125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Objectives
•
Trace the settlement and development of
the Spanish borderlands.
•
Explain the concept of Manifest Destiny.
•
Describe the causes and challenges of
westward migration.
Migrating to the West
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Terms and People
•
Junipero Serra – Franciscan priest who set up
a series of missions along the California coast
•
expansionist – American who favored
territorial growth
•
Manifest Destiny – belief that God wanted the
United States to own all of North America
•
Santa Fe Trail – wagon trail trade route
between Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Terms and People
(continued)
•
Mountain Men – American hunters and trappers
who blazed trails into the Rockies in the early 1800s
•
Oregon Trail – trail from Independence, Missouri
to Oregon that was used by pioneers in the
mid-1800s
•
Brigham Young – Mormon leader who brought
his religious group to Utah in 1847
•
Treaty of Fort Laramie – 1851 treaty that
restricted the Plains Indians to territories away
from the overland wagon routes
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
What were the causes of westward
migration?
By the 1840s, American migrants were
crossing into Oregon and California seeking
economic opportunity.
Soon, these and other western lands became
part of the United States, helping the nation
grow in both wealth and power.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The Spanish founded New Mexico
in 1598 but the area grew slowly.
•
In 1765, there were 9,600 Hispanics,
located mainly around El Paso, Santa Fe,
and the Rio Grande Valley.
•
Settlers were threatened by nomadic
tribes on horseback, primarily the Apache.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The Spanish built a mixture of missions,
ranches, and fortified military presidios
to protect against Indian attacks.
Texas was an under-populated
buffer, protecting towns and
mines of Mexico against
nomadic raiders. In 1760,
there were only 1,200 settlers,
mostly around San Antonio.
Development was slow. By
1821 New Mexico still had
only 40,000 settlers.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Spanish Territory 1820
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
At first,
California
developed
very slowly.
•
In the 1760s, a few small
settlements served as a buffer
against Russian traders
moving south from Alaska.
•
Father Junipero Serra, a
Franciscan priest, set up a
string of missions to convert
Indians.
•
When Spain left in 1821, more
than 18,000 Christian Indians
lived in the missions.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
American expansionists believed in the idea
of Manifest Destiny. John L. O’Sullivan,
a journalist, coined the phrase in 1845.
Manifest Destiny was the belief that God
favored U.S. expansion westward to the Pacific.
Expansionists saw Mexican independence
as an opportunity to take New Mexico, Texas,
and California.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Expansionists did not
care about Mexicans
or Native Americans,
whom they saw as
inferiors to be pushed
out of the way.
Southern
expansionists also
hoped to add new
slave states to
strengthen their
position in Congress.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The first Americans attracted to the west
were Mountain Men like Jedediah Smith
who blazed trails across the Sierra
Nevada into California.
The Mountain Men
crossed the Rockies
seeking beaver pelts.
They established fur
trading routes later
followed by wagon
trains of settlers.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
During the 1840s,
20,000 Americans
migrated to
California,
Oregon, and Utah
by covered
wagon.
In 1836, Marcus and
Narcissa Whitman
established a trading post
on what became the Oregon
Trail. Many were attracted
to Oregon’s Willamette
Valley.
In 1842, John C. Freemont
led an expedition following
trails blazed by the
Whitmans and the Mountain
Men. His reports attracted
settlers.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The Oregon,
Mormon, and
Santa Fe Trails
were popular
routes west.
Between
1840 and 1860,
260,000
crossed the
continent.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Groups of 10–100 wagons and
50–1,000 people left Missouri
in early spring for an uncertain
future.
•
The 2,000-mile trip took several months.
•
They by passed the dry Great Plains and the
deserts of the Great Basin.
•
Emigrants faced exposure, starvation, disease,
poisoned streams and hostile Indians.
•
The Donner Party resorted to cannibalism to
survive blizzards in the Sierra Nevada.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The Mormons migrated west after an Illinois mob
murdered their spiritual leader Joseph Smith.
•
In 1847, Brigham Young brought them to
Utah where they established New Zion.
•
By 1860, there were 40,000 Mormons living near
Great Salt Lake.
•
Young remained the group’s leader for 30 years,
including eight as territorial governor of Utah.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
The federal government sought to protect
settlers by restricting the Plains Indians.
•
Settlers traveling west generally avoided
the Native Americans.
•
The Plains Indians attempted to cling to
their nomadic way of life, but their
future was limited.
•
In 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie
restricted Native Americans from areas
near wagon routes.
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins
125
Section
Chapter
Section
1
Westward Migration, 1840s
Western
Trail
Number of
Settlers
Destination
When
California Trail
2,700
California
1842–1848
Mormon Trail
4,600
Utah
1847–1848
Oregon Trail
11,500
Oregon
1842–1848
Migrating
to the West
The Cold War
Begins