I. Administration of Harrison (9th) and Tyler (10th)
A. Inauguration 4 March 1841
1. Harrison gave the longest inaugural address in US history, 70 minutes, in which
he made it clear he would defer to Congressional leadership.
2. It was delivered hatless on a cold and stormy day, after which the President fell
ill, dying of pneumonia within 30 days at age 68.
3. John Tyler was the 1st vice president to become president upon a president's
death.
a. Because the constitution did not specify who is to be president if the president
died, many questioned why Tyler was president.
b. Tyler signed papers, addresses and invitations "President John Tyler"
c. His critics called him His Accidency .
B. Tyler the Man
1. He soon revealed he was a true son of the South, VA Democrat of the "old Republican" school.
2. A widower, Tyler was the first president to be married while in the White House.
3. His new wife, Julia, began the custom of having "Hail to the Chief" played before the president
made an appearance.
4. Tyler had fourteen children, seven by each wife.
5. After leaving office, he was an active supporter of the Confederacy and was elected to the
Confederate House of Representatives, although he died before that body met.
C. Domestic Issues
1. Repeal of the Independent Treasury
a. Henry Clay in Congress introduced a bill to repeal the Independent Treasury established under
Van Buren's administration.
b. Clay desired to recharter another national bank, the Fiscal Bank of the United States, and
believed that Tyler had committed himself to such a measure.
c. Tyler vetoed the bank bill on constitutional and expediency reasons
d. A second bill was formed which met Tyler's objections and which some Whigs believed Tyler
would support, but when all the changes were not included, Tyler vetoed the second bill on similar
grounds
e. This second veto caused many Whigs to charge Tyler with duplicity (which the evidence does
not support)
2. Tyler's Loss of a Political Party
a. Because he differed with the Whigs on constitutional principles and practical measures, most of
his cabinet, Whigs appointed by Harrison and supporters of Henry Clay, resigned in September
1841 except for Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, appointed after Clay had refused the post.
b. Within five months, Tyler was read out of the Whig party.
c. His administration witnessed frequent cabinet shifts.
3. Congressional Bi-Elections
a. After Whigs lost control of the House of Representatives, their program failed in Congress
b. Senator Henry Clay resigned to consolidate the Whigs in preparation for 1844.
4. Beginnings of Nativism
a. Native American Association was formed at Washington in 1837.
b. Creation of the American Republican Party -- 1840s
(1) The influx of Irishmen fostered anti-foreigner, anti-Catholic sentiment, esp. in NY.
(2) A new party formed that opposed voting and office holding privileges for Catholics and
foreigners.
(3) Nativists elements in NY and elsewhere often combined with Whigs against Democrats.
c. Protestant resentment was also stirred up by requests from Catholics for public funds to aid their
parochial schools and for their opposition to reading the King James Bible in the public schools.
d. Nativist agitation in Philadelphia resulted in clashes between Catholics and Protes-tants in May
- July 1844, in which 20 persons were killed and 100 were wounded
e. Nativists at their first national convention at Philadelphia (July 1845) adopted the name Native
American Party and called for changes in US naturalization policy
f. In the 1850s Nativists revived as the Know-Nothing (American ) Party .
D. Foreign Policy Issues
1. Armistad Case Mar 1841
a. In 1839 Negroes being transported in Spanish ships as slaves, mutinied and were captured by a
US warship off Long Island.
b. The US Supreme Court sustained lower court rulings which freed the slaves
2. Creole Affair Mar 1842
a. A slave revolt on the Creole , a slaveship going from Hampton Roads VA to the New Orleans
slave market, resulted in the ship's seizure and a white sailor's death.
b. It sailed to Nassau, a British port, where the British, having abolished slavery, set the slaves
free, except for actual participants in the revolt.
c. Secretary of State Daniel Webster demanded the return of the slaves, but Britain took no action
to satisfy US demands (not until 1855 with an award of $110,330).
3. Webster-Ashburton Treaty 1842 (US and Great Britain)
a. Incidents like the Aroostook "war" led to talks between Secretary of State Daniel Webster and
special minister, Alexander Barring, First Lord Ashburton .
b. Terms of the Treaty
(1) The previous boundary established by the Treaty of Paris 1783 were scrapped and the present
boundary of Maine and New Brunswick was established.
