Manifest Destiny
US History
Map of United States Circa 1830
Westward Expansion & America’s
“Manifest Destiny”
What is Manifest Destiny?
3
American Progress Color Lithograph
by George A. Crofutt and John Gast
What is “Manifest Destiny”?
• A popular belief in
the 1800s - it was
fate or God’s
desire that the
U.S. expand from
coast to coast.
• Americans believed they were
culturally and racially superior to the
“uncivilized” Natives and “backwards”
Hispanics who were already settled
on Western lands.
John O’Sullivan’s “Manifest Destiny”
 Term first coined by newspaper editor,
John O’Sullivan in 1845.
 ".... the right of our manifest
destiny to over spread and to possess
the whole of the continent which
Providence has given us for the
development of the great experiment
of liberty…"
Manifest = clear, obvious;
Destiny = future, fate
John O’Sullivan was an
influential columnist as a
young man, but is now
generally remembered only
for his use of the phrase
"Manifest Destiny" to
advocate the annexation of
Texas and Oregon.
What is “Manifest Destiny” really?
• The rhetoric of spreading
democracy, bringing
Christianity, achieving our
country’s full potential,
accomplishing the fate God
has planned, and helping the
“backwards” races covered up
the real underlying theme of
Westward Expansion –
racism.
• Justified U.S. expansion into
Texas (Hispanics), Oregon
and California (Californios),
and Indian territories
(Natives).
What motivated the U.S. to expand west?
1. Bring Christianity to Natives.
2. Spread democracy.
3. New natural resources and farm land.
4. Adventure/curiosity.
5. American nationalism/pride in your
country.
6. New free or slave states.
John Gast American Progress (c. 1872)
Who’s in this picture? What are they doing?
John Gast American
Progress (c. 1872)
• This painting is a
representation of
Manifest Destiny.
– Here “Columbia” (a
personification of the
United States), leads
civilization westward
with American
settlers, stringing
telegraph wire as she
travels; she holds a
school book.
– The different
economic activities of
the pioneers are
highlighted and,
especially, the
changing forms of
transportation.
– The Native
Americans and wild
animals flee.
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1776
A - 13 Original
Colonies
From Where?
•Great Britain
Why?
•US declared
independence
from Great
Britain
11
A
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1783
B – British Cession
(Northwest Ordinance)
From Where?
•Great Britain
Why?
•Part of
results of
Treaty of
Paris (ended
Revolutionary
War)
12
A
B
Northwest Ordinance
13
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1803
C - Louisiana
Purchase
From Where?
•France
Why?
•Napoleon
needed $
•Jefferson
wanted to buy
New Orleans
14
•He got all of
this instead!
C
A
B
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1819
From Where?
D - Florida
•Spain
Why?
•Andrew
Jackson
invaded
15
•Spain then
sold it to U.S.
for $5 million
(Adam-Onis
Treaty)
C
A
B
D
Mr. Manifest Destiny
James K. Polk
•Elected President
in 1844
•Added more
territory to the U.S.
(by any means)
than any other
President
•Died 103 days
after his single
term ended
16
Texas Revolution
17
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Austin carried on his
father’s dream of founding a colony
in Spanish Texas.
Tejas had forests in the east, rich soil, grassy plains,
and rivers that led to the Gulf of Mexico. The Plains
and Pueblo tribes lived in Tejas.
In 1821, only 4,000 Tejanos lived in
Texas. Tejanos were of Spanish
heritage, but considered Texas their home. Spain
wanted settlers to come to Texas to help defend
against Native American tribes like the Comanche
and, Apache but impresarios were unsuccessful at
recruiting Spanish settlers.
From 1821-1827, Austin, a respected leader in Texas,
was an impresario who recruited 297 families to
Texas. By 1830, there were 30,000!
Here’s the Deal
In order for Austin to recruit settlers, he had to
agree that all settlers would be:
• Hard-working
• Moral
• Non-drinkers
• Learn and Speak Spanish
• Attend Catholic Church
The “Old Three Hundred”. By 1830, the
population had reached 30,000.
Tejanos and Settlers Clash
Tensions rose between Tejanos and the
American settlers.
Americans resented that they had to follow
Mexican laws, that all documents were written
in Spanish, and that slavery had been
outlawed in 1829.
Tejanos thought the Americans acted like they
were “too good” to follow the rules.
