Concepts
Guiding
Questions:
Assurance
Statements:
Unit 9 : Manifest Destiny Study Guide for Test on March 10
Essential Questions
● What role does geography play in the settlement & territorial growth of the U.S.?
● What were the effects of territorial expansion on the U.S.?
● Is it unpatriotic to participate in civil disobedience?
● What did the government do in order to increase the size of the USA?
● Was the U.S.-Mexican War justified?
1. Political, economic & social factors contributed to Manifest Destiny.
2. The annexation of Texas & a dispute over its southern boundary contributed to
the US-Mexican War.
3. Land was added to the U.S. through war, purchases, and agreements.
Vocabulary
 Immigrant
 Manifest Destiny
(1.A) identify the major eras &
Roots of Manifest Destiny
Political


Annex
Civil Disobedience
(6.B) explain the political, economic, & social roots of Manifest Destiny;
Economic
Social
o God-given right to
o fertile soil—new land for
o Mormons left to escape
extend democracy
farmers
religious
o remove European
o new trade routes & markets
persecution desired minimally
threats
o discovery of gold
populated area
o expand slave territories
o business opportunities (land
o Removal of Native Americans
o election of James K.
speculation)
o Spread Protestant religion &
Polk
o Transcontinental Railroad
American culture
(6C) Analyze the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and the westward growth of the
nation.
 The U.S. government and its citizens believed that the nation’s destiny or fate was to expand
westward from sea to sea
(6A) Explain how the Northwest Ordinance established principles and procedures for orderly expansion of
the U.S.
 Orderly procedure for establishing territories and applying for statehood—allowed U.S. to expand
 As a territory grew in population, it gained rights to self-government, when it had 5,000 free men
 Each territory had to set aside land for schools
 Slavery banned in the Northwest Territory
 Established self-government and allowed new territories to join as equal states
(6.E) identify areas that were acquired to form the United States,
(1C) Explain the significance of the following dates: 1803, Louisiana Purchase
(23C) Identify ways conflicts between people from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups were resolved
Land Acquired to form the U.S.
 Louisiana Purchase--1803
 Purchase of Florida—Adams Onis Treaty
 Annexation of Texas
 Oregon Territory
 Mexican Cession (New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Nevada)– Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
 Gadsden Purchase
(10.A) locate places & regions of importance in the United States during the 17th, 18th, & 19th centuries;
Key Places
Oregon Trail
Rocky Mountains
Sutter’s Mill
Mexican Cession
Santa Fe Trail
Salt Lake City
Rio Grande
(10.B) compare places &regions of the United States in terms of physical & human characteristics;
(10.C) analyze the effects of physical & human geographic factors on major historical and contemporary
events in the United States.
Physical Characteristics
Human Characteristics
Effect



Rocky Mountains—
many fur bearing
animals
Oregon had fertile
soil
Gold found in
California






Mountain men came there in
search of furs; identified
passes through the mountains
Missionaries came there to
convert Native Americans &
reported on fertile soil
Forty-niners arrive in search of
gold
Asian immigrants come across
Pacific Ocean
Slavery is banned




Provided guides for future
settlers
Campaign slogan “54’40 or
fight
Many settlers travel on the
Oregon Trail
Boomtowns result
Chinese workers help build
railroad
(6.D) explain the causes & effects of the U.S.-Mexican War and their impact on the United States;





Causes
Desire for California & New
Mexico Territory—offer to
purchase denied
Texas Annexation angered
Mexico
Polk’s desire for Manifest
Destiny
Zachary Taylor sent to build
fort along Rio Grande
Border dispute at Rio Grande
(each side claimed other had
invaded its territory)




Key Events
Control disputed
land in Texas
Seize New Mexico
& California
Capture capital
city: Mexico City
Bear Flag Revolt—
California became
independent from
Mexico




Effects
Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo signed
Border of Texas
(US/Mexico) confirmed to
be Rio Grande
Large portion of
Southwestern US added
Many Civil War political &
military officials gained
leadership experience in
the Mexican War
(20.C) analyze reasons for & the impact of selected examples of civil disobedience in U.S. history such as
Henry David Thoreau’s refusal to pay a tax.
 Henry David Thoreau
 refusal to pay taxes due to opposition to Mexican War

act of civil disobedience based upon his abolitionist views
(11A) Analyze how physical characteristics of the environment influenced population distribution,
settlement patterns, and economic activities in the United States during the…19th century.
 Gold in California – found at Sutter’s Mill in 1848; rush of settlers to California (forty-niners); pushed
many American Indians off their lands; population of California quickly rises to the amount required
for statehood (boomtowns)
 California’s proximity to Pacific Ocean led to an increase of immigration from Asian nations.
 Rocky Mountains’ location between eastern and western parts of the United States; resulted in need
for Gadsden Purchase to put in Southern railroad route for train transport of goods from East to West
(11B) Describe the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the physical environment
of the United States
Environmental Effect
Process of hydraulic mining, which became popular in the 1850s in California, caused irreparable
environmental destruction. Sediment washed away by hydraulic mining clogged riverbeds and lakes,
threatening agriculture throughout the Central Valley. Conflicts over water arose between mining and
farming interests.
(23.A) identify selected … religious groups that settled in the U.S. & explain their reasons for immigration;
(25.B) describe religious motivation for immigration & influence on social movements
(11C) describe how different immigrant groups interacted with the environment in the U.S. during the …19th
century
Mormon Migration
 Leadership or Joseph Smith & Brigham Young
 Persecuted for their beliefs
 Settlement of Utah
 Modify environment for economic success through irrigation of the desert
(23D) Analyze the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to our national
identity.
 Hispanic/Mexican: culture from newly acquired Mexican Cession, included tradition of ranches,
herding cattle, cowboy culture; also previously had contributed to Texas’ independence
 Chinese: immigrants in California – contributed greatly to building of the Transcontinental Railroad
from the West
 German—Levi Strauss creates sturdy pants of denim for California miners—inventor of blue jeans
(26B) Identify examples of American art, music and literature that reflect society in different eras
(26C) Analyze the relationship between fine arts and continuity and change in the American way of life
“American Progress” by John Gast, 1872