(2) The US received about 7,000 of 12,000 square miles in dispute allowing Britain to retain its
military road between New Brunswick and Quebec.
(3) The US government paid both Maine and New Brunswick $150,000 to satisfy partially the
claims of each party.
(4) Boundary of northern VT and NY was established about 1/2 mile above the 45th parallel.
(5) The US retained navigation rights to the St. John River
(6) The line between the Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior was established which gave the
US the important Mesabi iron deposits.
4. Oregon Boundary Dispute
a. Anglo-American Convention in 1818 had established a ten-year joint-occupation of the Oregon
Territory (between 42d parallel and 54 40 and the Rockies and Pacific Ocean).
(1) The joint occupation was renewed in 1827 indefinitely, and could be unilaterally terminated
with a year's notice.
(2) A disputed area north of the Columbia River and south of 49th parallel emerged.
b. US claims
(1) Based on CPT Robert Gray's discovery of the Columbia River in 1792, the Lewis and Clark
expedition in 1804-06, US rights granted by Spain in 1819 and below 54 40 by Russia in 1824, the
fur-trading post established by John Astor as the first permanent settlement along the lower
Columbia, and actual possession by US settlers, led by Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries in
the Willamette Valley, south of the Columbia.
(2) In 1845, 5,000 Americans lived in the area below the Columbia River.
c. British claims
(1) Based on the Nootka Sound Treaty between Spain and Britain in 1790 recognizing British
claims, the explorations of CPT Cook (1778) and of CPT George Vancouver (1792) and of Sir
Alexander Mackenzie (1793) down the Fraser River, fur-trading activities of the Hudson's Bay Co.
which consolidated with the North West Co (composed of all British and Canadian fur-trading
operations), and the establishment of Ft McLeon, the first settlement in the Oregon interior in
1805 by the North West Co.
(2) Since the time of John Quincy Adams, the US had tried to fix the Oregon boundary along the
49th parallel, but Britain was unwilling to sacrifice trade along the Columbia river basin.
d. No difficulties arose until the American population increased in Oregon.
(1) Oregon settlers met in Champoeg in July 1843 and established a provisional government to
serve until the US extended its jurisdiction over Oregon territory.
(2) Britain was willing to make a boundary adjustment along the Columbia River.
(3) British apprehension was increased by the injection of the Oregon question by James K. Polk
into the presidential campaign of 1844
5. Texas Question
a. Anti-slave forces in the North kept Texas out of the US for almost ten years by successfully
portraying the Texas rebellion as having been caused by slave holders.
(1) Northern Whigs feared that Texas could be carved into several slave states.
(2) When Southern state legislatures passed resolutions calling for annexing Texas, Northern
legislatures countered with resolutions opposing its addition to the US
b. John Tyler hoped to add Texas to the union in order to win nomination to the presidency by the
Democrats, having alienated the Whigs.
c. Secretary of State Abel Upshur and Texas minister to the US Isaac Van Zandt concluded a
treaty (Spring 1844), whereby Texas would enter the US as a territory.
(1) Texas agreed after assurances that 2/3 of the US Senate supported the measure
(2) Upshur, killed in a boating accident, was replaced by John C. Calhoun.
(3) Calhoun, tying the annexation of Texas to the settlement of the Oregon issue, hoped to win the
presidential nomination for himself.
d. Unfortunately, Calhoun's documentation which accompanied the treaty to the US Senate
contained references to the benefits of adding Texas to the Union as a slave territory because
slavery benefited the African.
(1) An anti-slave Senator from Ohio, Benjamin Tappan , leaked the documents, meant for Senate
eyes only, to newspapers and a huge outcry against the treaty was made by abolitionists
throughout the North.
(2) The Senate rejected the treaty 35-18 in June, preferring to leave the issue to the Congress
which would convene after the approaching elections.
E. Election of 1844
1. Candidates
a. Democrats in Baltimore
(1) John Tyler, having failed to add Texas, and having firmly opposed the Whig program, was a
president without a political party.
(2) Van Buren was the almost certain choice for the nomination, but Southerners had added to the
National Convention in 1832 a two-thirds rule , whereby their nominee had to win 2/3 of the
delegates' support.
