Read the two quotes to
the right…
After reading, answer
these questions:
1.
How does each
quote express the
American belief of
Manifest Destiny?
2.
What reasoning
does O’Sullivan give
for spreading
across the
continent?
3.
Why does
President Polk
think the U.S.
should expand its
borders?
4.
How did Manifest
Destiny affect
different groups of
people?
“It is my duty to assert and maintain by all constitutional
means the right of the United States to that portion of our
territory which lies beyond the Rocky Mountains. The word
sees the peaceful triumphs of the hard work of our emigrants.
To the US Government belongs the duty of protecting them
adequately wherever they may be upon our soil. The
protection of our laws and the benefits of our democratic
government should be extended over them in the distant
regions which they have selected for their homes.”
James Polk – President of the U.S. 1845-1849
“The American claim is by right of our manifest destiny to
overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the development of the great
experiment of liberty and our democratic government
entrusted to us. It is a right such as that of the tree to the
space of air and earth suitable for the full expansion of its
principle and destiny of growth. It is in our future far more
than in our past or in the past history of Spanish
exploration…that our true title is found.”
John O’Sullivan – reporter for the Morning News
 Definition:
Commonly held belief that the
United States’ destiny was to expand to the
Pacific Ocean and into Mexican territory.
 Farmers
move west, why?
 Merchants
 What
follow, why?
affect did this idea have on the Native
Americans?
 Lewis
and Clark: explored the Louisiana
Territory from 1804-1806 commissioned by
Thomas Jefferson. The expedition recorded
invaluable information about the western
territories.
 Zebulon
Pike: explored the southern portion
of the Louisiana Territory trying to find the
headwaters of the Red River. He was
captured by the Spanish, but not before
discovering what is now Pikes Peak.
 The
growth of railroads and canals helped
the growth of an industrial economy and
supported the westward movement of
settlers.
 People




moved west to:
Escape economic problems (panic of 1837)
Religious freedoms (Mormons head to Utah)
Discovery of Gold (the losing team in the Super
Bowl was named after these fortune-seekers)
Large tracts of land (wide open spaces out there)
 Americans
began moving into Texas to grow
cotton.
 Tensions grow in Texas over:

Limited immigration
Heavy tax on American goods
Unstable government in Mexico
Slavery Issue (Mexico abolished it in 1824)

James K Polk makes Texas the 28th state in 1845.




Turn in your textbooks to read p288-292 and take
notes in the box for Texas.
 Texas
annexation causes tension between
Mexico and the U.S.
 Polk sends John Slidell to Mexico to purchase
Cali and NM. Mexican officials refuse to
meet=immediate cause of Mexican War!
 In
1846, Zachary Taylor is sent to the Rio Grande
to blockade the river, Mexico responds by
sending troops and killing 9 soldiers near
Matamoros.

Turn to Section 4, p. 293-299 to take notes on Mexican War
In Groups of 3-4
Use the notes you took, your textbook, and
any technology you have to complete the
Mexican War graphic organizer.
When you finish
Complete the Manifest Destiny Map.