandeer ships
and make escape, but betrayed by slaves
 Nat
Turner revolt, 1831
Received notice in vision that God wanted him to
lead revolt in VA
Reaction to Slave Revolts
Numerous laws across South restricting slave and
freed slaves rights regarding
 Education, especially reading
 Manumission (ability to earn freedom)
 Voting Rights
 Religious Services
 Employment
 Each rebellion met with retaliatory mobs that killed
many innocent slaves and freed slaves

John Brown’s Raid at Harpers Ferry
Attempt to seize federal arsenal (weapons) and
foment a slave uprising
 Raid subdued quickly
 Brown executed for treason
 Northerners saw Brown as martyr to anti-slavery
cause

Discussion Questions


Examine the major slave rebellions noted in this chapter.
What level of success did each have, why did the fail, and
how did they affect Southern society?
Discuss the early abolitionist movement. Who were its
supporters and what social tensions did it create?
SOUTHERN STATE’S RIGHTS
VS. NORTHERN ABOLITION
Expansion and Slavery
New territory acquired through Mexican War led to
debates over slavery as each new state is created
 Makes slavery the dominate issue till the Civil War
 Wilmot Proviso would have outlawed slavery in the
new territories
 Defeated by Democrats twice

Election of 1848
5 candidates representing different regions /
sections of the US
 Main issue was slavery
 Whig Zachary Taylor wins as a moderate, but dies
16 mos. Later
 Owned slaves, but did not want it expanded to
new states

Free Labor Party
Short lived party, becomes part of Republican Party
(1846-1854)
 Opposed slavery in Western Territories
 Hinton Rowan Helper’s The Impending Crisis of the
South (1857)
 All work in a “free society” was honorable
Central component of US was social mobility
“American Dream”

 Social
mobility is incompatible with slavery so
slavery is incompatible with democracy
 Key feature of Republican party’s platform
 Virtually banned in the South; Huge in North
Compromise of 1850
CA quickly applies for statehood after the Gold Rush
 1849
 Free or Slave?
 Henry “Great Compromiser” Clay sought to settle
disputes between North and South
CA = free soil
Rest of Mexican cession would allow slavery

Free and Slave States and Territories, 1848
Abolish
slave trade in DC
Create fugitive slave law
 Heated debate; Failed to bring unity
Fugitive Slave Law

Constitution required the return of escaped slaves,
but many Northerners refused
 Underground Railroad – Harriet Tubman
Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) federal govt. can
force states to return slaves
 Abolitionists vowed to resist
South saw this as violation of basic rights

Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852
 Shaped views on slavery
Kansas–Nebraska Act
 Proposed


by Stephen A. Douglas
 Popular Sovereignty – People in each new state vote
on slavery
 Repealed the Missouri Compromise
Firestorm of opposition to expansion of slavery into the
territories
 Abraham Lincoln
Division between Northern & Southern Whigs leads to
the new Republican Party
 Abolition
Bleeding Kansas

Free & Slave state supporters poured into Kansas
 Majority were free soil
 Slavery supporters were able to organize and
create a Constitution 1st
Senate approved KS as a slave state
Lecompton Constitution
House approved KS as a free state
Virtual Civil War in Kansas early 1856
 John Brown’s raid on Pottawatomie
 Dispute led to caning of Senator Charles
Sumner
Preston Brooks
 Congress sides with abolitionists and Kansas
becomes a free soil state

Dred Scott Case
“If a slave traveled to free territory were they in turn
free?”
 Majority of Supreme Court justices from South
Slaves are not citizens (property)
Govt. exists to defend/protect private property
Missouri Compromise’s ban on slavery
unconstitutional
 Further intensified slave controversy

Election of 1856


Mostly Sectional election
 Republicans North
 Democrats South
 American Party Midwest and South
Democrats narrowly win with support for popular
sovereignty
 James Buchanan
Counties Carried by Candidates in the 1856 Presidential Election
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Economic Division of North and South
U.S. second-leading industrial producer in the world
by late 1850s
 Mass Production
 Increasing US education
 “King Cotton” defined southern economy
 Labor conditions in North were horrible
 Slave system better than the free market????
 Owners care more for their slaves


Panic of 1857 intensified sectional hostility
 South fared better than rest of country
 North blamed South for blocking tariffs to protect
Northern goods
THE ELECTION OF LINCOLN
Lincoln–Douglas Debates
Illinois U.S. Senate seat in 1858 election
 Lincoln “nation could not remain half-slave and halffree”
 Douglas won, but Lincoln elevated to national
prominence
 Freeport Doctrine
 Basically, popular sovereignty

Election of 1860
Vote was divided among 4 political parties
 Democrats – Popular Sovereignty
 Southern Rights Democrats – Outright Slavery
 Constitutional Union
 Republican – Abolition
 Lincoln won with 40% of popular vote

™
Election of
1860 and
Southern
Secession
Lower South Secedes



Lincoln’s election sparked fears of total assault on
slavery
 Southerners saw the Union as a voluntary compact,
and states could leave if they wished
 7 states seceded by Lincoln’s inauguration
Most Northerners saw secession as unconstitutional and
treasonable
Failed attempts at compromise in 1860 and 1861
 Crittenden Compromise most notable
™
Election of
1860 and
Southern
Secession
Establishment of the Confederacy
Constitution protected slavery in both the states and
the territories
 Strengthened state sovereignty and limited federal
governmental power
 Limited president to 1 six-year term
 Sought to encourage upper South to secede

Fort Sumter Issue
Confederates demanded federal withdrawal from
fort in Charleston Harbor
 Federal forces refused, Confederacy attacked in
April 1861
Lincoln inaugurated in March 1861
 Union = North
 Confederacy = South

Discussion Questions







What was the Compromise of 1850? What impact did it have on the
issue of slavery?
How did Northerners resist the Fugitive Slave Law? How effective was
this resistance?
What were the major factors in 1848 that led to the Civil War?
Evaluate the events that facilitated “Bleeding Kansas.” Did Kansas
foreshadow the coming war?
Discuss the Dred Scott case. Was it an example of poor or sound
judicial decision making?
Examine John Brown’s role in events prior to 1860. Was he a hero to
a noble cause or a criminal?
What events from 1860 to 1861 sparked the Civil War?