(3) Van Buren as early as 1842 had believed that Henry Clay would be the Whig nominee and
they had secretly agreed to keep the Texas annexation issue out of the presidential campaign.
(4) On the eve of their convention, Van Buren's southern opponents printed a letter from Andrew
Jackson dated July 1843 favoring adding Texas, which provided Van Buren with a crucial test.
(a) Agreement with the letter would cost him support of the key state of NY, where Democrats
split over the slavery question.
(b) If he disagreed, Van Buren would lose the Southern vote.
(5) Apr 1844 -- both Van Buren and Clay published letters opposed to the immediate annexation
of Texas
(a) Van Buren's letter suggested that to add Texas might involve the US in an unjustifiable war
with Mexico
(b) His declaration alienated Jackson and lost him Southern support.
(6) Jackson and other Southerners backed an "annexationist" from the Southwest, James K. Polk
(TN), first darkhorse candidate of a major party, (9th ballot)
(7) George M. Dallas (PA) was nominated for vice-president after Silas Wright (NY), Van Buren
supporter, declined the nomination.
b. Whigs in Baltimore
(1) Henry Clay , having resigned in the Senate after the Whigs lost control of the House in 1842
because he could not get the Whig program passed in Congress, worked to pull the party together,
getting a unanimous nomination for president
(2) Theodore Frelinghusen (NJ) was nominated for Vice-president
(3) Their platform was silent on Texas, made no reference to a national bank, and advocated a
single presidential term.
c. Liberty Party in Buffalo
(1) James G. Birney (NY) was unanimously nominated for president
(2) Thomas Morris (OH) was nominated for vice-president.
(3) Its platform of 21 planks, based almost entirely on the slavery issue, made no direct reference
to Texas but opposed the extension of slave territory.
d. A Democratic splinter group, backing Tyler, also met in Baltimore to nominate the President for
a second term, but because these followers numbered no more than 150,000, Tyler withdrew to
back the Democrats, bringing his followers into their camp and becoming the first president who
failed to stand for a second term.
2. Campaign -- Major Issue: Annexation of Texas
a. Henry Clay's previous attempt to keep the Texas issue out of this election now threatened to
undo his candidacy.
(1) Clay's Raleigh Letter had declared that to add Texas without Mexico's consent would lead to
war with that nation and threaten the Union's integrity.
(2) After his nomination, he attempted to clarify his position in the Alabama Letters , addressed
to Stephen F. Miller
(a) Abolitionists made the integrity of the Union of paramount importance.
(b) He favored adding Texas if it could be done without dishonor and without war and with the
common consent of the Union.
(c) Slavery ought not to enter the picture at all.
(3) His explanation embittered Northern anti-slavery sentiment and did not satisfy Southerners
who favored the immediate annexation of Texas.
b. Polk capitalized on the letters of Clay to paint him as an opportunist
(1) Democratic platform, written by Robert J. Walker (MS), was expansionist and appealed to
Northerners who desired the "re-occupation of Oregon" and Southerners who desired the "reannexation of Texas."
(2) Democratic slogan was Oregon, Texas, Polk and Dallas .
3. Results -- Very Close
a. Popular vote - Polk with 1,337,243, Clay, 1,299,068 and Birney, 62,300.
b. The electoral vote hinged on NY's 36 electors.
(1) Polk won NY by 5,208 votes;
(2) Birney's 15,812 votes reflected anti-slave Whig strength in the western counties
c. Polk carried 15 of the 26 states with 170 electoral votes with 105 for Clay
F. Annexation of Texas by Joint Resolution
1. Tyler recommended in his message to Congress (December 1844) that Texas be added by joint
resolution of both houses because the election had demonstrated that a majority of the states had
favored its immediate addition, and because the strained relations between the US and Mexico
were being taken advantage of by Great Britain.
a. The resolution passed the House 120-98 in January (112 Democrats and 8 Southern Whigs for,
70 Whigs and 28 Northern Democrats against)
b. The resolution passed the Senate 27-25 (February) with no mention of Mexico.
2. The terms of the resolution benefitted Texas over the previous treaty.
a. Texas entered as a state without the usual territorial status
b. Four other states could be carved out of Texas in the future with its consent
c. Texas was required to pay its own national debt (now in excess of $10 million)
d. Texas retained its public lands in order to pay its debt;
e. The Missouri Compromise line, 36 30, was extended to Texas.
