Name: ______________________________ 1
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Period:__________
Mapping
Chapter 17: Expansion Completed
Directions:
Read the following information then complete the activities that follow.
The Aroostook War:
A boundary dispute simmered between Maine and New Brunswick, Canada ever since the Treaty of
Paris in 1783. The area was thinly settled in the early
years, but by the 1830s rival gangs of lumberjacks inhabited
the area near the Aroostook River. Altercations followed
and one American was seized by the Canadians. Passions
for war grew on both sides.
Maine raised forces for the anticipated fight, but
Winfield Scott arrived in the region and persuaded the
sides to agree to submit the matter to a commission. (The
matter was eventually resolved in the Webster-Ashburton
Treaty of 1842.)
The Aroostook War was an undeclared and
bloodless conflict which heightened tensions between
Britain and the United States. Some people were critical of
President Van Buren for not taking stronger and more
immediate action against the former mother country.
The Oregon Question:
Far to the north and west of Texas, the United States and several
other nations vied for the Oregon Country: the land north of California and
west of the Rocky Mountains. The territory was variously claimed from the
sixteenth century by Spain, Russia, Britain, and the United States. However,
by the mid-1820s, only the American and British claims endured. The two
nations agreed in 1818 to a "joint occupation" of Oregon in which citizens of
both countries could settle; this arrangement lasted until 1846
The Oregon settlers from the United States and Britain were very different groups. The British
were chiefly fur traders associated with the Hudson's Bay Company, while the Americans were a more
eclectic lot. American settlement began in the 1830s when Protestant missionaries moved into the
Willamette Valley. Their accounts of the fertile soil of the region spread rapidly to the East and spurred a
massive migration of thousands of American families westward along the Oregon Trail. The resulting
population disparity along with an overall decline in the fur trade convinced the British government to work
for a negotiated settlement to the Oregon issue.
As with Texas, popular opinion over the Oregon Country was divided. Whereas Texas territory
would have added proslavery representation in Congress, any potential states formed from the Oregon
Country would be Free states. Accordingly, Northerners were the chief advocates of acquiring as much
Oregon Country as possible.
Name: ______________________________ 2
#:________
Period:__________
Mapping
Chapter 17: Expansion Completed
In the presidential election of 1844, Democrat James K. Polk rode to victory over his Whig
opponent Henry Clay on an aggressively expansionist platform that welded together the Texas and Oregon
issues. Democrats appealed to the expansionist sentiments of both Northern and
Southern voters and their shared desire to safeguard the sectional balance in
Congress. After winning the election, Polk articulated his foreign policy goals:
settlement of the Oregon dispute with Britain, annexation of Texas, and the acquisition
of California from Mexico. The acquisition of California represented a significant
expansion of American interest in Mexican territory and promised to complicate an
already tense Mexican-American relationship over Texas.
Negotiations between the United States and Britain over the Oregon Country
began in the summer of 1845. The initial American proposal called for the boundary to
be drawn at the 49th parallel, bisecting Vancouver Island. When British negotiators rejected this proposal,
President Polk took a bolder position by reasserting his campaign promise to support the 54° 40' line and
announcing the American intent to terminate the joint occupancy agreement within a year. While
expansionist Northerners cheered these provocative actions with shouts of "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!,"
Southerners in Congress made it clear that they would not risk war with Britain over Oregon.
British leaders were similarly adverse to conflict and did not want to jeopardize their important
economic relationship with the United States. In June 1846, the Senate, preoccupied with war against
Mexico, quickly approved the Oregon Treaty with Britain, setting the boundary at the 49th parallel.
Part A: In Column I is a list of acquisitions the United States made to form its shape and size as of 1853. In
Column II are descriptions of how the territories were obtained. Match the data in Column II with the
territories in Column I by placing the appropriate letter in the space provided.
Column I
_____ 1.
_____ 2.
Texas annexation
_____ 5.
_____ 6.
_____ 7.
_____ 8.
Boundary to the
Mississippi River
Original Thirteen
Colonies
British Cession at
the 49th parallel
Gadsden Purchase
Mexican Cession
Louisiana Purchase
Florida Cession
_____ 9.
_____ 10.
Oregon territory
Northern Maine
_____ 3.
_____ 4.
Column II
a. Gained by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for a
price of $15,000,000 and the cancellation of debts.
b. Gained as a result of the Webster-Ashburton
Treaty
c. Bought from Mexico for $10,000,000 to obtain
land for the Transatlantic Railroad.
d. Acquired from England as part of the boundaries
set in the Treaty of Paris 1783
e. Obtained in the Adams-Onis Treaty
ab. S as part of the Convention of 1818
ac. Napoleon offered the land for $15,000,000
ad. Acquired when this country wanted to become a
state.
ae. "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"
bc. Recognized as independent by Britain 1783
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Period:__________
Mapping
Chapter 17: Expansion Completed
Part B: On the outline map below, label properly the ten territorial acquisitions listed in Part A including
the country and date of acquisition. Color or outline each area a different color.