Why do you think the Americans resented
following Mexican laws?
Hint: Think about the American mindset.
How did Americans feel about being
Americans at this time (1829). What had
happened years previously to cause
Americans to feel this way?
The Mexican government
cracks down
Fed up with American settlers who
refused to follow Mexican law,
the Mexican government did
several things:
• Closed the border to stop American immigration
• Charged taxes for the first time
• Sent Mexican troops to enforce all laws
Austin goes to Jail and the
Revolution Begins!!
In 1833, Stephen Austin took a
Petition to Mexico City to meet
With Santa Anna, Mexico’s
President.
Santa Anna almost agreed to
back down on the settlers a little…
but then he discovered a letter
written by Austin supporting breaking
away from Mexico.
Santa Anna jailed Austin for a year,
infuriating Texans to the point of
REVOLUTION!!!
Washington-on-the-Brazos
Texans met in March of 1836 to decide on a
course of action
They nominated Sam Houston in charge of a
very small Texas Army and declared
independence from Mexico.
Not much of an Army…
The Texas Army had 2 small forces:
**Juan Seguin led a band of 25 Tejanos who
supported the Revolution
**William Travis led a company of 183
volunteers at the Alamo.
**James Fannin led a company of 420 at
Goliad
The Alamo
Santa Anna’s troops surrounded San Antonio in
1836 and demanded that Travis surrender. Travis
answered the demand by firing a singe canon
shot.
However, Travis was highly outnumbered. After 13
days of violent battle, the Texans were defeated.
Santa Anna ordered the execution of the 5
survivors, but let a few women and children go
free.
Susanna Dickenson was ordered to tell the story of
the Battle of the Alamo to other Texans.
Texans will not back down!
After the defeat at the Alamo, Texans begin moving
westward. While retreating at Goliad, 300 Texan
troops were captured and killed by the Mexican
Army. This caused many Texans to volunteer to
fight against Santa Anna.
Tejanos, American settlers, volunteers from the
United States, and even African Americans
showed up to fight!! Sam Houston, leader of the
Texas army, now had over 800 men, ready and
willing to fight.
Battle at San Jacinto
On April 21, 1836, the Texan
Army destroyed Santa
Anna’s troops.
In just 18 minutes, Texans
won the Battle at San
Jacinto, forcing Santa
Anna to sign a
treatyTEXAS IS FREE
FROM MEXICO!
The Lone Star Republic
Texas became a new nation, with
Sam Houston as the president.
Texans wanted to be annexed into
the United States, but the U.S.
Congress voted against it because
of 2 main reasons:
What are they?
U.S. Congress says “NO WAY” to the
annexation of Texas!
1. Slavery !
1.
(Is Texas a free or slave state?)
2. They feared war with Mexico.
1.
Why would they fear Mexico?
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1845
E - Texas
From Where?
•Republic of Texas (Independent Country)
Why?
•Texas
independent from
Mexico in 1836
C
•Northerners
feared it would
become a slave
state
31
•Joined U.S. as a
slave state in 1845
E
A
B
D
Texas Annexation (1845)
In 1845, Congress admitted Texas in as a slave
state, despite northern objections.
Mexico viewed this as an act of WAR. Mexico and
Texas could not agree on a boundary.
Where’s the border?
Texas claimed the Rio Grande as the border
Mexico claimed the
River,
north.
Nueces
100 miles
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1846
F - Oregon Territory
From Where?
•Great Britain
Why?
•Claimed by four
countries (G.
Britain, Russia,
Spain, & US)
•Americans
demanded “54° 40’
or fight!”
33
•Britain
compromised 49°
& US accepted
F
C
E
A
B
D
The Oregon Dispute: 54’ 40º or Fight!
 1846 - “Oregon
Fever” starts with a
promise of free land.
Both U.S. and Britain
claim the land.
Newspaper’s adopt
slogan “Fifty-Four
Forty or Fight!”
2 countries extend the
Canadian border along
the 49th parallel from
the Rocky Mountains
west (establishes the
current U.S. border).
US Territorial Expansion
When?
•1848
From Where?
•Mexico
Why?
•Polk offers to buy G from
Mexico & they refuse
•War! - US wins
•In Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, US offers $15
million for G
G - Mexican Cession
F
C
B
G
A
E
-Land above C given to U.S. by British in 1842 Webster-Ashburn Treaty.