3. Tyler vetoed a bill which prohibited payment for naval craft which he had ordered and signed the
joint-resolution as his last presidential act, but Congress overrode his veto, which was the first
time that a presidential veto had been overridden by Congress.
4. A special session of TX congress voted for annexation in June and a constitutional convention met
to write a state convention (Jul and Aug), which the US congress approved in Dec.
5. Texas entered as the 28th state (Feb 1846), the last slave state before the Civil War.
II. James K. Polk Administration (11th president)
A. Polk's Inauguration
1. Having carried 15 of 26 states, Polk interpreted his election as a mandate for
adding TX and settling the Oregon issue
2. Polk reviewed the joint-resolution after his inauguration and after consulting with
his cabinet, approved the action regarding Texas which settled that issue.
3. He stated a desire to add California as territory of the US
4. Polk also stated that President's should stick to only one term.
B. Domestic Issues
1. Polk Doctrine
a. In his first annual message to Congress Polk recommended tariff reduction
b. He also indicated a desire to restore an independent Treasury , as Van Buren had set up, but
Tyler had destroyed.
c. He underscored the US committment to the Monroe Doctrine, emphasizing the US Continent,
warning against foreign interference with any state desiring Union with the US (meaning adding
Oregon and California as territories).
2. Additional Political Splinter Groups -- From New York
a. Barnburners (aka Softs ) -- Democratic party faction
(1) Representing the radical and reform wing of the party and combining with the Loco-Focos,
they were led by Martin Van Buren and his son John, Silas Wright and Benjamin F. Butler.
(2) Because of their uncompromising manner, they were characterized by their opponents after the
Dutch farmer who burned down his barn to get rid of rats.
(3) In 1848 they seceded from the Democratic national convention and joined with Free Soilers,
whose vote held the balance of power in the 1848 election.
b. Hunkers (aka Hards ) -- corruption of Dutch word Hunkerer ("self-seeking person")
(1) Named by critics, these conservative New Yorkers were led by William L Marcy and Daniel S.
Dickinson
(2) They opposed the Barnburners hostile resolution against extending slavery into any territory
"now free," favored internal improvements and the chartering of state banks and the distribution of
patronage.
3. Antirent War 1839-46
a. Agrarian unrest in upstate NY against the perpetual leases dating to before the Revolutionary
War resulted in serious disturbances in the Albany region.
b. When the heirs of Stephen Van Rensselaer tried to collect $400,000 in back rent, the
"Helderberg War" was suppressed by militia called out by Governor William H. Seward
c. Elsewhere farmers dressed as Indians formed secret societies and interfered with or attacked
law-enforcement officers.
d. Legislation was introduced which restricted the duration of farm leases and abolished distress
for rent in all new leases, but a more liberal constitution was adopted in 1846, in keeping with the
spirit of democratization of this age.
4. Tariff Reduction -- Walker Tariff July 1846, a Democratic measure, dropped the minimum
valuation principle and reversed the trend of substituting specific for ad valor-em duties, leaving a
few commodities duty free.
5. Independent Treasury Aug 1846 -- A Democrat-controlled Congress revived the Independent
Treasury Act (killed by Whigs in 1841), essentially the same as July 1840 and it remained the US
fiscal system until the Federal Reserve Act 1913.
C. Foreign Policy Issues
1. Relationship with Mexico
a. Diplomatic Break with Mexico -- Mexican War
(1) After the joint resolution for annexing Texas passed, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with
the US and increased its armed forces to resist annexation
(2) Major grievances included
(a) Boundary disagreements - Mexico insisted that the Nueces River was the real southwestern
boundary of Texas
(b) Stopped payments - in 1843 Mexico halted payments of more than $2 million in damages to
US nationals
(c) Status of California - Mexico had ordered the expulsion of US settlers (an action believed
encouraged by the British).
(3) Early Military Actions
(a) Gen Zachary Taylor , commander of US forces in the Southwest, head-quartered at Ft. Jesup
LA, was put on alert in May and ordered to proceed to the area of the Rio Grande River in June
(b) Taylor established his base on the South Bank of the Nueces to which was gathered about
3,500 troops, or about half the US army.
