Ch. 17:
Manifest Destiny and its
Legacy
1841-1848
1841-1845
Pres. Harrison (9th)
Whig
(dies after 4 wks in office)
V.P. Tyler (10th)
“Democrat in Whig
clothing”
Manifest Destiny
Reasons & Effects?
1. New markets needed
2. Increase trade w/Asia if
we had western ports
3. Democrats
a. Expansionist
b. Eco. necessity
c. Increase slavery
4. Whigs
growth through
industrialization not
agriculture
John O’Sullivan
Aroostook “War” 1839
• The only war ever declared by a state.
 Between the Canadian region of New
Brunswick and the state of Maine.
 Cause: The expulsion of Canadian lumberjacks in the
disputed area of Aroostook by Maine officials.
 Congress called up 50,000 men and voted for
$10,000,000 to pay for the “war.”
 General Winfield Scott arranged a truce, and a
border commission was convened to resolve the issue.
Maine Boundary Settlement, 1842
Texas Declaration of Independence
Key Figures in Texas Independence, 1836
Sam Houston
(1793-1863)
Steven Austin
(1793-1836)
The Republic of Texas
1836-1845
The Lone Star State
Still considered province of Mexico
Independence was not recognized by Mexico but by
France, Holland, and Belgium
GB toyed with idea of an independent Texas; divide and
conquer U.S. and U.S. stop expansion =
Free trade at ports, abolition, and cotton production
attractive for G.B.
Thanks to Pres. Tyler for annexation of Texas
Westward Bound!
Should we worry
about being attacked
by Natives?
>250,000 move between 1840 and 1860
The Oregon Trail –
Albert Bierstadt, 1869
Realities
“Oregon Fever”
1. Early on:
commercial/fur
2. Convention of 1818:
US/GB share territory
3. Settled by
a. Farmers
b. Fur trappers
c. Missionaries
4. Free land & patriotism
Settling Oregon
a. Settlers made state
constitution – British
not happy!
b. “54’ 40 or Fight!”
Oregon Treaty
peacefully settles
boundary dispute at the
49th parallel (1846)
under Pres. Polk; too
many of us in the
territory!
Texas and Election of 1844
Democrat
Whig
Henry Clay
James K. Polk
“Young Hickory”
Texas and Election of 1844
1. Issues of election
James Birney
a. Expansion
b. Slavery
c. Statehood for Texas
2. Liberty Party – 3rd
party
Liberty Party
American Progress, 1872 John Gast
Manifest Destiny
John L. O’Sullivan, 1845
".... the right of our manifest destiny to over spread and
to possess the whole of the continent which Providence
has given us for the development of the great experiment of
liberty and federaltive development of self-government
entrusted to us. It is right such as that of the tree to the
space of air and the earth suitable for the full expansion of
its principle and destiny of growth."
The West: romantic and adventurous?
Goals of “Young Hickory”
1. Established an
independent treasury
system
2. Acquire Oregon
Country
3. Reduce tariffs
4. Acquire California
and New Mexico
from Mexico
From Tennessee!
The Mexican-American War
May 1846- Feb.1848
Origins Of the Mex-Amer War
1. Border disputes: “I say Rio
Grande, you say Nueces!”
2. $25 m offer by Polk to Mex
for Rio Grande, N.M., and
Ca. = they refused
3. Polk sets the stage:
a.
b.
c.
Sends Gen. Taylor to Rio Grande
Navy @ Ca. ports if war declared
Supports Bear Flag Revolt =
Ca. Independence 1846.
4. April 1846: Exaggerated
skirmish = war
Mexican Dictator
Santa Anna
Double-crosser!
Battle of Buena Vista
Feb. 1847
5,000 American vs. 20,000 Mexicans
Lead by Gen. Zachary Taylor
Battle of Mexico City
Sept. 1847
Gen. Winfield Scott
To the victor the spoils!
Mr. Polk’s War
1.
Not all in Congress on board
a.
b.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lincoln/Whigs –
“unnecessary war”
Presidential war powers
questioned
Although no military
experience, Polk controls
strategy = “commander in
chief”
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(Feb. 1848)
Gadsden Purchase - $10 m for
TRR under Pres. Pierce
Diplomatic relations worsen
between LA and US.
Mexican-American War was
practice for what was to come…
Wilmot Proviso (1846)
No slavery in any of the territory ceded by Mexico
Northern Whigs and Democrats vs.
Southern Whigs and democrats
Gadsden Purchase
http://vimeo.com/10734221