Manifest Destiny
By: Tasha J. Ferrell
Western Pioneers
Settling New Land
 I Can Statements:
 Explain how the idea of Manifest Destiny and new
agricultural equipment encouraged Western
settlement.
Why go West?
 Religion
 Farming
 Louis O’Sullivan declared that it was the “manifest
destiny” of Americans “to overspread the continent
allotted by Providence.”
 Manifest Destiny: God had bestowed the entire
continent to the Americans and wants to settle
western lands.
Farming New Lands
 Squatters: early pioneers who settled on lands they
did not own.
 Preemption Act of 1830: protects squatters by
guaranteeing them the right to claim land before it
was surveyed and the right to buy up to 160 acres at
the governments minimum price of $1.25 per acre.
Plows and Reapers
 1819: Jethro Wood patented an iron-bladed plow.
 1837: John Deere engineered a plow with steel
blades.
 Cyrus McCormick 1834 mechanical reaper.
Settling the Pacific Coast
 US, Britain, Native Americans all claimed parts of
the Oregon Country.
 Westward Migration
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Trapping beavers and selling furs
Oregon Trail
Five to Six months to travel
Wagon at 15 miles per day
Native Americans
 Attacked rarely
 Treaty of Fort Laramie 1851, US promised 8 Native
American groups that specific territories of the
Great Plains would belong to them as long as they
allowed settlers to pass through peacefully. The
group would also receive payments from the
government.
The Mormon Migration
 Religious Freedom
 Leave the eastern states
 1844: Mob murdered Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
Two years later, leader Brighian Young, took
followers West.
 Mormon Trail
Lesson 2
The Hispanic Southwest
 Mexican Independence and the Boarder Lands
 1821 Mexico wins Independence from Spain
 Turmoil and political chaos
 Threatened by Native Americans and Western settlers
California
 Spanish Don’s: white wealthy ranchers 10% of population.
 Mestizos (mixed European and Native American ancestry).
Worked as cowboys, but many where skilled crafts people.
 Native Americans were at the bottom.
 Upper class women had rights
 Men played powerful role
 Hispanic women retained controlled over their own property
after marriage and could seek legal redress in the courts.
New Mexico
 Little immediate change to New Mexico.
 Largely rural
 Sheep ranching
 Corn, peppers, potatoes
 Navajo and Apache led riots on New Mexico
 People of New Mexico launched a rebellion and
killed unpopular territorial governor and 16 other
government officials.
Americans Arrive in the
Border lands

American influence grows.
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Settle in California
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Trade increase with Mexico
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John Sutter builds “Sutter’s Fort,” 1st place many Americans reached in California.
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More Americans=more tension
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William Becknell arrived in Santa Fe and opened the Santa Fe Trail
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Americans are invited to settle in Texas
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Led to a revolt
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California and New Mexico remained Mexican Territory for 25 years after Mexican
Independence. Texas broke away after 15 years.
Homework
 Chapter 7 Section 1 and 2 Questions 1-5
Lesson 3
Independence for Texas
 Opening Texas to Americans
 Colonization laws
 Cheap land to anyone willing to move there
 Immigrants get a 10 year exemption of taxes if they
became Mexican citizens and converted to Roman
Catholicism.
 National Colonization Act: Mexico gave empresarios,
“agent” or “contractors,” large grants of Texas land. In
exchange the agents promised to fill the land with a
certain number of settlers and govern the colonies
they established.
Americanizing Texas
 Americans accepted Mexican citizenship but not
Mexican customs or Roman Catholicism.
 Mexicans distrusted settlers
 1830 Mexico closed its borders to immigration, by
Americans and banned the importation of enslaved
labor as well.
 Imported goods taxed.
Texas Goes to War
 Early Battles:
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Mexican Armies had serious problems
Political instability in Mexico City
Texans took charge of the city
Texans drove the Mexican army out of San Antonio
March 2, 1836: Texas declared Independence from
Mexico.
The Alamo
 Few Texas rebels had any military training. No
leader
 Sam Houston took command
 The people of Texas held off the army for 13 days.
 During the standoff the new Texas government
declared Independence.
The Republic of Texas
 Sept. 1836:
 Sam Houston was their first president and voted in favor
of annexation or becoming part of the United States.
 North did not want to annex Texas
 President Andrew Jackson did not want to increase
tensions between North and South or risk a war with
Mexico.
 Jackson made no move toward annexation.
 He did sign a resolution officially recognizing the
Independence of Texas.
Lesson 4
The War with Mexico
 Southern states wanted Texas as a slave state
 Northern states wanted Texas as a free state
 Mexico did not recognize Texas Independence
Election of 1844
 Henry Clay: Whig Party
 James Polk: Democrat
 Big debate is over annexation of Texas and
expanding into the Oregon Territory.
 Polk wins the election
Fifty-four Forty or Fight
 Declared the the United States should control all of
Oregon below the line of 54* 40’ north latitude.
 Oregon Treaty: US received all of Oregon south of
49* north latitude and west of the Rocky Mountains,
except for the southern tip of Vancouver Island. In
exchange, the British were guaranteed navigation
rights on the Columbia River.
Annexation of Texas
 Mexico and US dispute the southern border of
Texas
 Polk also wanted to take California
 The war with Mexico begins.
War with Mexico
 Polk wanted to go to war but wanted Mexico to
start the war so that he could win the popular vote
with Congress.
 Mexico starts the war. Congress declares War
 3 part plan to take the land
 50,000 volunteers were need 73,000 volunteered
Fighting Begins
 In a few weeks US owned California
 General Winfield Scott claims a strategic port
 Peace Treaty:
 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
 Mexico ceded some 500,000 square miles of territory to the
Untied States. California, Utah, Nevada, parts of New
Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming.
 Rio Grande is the southern border of Texas.
 US paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to take over $3.25
million in debts Mexico owed to American citizens.
 US now stretched from ocean to ocean
Homework
 Chapter 7 Assessment Questions 1-10