(c) In January 1846, Taylor was ordered to advance to the left bank of the Rio Grande
(d) The second in command, Gen Wm J. Worth , proceeded to the Rio Grande, north of
Matamoras, facing a Mexican force of 5,700
(e) Gen Pedro de Ampudia warned Taylor (April 1846) that the US must pull back to the Nueces
or arms and arms alone must decide the question.
(f) Refusing to comply, Taylor requested US naval forces blockade the mouth of the Rio Grande
(4) Early Diplomatic Efforts --Slidell Mission
(a) Early in August, after learning that Mexico desired to resume diplomatic relations, the US
government sent special envoy John Slidell to Mexico on a secret mission to explore purchasing
Upper California and New Mexico and to adjust the boundary from the mouth of the Rio Grande
along the 32d parallel, at a price of $15 to $40 million.
(b) After the US withdrew its naval squadron off Vera Cruz negotiations started
(b) Although Mexico wanted to only discuss the boundary of Texas, Slidell was authorized to
offer $5 million for New Mexico and $25 million for California and to resume Mexican debts to
US nationals, if Mexico would accept the Rio Grande as the boundary of Texas.
(d) Because the Slidell mission desired to discuss extraneous issues, Mexico refused to receive
him on technical reasons (he had not been confirmed by the US Senate, etc).
(e) Upon learning of the refusal to receive Slidell, Taylor was ordered to the Rio Grande
(f) As a result of even considering discussing the Texas boundary, President Jose J. Herrera 's
government was overthrown by Gen Mariano Paredes who reaffirmed Mexico's claim to Texas
up to the Sabine River.
(g) This inflexible attitude was reported to Washington by Slidell, who then left Mexico and
returned to the US (March 1846).
b. Declaration of War
(1) When news arrived of a skirmish between Mexican and American forces near Matamoros,
Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war on 11 May 1846, asserting that the Us had legitimate
claims to the area south of the Nueces.
(2) Polk's message claimed that American blood has been spilt on American Soil
(3) After serious debate, the House passed a declaration of war 174-14, being opposed by
Northern Representatives, and the Senate passed it 40-2, opposed by 2 Whigs with three
abstentions, including John C. Calhoun.
(a) Lincoln's Spot Resolution - A new congressman from Illinois offered a resolution which
asked on what spot was US blood spilt.
(b) Whig representative Garrett Davis asserted that Polk began this war
(c) The House rejected (97-27) an amendment that stated that the declaration of war was not
support for sending troops to the Rio Grande in the first place
(4) The appropriations bill called for 50,000 volunteers, a $10 million appropriation and was
opposed by 67 Whigs.
c. Balance Sheet
(1) Troop Strength
(a) Mexico had 32,000 troops,
(b) US troop strength, authorized at 8,613, was actually at 7,365
(2) US Disadvantages
(a) Inadequate communications and transportation
(b) poor provisions for sanitation and health (10% died for health reasons)
(c) friction among US generals and between them and the Democratic administration
(3) Mexico's Disadvantages and Advantages
(a) Their equipment, training and discipline was defective
(b) Officers were of poor quality with too many high-ranking officers.
(c) Were fighting on familiar ground affording them a high degree of mobility
d. Initial Battles of the War
(1) Battle of Palo Alto - a five-hour engagement at the water hold of Palo alto between Taylor
with 2,300 US troops against a Mexican force of 6,000, before the Mexicans retreated
(2) Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Taylor with 1,700 attacked a Mexican force of 5,700 led by
Gen Mariano Arista at a ravine (Resaca de la Palma) before the Mexican army collapsed and
retreated across the Rio Grande.
(3) By the end of May, Ft Texas was relieved, renamed Ft. Brown, and Matamoras was occupied
by Taylor.
e. Mission of Santa Anna
(1) Santa Anna was in exile on Cuba on his honeymoon with a teenaged bride.