-Land below G (Gadsden Purchase) bought from Mexico for $10 million
to complete a southern-route transcontinental railroad.
35
D
“American Blood on American Soil”
Polk sends John Slidell to Mexico to offer them $25
million for Texas, California, and New Mexico,
but Slidell could not convince Mexico to sell it.
(Mexican government insulted by offer!)
Polk then orders General Zachary Taylor to put
troops on the northern bank of the Rio Grande.
Days later, Mexican troops crossed the Rio
Grande and ambushed the Americans—causing
16 Casualties.
Congress declares war on Mexico because Polk
said American blood was shed on American soil.
New Mexico and California Fall to the US.
General Stephen Kearny took New Mexico without
firing a single shot. His army marched 650 miles
and then convinced the Mexican troops that he
was going to withdraw.
Next, he marched toward California, where John
C. Fremont’s rebels had arrested the Mexican
commander at the Bear Flag Revolt.
The rebels declared California independent,
calling it the Republic of California.
The Invasion of Mexico
The U.S. invaded Mexico from 2 directions.
General Taylor battled toward Monterrey. His 4,800
troops battled against 15,000 Mexican troops near
Buena Vista, causing the Mexicans to retreat.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Mexican-American War ended in 1848 with the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
End war with Mexico
Recognized Texas as part of the U.S.
Rio Grande as the border b/t TX & Mexico.
The Mexican Cession
Mexico also gave up a huge area of land called the
Mexican Cession.
Included California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New
Mexico, & Wyoming.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
U.S. agreed to….
Pay Mexico $15 million for land
Pay $3.25 million in claims against Mexico
Protect the 80,000 Mexicans living in Tx & the Mexican Cession.
Causes and Effects of The Mexican War
Causes:
Desire to annex Texas
Expansion of slavery
Border disputes between U.S. & Mexico
Effects:
Defeat of Mexico
The Mexican Cession
Estab. Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas.
Expanded southern ½ of U.S. to the Pacific opening the question of expansion of
slavery.
Spreading the Word:
The Pony Express
 Between April, 1860 and Nov.,1861.
 Delivered news and mail between St.
Louis, MO and San Francisco, CA.
 Took 10 days.
 Replaced by the completion of the
trans-continental telegraph line.
Attitudes Toward the Frontier
Many Americans (farmers, miners, or
merchants) moved west to:
1. Escape economic problems.
2. Begin a “fresh start” in life.
3. Start owning land, which was abundant in the west.
Overland Immigration to the West
 Between
1840 and
1860, more
than
250,000
people made
the trek
westward.
Negative Consequences of
Westward Expansion
–Disastrous to Native American populations:
•Settlers brought diseases.
•Violence broke out between Indians and settlers.
•Food sources (buffalo) destroyed.
–Perilous journey for both traders/settlers.
•Remember the list we discussed about challenges during the
California Gold Rush.
Trails Westward
Trails Westward
How’d they get there?
The Conestoga Wagon
Popular Trails West:
The Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail
• Beginning Point: Independence, Missouri
• Ending Point: Santa Fe, New Mexico and other
SW areas (including present-day Los Angeles)
• Challenges: Geography, climate,
wilderness/nature, length of trail, natives
• Reason for going: Trade with Spaniards
Popular Trails West:
The Oregon Trail
 The route to Oregon followed some of the same paths that
Lewis & Clark had followed decades before.
The Oregon Trail – Albert Bierstadt, 1869
The Mormon Trail
• Mormon Migration
– Joseph Smith killed by
anti-Mormon mob
– Brigham young leads
West
– Settle Salt Lake City,
Utah
Above: Joseph Smith
Left: Brigham Young
The Mormon Trail
• Beginning Point: Nauvoo, Illinois
• End Point: Present-day Utah and surrounding
area
• Challenges: Geography, climate,
wilderness/nature, length of trail, natives
• Reason for going: Religious Freedom
The Doomed Donner Party
A group of 87 emigrants tried a shortcut to California, but were caught in the snow
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the winter of 1846–1847. Many of them
resorted to cannibalism for survival.
Margaret
Breen
James Reed & Wife
 Of the 87 members of the
Donner Party, only 45
survived to get to
California over a year
later!
Patrick
Breen
John
Breen