Chapter 13:
Completing the
Country
Manifest
Destiny
•America’s “divine
destiny” to possess land
from the Atlantic to the
Pacific.
•How does the painting
represent the idea of
Manifest Destiny?
Oregon Trail (1811-1868)
•
•
Independence (MO) to Portland (OR)
Santa Fe Trail (1821-1868)
•
•
Independence (Missouri) to Santa Fe (NM) to Los Angeles (CA)
Mormon Trail (1846-1868)
•
•
From Nauvoo to Independence to Salt Lake Valley (Utah)
California Trail (1847-1868)
•
•
Independence (MO) to Ft. Hall (ID) to San Francisco (CA)
Texas
The Texans were American immigrants
into Mexico.
Tensions grow when: 1. Texans are
forced to be Catholics, 2. Texans are
pro-slavery, and 3. Mexico refuses to
allow more Texan immigrants.
Stephen Austin urges Texans to
declare independence when Santa
Anna, Mexico’s president/dictator,
threatened Texans to obey Mexico’s
laws.
The Alamo
•
The Alamo was a Texas mission fortress attacked and overrun by a
Mexican Army
•
All Texan defenders in the Alamo were killed.
•
This angers the Texans
•
“Remember the Alamo!” becomes the rallying cry for the Texan Army and
they defeat General Santa Anna.
•
The Republic of Texas becomes independent (1837) and was its own
country for a few years.
•
Texas is admitted into the Union as a slave state (1845).
Mexican-American War
April 25, 1846 – February 2, 1848
Causes of War
•
Manifest Destiny: America covets the California territory.
•
Disputes over the Texas-Mexican border
•
•
Mexico claims it is the Nueces River
•
US claims it is the Rio Grande River
Polk uses a confrontation between the US Army and the
Mexican Army to declare war.
Results of the War
•
Many Civil War generals gained their experience in this war (Robert E. Lee,
Ulysses S. Grant, George McClellan, Stonewall Jackson)
•
America invaded Mexico and captured Mexico City.
•
Treaty of Guadalupe forced Mexico to sell 55% of their country to the US.
•
Manifest Destiny was completed.
Westward Bound
Mormons and Forty-Niners
•
•
Mormons (1847):
•
Fled to the West from Illinois to find a safe place to live
and practice their religion.
•
They settled in the Salt Lake Valley
Forty-Niners:
•
A large number of settlers arrived in the San Francisco
area around 1849 to look for gold.
•
Due to the enormous growth during the Gold Rush,
California quickly becomes a state.