(2) Polk was advised by COL AJ Atocha, a US citizen and friend of Santa Anna, that for $30
million Santa Anna would return to Mexico and get the Rio Grande as the southwestern boundary
of Texas and boundary of California to run through San Francisco, as well as cooperate and give
military advice to the US
(3) Santa Anna passed through the US blockade and arrived in Vera Cruz, but then announced the
treachery of former President Herrerra for attempting to negotiate with the US
(4) After the Paredes government was deposed, Gen Mariano Salas became acting president and
Santa Anna led a Mexican force northward from Mexico City to met the forces of Taylor
(5) He was elected president of Mexico by the Congress in December 1846, which ended hopes
for an early peace.
f. Conduct of the War
(1) Stephen Watts Kearny , commanding a cavalry regiment at Ft. Leavenworth, led the "Army
of the West" on an expedition to Santa Fe NM with orders to take California later
(a) With a force of 1,700, Kearny arrived in July 1846 at the junction of the Arkansas River and
the Santa Fe Trail.
(b) In August Kearny declared New Mexico to be part of the US before the 4,000 Mexican forces
dispersed without offering resistance
(c) A brief uprising in the winter of 1846-47 was put down by Col Sterling Price which ended all
such resistance.
(d) Kearny established a temporary territorial government under Charles Bent and then headed for
California in September.
(2) Fremont to California
(a) Background
i) Americans were already settling in San Joaquin Valley by the 1840s.
ii) Acting on the mistaken notion that the US and Mexico were at war and that a British fleet
threatened to take California, Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones landed a naval force at
Monterey CA (coming from Peru) where he raised the US flag in 1842.
iii) When learning that there was no war, he lowered the flag
iv) Polk's confidential agent to California (October 1845) urged its settlers to join the US or
establish an independent state under US protection.
(b) Bear Flag Revolt - June - July 1846
i) John C. Fremont 's third expedition reached Monterey (Jan)
ii) Warned to leave the area, a feud between rival Mexican factions resulted in Fremont's support
of the one favoring an independent state under foreign protection
iii) A party of US settlers in the Sacramento Valley attacked the faction that supported the new
regime in Mexico, raising a standard of the Republic of California which pictured a bear (hence its
name).
Fremont arrived in Sonoma (June), whose settlers chose him to direct the Republic of California
(c) Naval Expedition to California July - August 1846
i) US commader of the Pacific Coast naval force, Commodore John D. Sloat sailed for the port
of Mazatlan when learning of the US blockade of Vera Cruz.
ii) Arriving in Monterey, he raised the US flag, proclaiming CA part of US territory
iii) Commodore Robert F. Stockton replaced Sloat in the face of united Mexican resistance near
Los Angeles, although Los Angeles was captured by US forces, a new regime was established
with Stockton as governor, Fremont military commandant in the North and LT Archibald H.
Gilespie commandant in the South.
(d) Mexican revolt (Sept 1846), led by CPT Jose Maria Flores against US authorities drove
Americans from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego and other points
(e) Kearny's Expedition Sept 1846 -13 Jan 1847
i) After securing New Mexico Kearney with 300 dragoons headed for California, and met Kit
Carson, enroute to Washington with news that California was secured.
ii) But on arrival in Mexico he learned of the Mexican revolt in progress, defeated a Mexican force
at San Pascual and reconquered California.
iii) Kearny and Stockton retook Los Angeles in January, thus ending hostilities of the war in
California
iv) Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the remnant of Mexican forces
v) A struggle between Stockton, supported by Fremont, and Kearny over who had authority was
finally resolved in Kearny's favor after which Fremont court-martialed and dismissed from the
service
vi) Although Polk restored Fremont to duty in the army, he resigned, leaving strained relations
between Polk and Fremont's father-in-law, Sen. Thomas Hart Benton
(3) Zachary Taylor to the interior of Mexico
(a) Taylor captured Monterrey (September 1846) and consented to an 8-weeks armistice, pledging
not to move southward and did not until 13 November.
(b) Battle of Buena Vista - 22-23 February 1847
i) Taylor was ordered to send 8,000 troops to Winfield Scott in Vera Cruz, arrousing his
suspicians against the administration.
ii) As a result Taylor took the offensive
iii) Facing 20,000 Mexicans led by Santa Anna Taylor withdrew to a more defensible position
north of the hacienda of Buena Vista
iv) After Taylor refused a demand for unconditional surrender, Santa Anna with 15,000 unskilled
soldiers was defeated by Taylor's 4,800 mostly inexperienced volunteers
v) Santa Anna returned to Mexico City
(4) Winfield Scott from Vera Cruz to Mexico City
(a) Because Polk was convinced that Taylor could not successfully conclude the war, he agreed to
an expedition to Vera Cruz led by Winfield Scott
(b) Scott landed near Vera Cruz (9 March) and the city fell on 29 March.
