Chapter 9
Americans Head West
 In 1800 less than 400,000 settlers lived west of the
Appalachian Mountains.
 By the beginning of the Civil War, more Americans
lived west of the Appalachians than lived along the
Atlantic coast.
 Americans moved west for religious reasons and to
own their own farms.
American Westward Expansion
1783: Treaty of Paris
- America stretches
from Atlantic Coast
to Mississippi River
1803: Louisiana Purchase
- Extends American
western boundary to the
Rockies
1819: Adams-Onis Treaty
- America acquires
Florida from Spain
Americans Head West
 A magazine editor (John Louis O’Sullivan) declared
the movement west was Manifest Destiny – the idea
that God had given the continent to Americans and
wanted them to settle western lands.
 The first settlers west of the Appalachians were
squatters, because they settled on lands they did not
own.
Americans Head West
 Farming in the Midwest was made easier by new
farming technology.
 In 1819 Jethro Wood patented a plow with an iron
blade.
 In 1837 John Deere designed a plow with sharp-edged
steel blades that cut cleanly through the tough
Midwestern sod.
 In 1834 Cyrus McCormick patented the mechanical
reaper.
Settling the Pacific Coast
 Native Americans and other nations had already
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claimed parts of Oregon and California
The United States and Great Britain both wanted to
own Oregon.
Mexico controlled California, but its distance from
Mexico City made it difficult to govern.
In 1839 a German immigrant, John Sutter, built a
trading post and cattle ranch on 50,000 acres in
Sacramento Valley.
Gold would later be found near his mill around 1849.
Settling the Pacific Coast
 By the 1840s, mountain men had carved out several
east-west passages, such as the Oregon Trail.
 These trails were very important to the settlement of
the west.
 Wagon trains used mountain men as guides at first,
but over time relied on guidebooks written by earlier
emigrants.
The Mormon Migration
 In 1844 a mob murdered the Mormon leader Joseph
Smith.
 Brigham Young, the new leader of the Mormons,
decided to take his people west in search of religious
freedom
 Several thousand Mormons emigrated on the Mormon
Trail.
 In 1847 the Mormons stopped at the Great Salt Lake to
build their new settlement
Checking for Understanding
 Idea popular in the United States during the 1800s that
the country must expand its boundaries to the Pacific
Ocean.
 Manifest Destiny
Review
 What two inventions made it easier to farm the
frontier?
 The steel-blade plow and the mechanical reaper.
Opening Texas to Americans
 Texas was under Mexican control after Mexico
achieved independence from Spain in 1821.
 Because the Spanish-speaking people of the area
refused to move to the northern part of the region
where Native American groups lived, Mexico invited
Americans and other to settle there.
Texas Independence
Americans invited by
Mexico to move to Texas if
they:
- Became Mexican
citizens
- Became Roman
Catholics
- Did not bring
slaves
- Americans come but don’t follow rules
Opening Texas to Americans
 At first, the Americans agreed to Mexican citizenship,
as required for settlement.
 The Americans did not adopt Mexican customs,
however, nor did they think of Mexico as their country.
 In 1830 Mexico closed its borders to immigration by
Americans
Opening Texas to Americans
 The government also banned the import of enslaved
labor and discouraged trade with the United States.
 These new laws angered settlers.
Texas Goes to War
 American settlers in Texas asked Mexico to reopen
Texas to American immigrants and to decrease the
taxes on imports.
 A convention held in 1833 asked Mexico to create a
new Mexican state. (Texas)
 They wrote a constitution for the new state but the
Mexican government denied it.
Texas Goes to War
 Stephen Austin persuaded Mexican President
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to agree to lift the
immigration ban and other demands.
 Austin had written a letter suggesting that Texas
should organize its own state government.
 Mexican officials intercepted the letter and he was
arrested.
Texas Goes to War
 In April 1834, Santa Anna denounced the Mexican
constitution and made himself dictator.
 When Austin was released from prison in 1835, he
urged Texans to organize an army, since he foresaw war
with Mexico.
 Eventually, Sam Houston, a former governor of
Tennessee and an experienced military leader, took
command of the Texas army.
Texas Goes to War
 When Santa Anna and his forces came to San Antonio
in 1836, over 180 Texan rebels were at the Alamo, an
abandoned mission inside the town.
 The small force, commanded by William B. Travis
and joined by 32 settlers, held off Santa Anna’s army
for 13 days.
 On March 6, 1836, Santa Anna’s army defeated the
Texans at the Alamo.
Texas Goes to War
 During this time, the new Texas government declared
independence from Mexico.
 At the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston and his
Texas troops launched a surprise attack on the
Mexican army.
 They captured Santa Anna, who was forced to sign a
treaty recognizing independence for the Republic of
Texas.
Major Battles
Alamo:
-188 Texans vs
2000 Mexicans
- Every Texan
killed and burned
San Jacinto:
- Texans defeat
Mexican Army and
capture Santa Ana
Texas becomes
an independent
country!
- 1845: United States annexes Texas
Texas Goes to War
 In 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the
Republic of Texas.
 The citizens of Texas voted for annexation – to
become part of the United States.
 Many northern members of Congress were against
admitting Texas as a slave state.
Texas and Oregon Enter the Union
 In 1844, Congress voted against annexation of Texas.
 Many northern Congressmen felt that it was a pro-
slavery plot.
 James K. Polk, a candidate in the 1844 presidential
election promised to annex Texas and Oregon and to
buy California from Mexico. He won.
 President Tyler annexed Texas before Polk took office
and Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the US.
 Mexico and the U.S. government disputed the
southern border of Texas.
Texas and Oregon Enter the Union
 In public, Polk said the U.S. had a right to Oregon.
Those people who supported this stand on Oregon
used the slogan “Fifty-four Forty or Fight.”
 In private, Polk agreed to split the territory with Great
Britain.
 In June 1846, the two countries agreed that the U.S.
would acquire most of Oregon south of 49° north
latitude.
Election of 1844
James Polk: Promises to expand America
Oregon Country
- “54° 40’ or Fight”
- Boundary dispute
with England
- 1846Compromise:
Boundary set: 49 °
The War with Mexico
 Polk sent a representative to negotiate the purchase of
California from Mexico. Mexico refused to meet with
him.
 Polk sent troops across the Nueces River, led by
Zachary Taylor.
 Mexico saw this as an invasion of their country and
sent troops to attack.
 Polk declared war on Mexico.
The War with Mexico
 Taylor defeated the Mexican forces under Santa Anna
 In California, John C. Fremont had little trouble
overcoming the Mexican presence there.
 On June 14, 1846, the settlers declared California
independent from Mexico and named the region the
Bear Flag Republic.
 A few weeks later, the U.S. Navy took possession of
California for the United States.
 In 1847 the U.S. defeated Mexico and took over Mexico
City.
The War with Mexico
 In 1848 Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo and ceded, or gave up, 500,000 miles of land
to the United States.
 This land is now the states of California, Utah, and
Nevada, as well as most of New Mexico and Arizona,
and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
 Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the southern
border of Texas.
 The U.S. paid Mexico $15 million and took over $3.5
million in debt Mexico owed U.S. citizens.
Reviewing Themes
 The idea of Manifest Destiny was realized as a result of
the war with Mexico. What new problems did this
increase in land cause for the United States?
 The increase caused the expansion of slavery into the
new land.