Remind us, why did Polk win? Why did Clay lose?
Polk took
the oath of
office in
March 1845
and put into
action a
four part
agenda.
1. Polk convinced Congress to pass the Walker
Tariff in 1846.
This act reduced tariff
rates from 32% to 25%,
one of the lowest
protective tariffs in
American history.
This helped to increase
trade, especially with
Britain, as predicted by
Treasury Sec. Robert
J. Walker.
2. He also got
Congress to
formalize Martin
Van Buren’s
approach to
solving America’s
banking problems
with the creation
of an
“independent
treasury.”
3. He hoped
to quickly
resolve the
growing border
issues in the
Oregon
Country.
During the
campaign of
1844, proexpansionists
repeated the cry
of “54-40’ or
Fight!”
At the end of the
day Polk settled
for the 49th
parallel. Why?
How did this sit
with people in
Northern states,
especially the
conscience
Whigs?
4. Polk then
turned his
attention to
expanding into
his most coveted
piece of real
estate……
To that end,
Polk
dispatched
John Slidell to
Mexico City in
November
1845.
Polk instructed Slidell to negotiate the following points
with the Mexican Government:
- Mexican recognition
of the Rio Grande river
as the southern border
of Texas.
- Texas would give up
demands for Mexico to
compensate them due
to losses in the Texas
war for independence.
Polk instructed Slidell to negotiate the following points
with the Mexican Government:
- The U.S. would purchase
the area of New Mexico for
$5 million. (Roughly $100
million today)
- The U.S. would purchase
California for up to $25
million. (Roughly $500
million today)
- How did Mexico
respond?
Following Mexico’s
rejection of the Slidell
Mission, Polk moved
toward war.
Members of his
cabinet suggested that
Americans and
Congress would be
more supportive of a
war if Mexico shot first.
How did Polk make
that happen?
Many of the
“Conscience”
Whigs, most
famously Abraham
Lincoln, began to
demand a report
identifying the exact
“spot” on the map
were American
soldiers had been
attacked by Mexico.
Why was this exact
spot such an
important issue for
the Conscience
Whigs?
(Here’s a Hint:
Think about the
Missouri
Compromise)
Despite the protests of some Whigs,
Congress officially declared war on Mexico
May 13, 1846.
Anti-slavery Whigs
were very concerned
that the peculiar
institution would
spread into any land
taken from Mexico.
To prevent that from
happening, Rep.
David Wilmot (PA)
immediately
introduced the Wilmot
Proviso. What did it
say?
When the Mexican-American war broke out, settlers
in California took things into their own hands
securing independence from Mexico through the
leadership of John C. Freemont and the U.S. military.
The war in Mexico itself was led by these two.
Winfield Scott
Zachary Taylor
- Negotiated by Nicholas Trist
- Mexico gave up claims to
Texas above the Rio
Grande River.
- Mexico gave the U.S. the
land known as the “Mexican
Cession.”
- U. S. gave Mexico $15
million and agreed to pay the
claims of the Texas settlers
against Mexico ($3.25
million).
We can view the
Mexican Cession
in two ways.
1. Great for the
United States.
2. Terrible for the
United States.
Explain.
Following the
stunning success
of the Mexican
American War,
people were
further stunned
when President
Polk refused to
run for re-election
in 1848. Why did
he make this
choice?
Diarrhea!!!
Martin Van
Buren
Zachary
Taylor
Lewis
Cass
Free Soil Party
Whigs
Democrats
The two major parties, Democrats and Whigs,
refused to openly take a stand on the issue of
slavery. Why?
What then were the issues of the campaign?
As voters were making up their minds about the
candidates, most Americans asked an
increasingly problematic question.
Should slavery be allowed in the territory of
the Mexican Cession?
This question had four basic answers.
1. The
Wilmot
Proviso
Slavery should be prohibited from any land
acquired from Mexico.
Some Americans, especially in the South, began
to question whether Congress had the authority
to regulate slavery in the territories?
The Northwest
Ordinance of 1787 said
yes.
Congress, under the
Articles, had voted to
exclude slavery from
the old Northwest
Territory.
No one questioned
the legitimacy of this
action.
As such,
Wilmot firmly
believed
Congress had
the authority
and that such
power should
be used to stop
the spread of
slavery.
2. Extend the Missouri Compromise
The original compromise of 1820 only dealt
with the land of the Louisiana Purchase.
It had effectively settled the issue of slavery’s
expansion for 30 years.
It left no ambiguity as to where slavery would
exist. The line was very clear.
While some would support such a clear division,
why would others not be so fond of it? Why might
they not support such a solution?
This solution
was supported
by President
Polk.
3. Popular Sovereignty
The expansion of slavery should be left up to the
people of the territories.
Once a territory was
ready to write a
constitution, a popular
election would be held on
whether to permit slavery
or to ban it.
Continued the American
tradition of self
government.
Congress might not have
the power to regulate
slavery in the territories,
but no one would argue
that the people did not
have that power.
For most politicians, this
was an attractive option.
Both the Whig and
Democratic parties were
starting to split over the
issue of slavery.
Northerners were starting
to grow uneasy about
slavery and abolition had
begun to grow in popularity.
Southerners increasingly
feared any limitation on the
expansion of slavery and
the Southern way of life.
Popular Sovereignty seemed to pacify both
sections. Explain.
This solution was pushed for initially by Democrat
Lewis Cass, and eventually embraced by
Democrat Stephen Douglas.
4. Pro-Slave Position
Congress did not have the power to prohibit
slavery in the territories.
Under the
Constitution,
citizens could not
be denied their
right to private
property by act of
Congress.
Slaves were
property.
Thus,
Congress
could make
no law
limiting the
rights of
people to
own slaves.
This argument
was most
clearly
supported by
John C.
Calhoun and
the Fire
Eaters.
The question of the Mexican Cession was only
one of five problems that Americans were forced
to confront in 1850.