(c) He defeated Santa Anna's men at Cerro Gordo (18 April), took Jalapa (19 April) and Puebla
(15 May)
(d) After taking Contreras and Churubusco, Santa Anna asked for an armistice (20 August 1847)
(e) The armistice ended on 7 September and the following day Scott took Molino del Rey.
(f) Scott marched victorious in Mexico city (13-14 September).
g. Opposition to the War
(1) Wilmot Proviso August 1846
(a) The prospect of gaining additional territory as a result of the Mexican War caused a great
debate in Congress over the issue of slavery.
(b) David Wilmot , a Democrat from Pennsylvania, drafted a proviso to a bill authorizing $2
million for negotiations with Mexico for boundary adjustments (encouraged partially by Santa
Anna, whose willingness to talk indicated a possible speedy peace settlement)
(c) His proviso stated that slavery or involuntary servitude would be banned in any territory
acquired from Mexico
(d) The administration tried to revise it to limit slavery to below the Missouri Compromise line but
such an amendment was defeated in the House.
(e) Although the original proviso was passed in the House, it was lost in the Senate, which
adjourned before considering the measure.
(f) A second measure attached to a $3 million appropriations bill again passed the House but was
defeated in the Senate
(g) In the proviso debate, Democrats defended the war as a just one and Whigs attacked it as an
expansionist attempt to gain additional territory and accused the President of having started the
war in violation of the constitution
(2) Calhoun Resolutions - February 1847
(a) Southern Democrats and their Northern allies opposed the proviso as an unnecessary agitation
of the slavery issue and as a threat to Southern rights
(b) The South's position was set forth by four resolutions by John C. Calhoun
i) US territories were the joint and common property of the states
ii) Congress as an agent of the states had no right to make any law discriminating between the
states of the Union and depriving any state of its full and equal right in any territory acquired by
the US;
iii) The enactment of any law interfering with slavery violated the Constitution and states' rights
and was inimical to the equality of the states within the Union; and,
The people had an unconditional right to form and adopt state governments as they chose, no
condition being imposed by the Constitution for the admission of a state except that its
government should be republican.
(c) Calhoun warned -- if the balance between the North and South were destroyed, it would herald
the approach of "political revolution, anarchy, civil war and widespread disaster."
(3) The Wilmot Proviso was the vital plank of the Free-Soil and Republican parties.
h. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 2 February 1848
(1) Signed by US envoy Nicholas Trist , the treaty ceded 1/2 of Mexico's territory to the US for a
$15 million + $3.25 million in claims of US citizens against the Mexican gov't
(2) It was ratified by the US Senate 38-14 in the face of mounting opposition by Whigs who
seized control of the House in the bi-elections of 1846, and others who wanted all of Mexico
i. Cost of the War -- $100 million
(1) Texas and the Mississippi Valley states provided almost 50,000 volunteers while only 13,000
came from the original 13 colonies.
(2) About 13,000 Americans were killed, but most from disease, not injuries.
j. Aftermath of the War
(1) Many generals of the Civil War gained valuable field experience
(2) Zachary Taylor emerged as a leading candidate for the presidency in 1848.
2. Oregon Settlement
a. Mexico believed that the US was about to get into a war with Great Britain over the Oregon
question, and therefore would not risk a war with Mexico over Texas.
b. 54 40 or Fight
(1) Polk had claimed all of the Oregon Territory in his first annual message to Congress and was
supported by expansionist Democrats especially from the Old Northwest, prominently represented
in Congress by SEN Lewis Cass (MI) and REP Stephen A. Douglas (IL)
(2) Polk desired military protection of the Oregon Trail, a separate Indian agency beyond the
Rocky Mts and extension of US jurisdiction over the Oregon settlers
(3) Polk gave the required 1-year notice to end joint occupation with Britain (May 1846)
c. Buchanan-Pachingham Treaty 1846
(1) Richard Pakenham , British minister to the US, requested renewal of the previous US offer to
extend the Treaty line of 1818 through the Oregon territory
(2) A British proposal to do just that, excluding Vancouver Island, was sent to the US Senate by
Polk for advice, where the Senate ratified it 41-14, over protests of Democrats from the Old
Northwest, who claimed Polk had betrayed them.
