MANIFEST DESTINY
The Age of Expansion
I. What is Manifest Destiny?


A. The idea that God had given the continent to
Americans and wanted them to settle the western
lands.
Schoolhouse Rock: Elbow Room
 Term
coined by John L. O’Sullivan


B. “Squatters” settled on land that they did not own
C. Preemption Act of 1830: protected squatters by
allowing them to claim land and buy up to 160
acres.
II. New Inventions

A. Plow
 1.
iron blade (JethroWood)
 2. John Deere 1837-steel bladed plow

B. Reaper
 1.
Cyrus McCormick invents mechanical reaper
III. The West Coast


A. Settlers started traveling to the Pacific territories
in the 1830s
B. Oregon
 1.
missionaries moving there in the late 1830s
 2. The Oregon Trail was most common way to move
west

C. California
 1.
belonged to Mexico
 2. Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento became a popular place
for Americans
IV. Traveling by Wagon Train




A. Families traveled together with belongings on a
wagon
B. Used a guide or guidebook
C. Trails became well worn
D. Donner Party
 1.
trapped in Sierra Nevada Mountains
 2. 41 starved to death


E. 5-6 month long trip
F. Native Americans
 1.
some attacked
 2. some helped travelers
 3. more attacks as more travelers moved west

G. Treaty of Fort Laramie 1851
 1.
restricted Native Americans to certain areas
 2. promised that those areas would belong to the
natives forever
V. The Mormon Migration


A. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon
religion, was murdered in 1844
B. Brigham Young led the Mormons west to what is
now Utah
Texas War for independence
I. Texas in Mexico

A. Mexico encouraging American immigration in the
1820s
 1.
Apache and Comanche live in Texas, Mexicans
afraid to move there
 2. empresarios-land agents given land in exchange for
bringing settlers to Texas
 settlers
must become Mexican citizens
 must convert to Catholicism
 3.
Stephen Austin becomes empresario
 4. Tejanos= Spanish speaking inhabitants
II. Americanizing Texas


A. Americans didn’t assimilate
B. 1826 Benjamin Edwards led rebellion against
Mexican authority and tried to create a nation
called “Fredonia.” – failed

C. 1830 Mexico closes border to American
immigration
 1.
banned import of slaves
 2. discouraged trade through taxes

D. Texans hold conventions in 1832 and 1833
 1.
Stephen Austin president of convention
 2. wanted to:
 Reopen
immigration
 Loosen taxes
 Wanted Texas to be a separate state from Coahuila

E. Austin arrested for treason by Mexican president
Santa Anna
 1.
1835-Austin gets out of prison, realized war is
inevitable, and begins organizing army
III. War: Mexico vs. Texas

A. San Antonio
 1.
Texans drive Mexicans out of San Antonio
 2. Sam Houston takes control of Texan army
 3. Santa Anna organizes an army of 6000

B. The Alamo
 1.
mission outside of San Antonio
 2. 150 Texans trying to delay Mexican forces
 3. “victory or death”
 4. held off Mexican army for 13 days
 5. new Texas government has declared indepedence
 6.
Santa Anna’s army attacks mission, wins 6 hours later
 7. significance: bought Houston’s army 2 weeks to
organize

C. Goliad
 1.
Fannin and Texans surrender
 2. Mexicans execute 300 men
 3. united Texans

D. San Jacinto
 1.
Houston’s men surprise Santa Anna’s men on the
banks of the San Jacinto river
 2. cry “Remember the Alamo, Remember the Goliad!”
 3. Santa Anna forced to sign treaty
IV. The Republic of Texas

A. Texas vote in 1836
 1.
elect Sam Houston as first President
 2. vote for annexation into the US
 3. Jackson and Congress don’t annex
The War with Mexico
I. New Territory for the Us

A. President John Tyler wanted to bring Texas into
the U.S.
 1.
Anti-slavery members of Congress rejected it
 2. Mexico still claimed it was a Mexican territory
 3.
The Treaty of Velasco-had been signed by Santa
Anna under duress, Mexico doesn’t recognize it.

B. Election of 1844
 1.
President Tyler=pro-annexation as a slave state
 2. James K. Polk-democratic nominee wanted to annex
Texas and Oregon
 3. The Whig vote split over the issue, and Polk won the
presidency

C. Oregon Issues
 1.
Still territory claimed by British
 2. “Fifty-four forty or fight” supporters wanted all
territory to the 54 40’ line
 3. 1846 Britain and US agree to split Oregon at 49
north latitude

D. Texas finally annexed
 1.
1845-Pres. Tyler pushes annexation bill through right
before he leaves office
 2. Mexico broke diplomatic relations with U.S.
 3. argued over southwestern border
 4.
Polk sends John Slidell as an envoy to buy California
from Mexico
 5. Mexican President Hererra refused to meet
II. War



A. Polk sends general Zachary Taylor +3500 men
across the Nueces River (Mexican Territory?)
B. May 1846-Mexican force attacks Taylor’s men
C. Polk said, “American blood has been shed on
American soil!” trying to gain public support for the
war

D. US Congress declares war

E. US Three pronged attack
 1.
Taylor’s troops to move south
 2. Capture Santa Fe, then go west to California
 US
 3.
navy would be off coast of CA
Advance to Mexico City and force surrender

F. Success
 1.
Taylor covered 200 miles from Gulf coast to
Monterrey, CA
 2. Col. Stephen Kearny captured Santa Fe, and then
sent troops to CA
 3.
Gen. John C. Fremont, in CA led an uprising against
Mexicans and briefly declared CA and independent
country called the “Bear Flag Republic”
 4. US Navy soon occupied CA and claimed it for US.
 5.
Gen. Winfield Scott sent towards Mexico City, Sept.
14, 1847, captured capital.
III. Peace

A. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848)
 1.
Mexico cedes 500,000 sq. miles to US
 California
 Utah
 Nevada
 Parts
of NM, AZ, CO, WY
 2.
Accepted Rio Grande as southern border of US
 3. US paid $15 million to Mexico

B. Manifest Destiny fulfilled
 1.
will lead to more issues regarding slavery in new
territory