(3) Britain was also given free navigation of the Columbia River below the 49th parallel and both
parties enjoyed free navigation of the channel and the Juan de Fuca Strait to the Pacific.
3. Treaty of New Granada (Dec 1846) -- Approved by the US Senate in June 1848
a. Growing interest in an isthmian canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central
America raised fears in New Granada (Colombia) that Britain might seize its Isthmus of Panama
b. A commercial treaty with Colombia gave the US right of way across the isthmus in return for a
US guarantee of the neutrality of the isthmus and the sovereignty of New Granada.
D. Other domestic Issues
1. California Gold Rush
a. Gold was discovered in January 1848 at Johann Augustus Sutter 's mill on a branch of the
American river
b. News of the discovery soon spread and stimulated a great California gold rush
c. By the end of 1849, California's population had swollen by 100,000.
2. Seneca Falls Convention (Previously mentioned)
3. Oregon Bill
a. Polk recommended in his annual messages (1846-48) that a territorial government be
established for Oregon, which would exclude slavery.
b. Debates on this bill focused on whether Congress had constitutional power to restrict slavery in
the territories.
c. Attempts to extend the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific were rejected until a bill finally
passed which extended the ban on slavery which had been incorporated in the Northwest Territory
legislation to the Oregon territory.
d. Although Calhoun argued that slavery was not subject to Congressional or local action and
urged a veto, Polk signed it on the grounds that it did not conflict with the Missouri Compromise
(1820), because all territory was north of 36 30.
E. Election of 1848
1. The bi-elections of 1846 witnessed a loss of support for Polk and significant gains for the Whigs
in NY, NJ, OH, MD, GA, and Fla and gained a slim majority in the House.
2. Candidates
a. Democrats in Baltimore
(1) NY was represented by two delegations (Hunker and Barnburner), but when no seating
compromise was arranged, neither took part in the convention
(2) When Polk declined, having agreed to only one term, Lewis Cass (Mich) was nominated for
president and Gen William O. Butler (KY) for vice-president
(3) Cass had agreed to "squatter sovereignty" in 1847, whereby locals determined the status of
slavery in a given territory, but this was not put into the platform.
(4) The democratic platform denied the power of Congress to interfere with slavery in the states
and criticized all efforts to bring the slave issue before Congress.
b. Whigs in Philadelphia
(1) Three men vied for the nomination: Henry Clay, Gen Zachary Taylor, Gen Winfield Scott.
(2) Slaveholding Zachary Taylor , the "Hero of Buena Vista," was nominated for President,
although opposed by antislavery delegates from Ohio and New England.
(3) Millard Fillmore , a NY lawyer with little education, was nominated for vice-president
(4) Whigs emphasized Taylor's military character and reputation but rejected an Ohio resolution,
affirming Congress's power to control slavery in the territories
c. Other parties
(1) Barnburners, having seceded from the Democrats, held a convention in Utica NY in June,
nominating Martin Van Buren for president and Henry Dodge (WI) for vice-president
(2) Antislave Democrats and Liberty party supporters joined New England Whigs, known as
Conscience Whigs because of opposition to slavery, held a national convention in Buffalo
(a) This Free Soil Party convention (465 delegates from 18 states) endorsed Van Buren for
president and nominated Charles Francis Adams (MA) for vice-president
(b) This faction was supported by Charles Sumner and Salmon P. Chase
(c) Its platform upheld the Wilmont Proviso , favored river and harbor improvements and free
homesteads to actual settlers and attacked the aggressive nature of the slave power.
3. Campaign
a. Free Soilers slogan - Free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men .
b. Critics of Cass noted that his name rhymed with "Jackass."
4. Results
a. Taylor won 1,360,101 to Cass 1,220,544 to Van Buren 291,263.
b. Electoral votes -- Taylor 163 (8 slave and 7 free states) and Cass 127 (8 free and 7 slave states)
c. Van Buren won no state, but split the Democratic vote in NY (120,510 to Cass 114,318),
depriving Cass of its 36 electoral votes.
5. Taylor was a slaveholder, plantation owner from Louisiana, nicknamed Old Rough and Ready
6. Retirement of Polk - shortest in history, dying at age 54 within three months of leaving office.