Manifest Destiny
Main Idea
Americans in large numbers followed trails to the West in the 1840s and 1850s.
Reading Focus
• Why did Americans head west?
• What were the major western trails?
• How did the gold rush affect California?
• What were some major effects of westward migration?
Americans Head West
Many Americans believed in ________________________________________________, the
idea that the nation had a God-given right to all of North America.
• Few gave thought to how manifest destiny would affect ___________________ peoples.
• Mountain men went west to ___________________ and trade.
• ______________________________ hoped to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
• Lumberjacks and miners went to capitalize on timber and minerals.
• _____________________________________ moved west to farm vast, rich lands.
• Entrepreneurs made their way to California.
Major Western Trails
Santa Fe Trail - The first major western trail was the Santa Fe Trail, which stretched ________
miles from Independence, __________________________________, to the town of Santa Fe,
the capital of Spanish New Mexico. It began as a ________________ route.
Oregon Trail - The ____________________-mile Oregon Trail stretched from Independence,
Missouri, to the rich farming lands of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It was used by
______________________________________________, Lewis and Clark, fur traders and
mountain men, and finally ___________________.
Mormon Trail - Between 1847 and 1853, some 16,000 Mormons migrated west following the
____________-mile route that became known as the Mormon Trail. It ran from Nauvoo, Illinois,
to Salt Lake City in present-day Utah.
The Gold Rush
• In ______________ gold was discovered in the American River at John Sutter’s sawmill
in northern California.
• When the news reached the United States, most considered it a rumor.
• President James K. ________________ announced the gold discovery in his State of the
Union address on December 5, 1848.
•
Newspapers across the country carried the story, and thousands of Americans caught
“_________________________________.”
California Gold
• The ___________________________________________ was a mass migration of
miners and people who made money off the miners to California.
• The migrants who left for California in ______________ were called forty-niners.
• Golden dreams brought people from around the world, but ___________ percent of them
came from the United States.
Getting There
• By land following the _________________________________ Trail
• Sailing around the southern tip of ______________________________ or south to
________________________, crossing Central America by mule train, and then sailing
north to California
• By 1854 as many as ________________________ people had migrated to California.
Booming Cities
• When most miners reached California, they moved into mining camps in the gold fields.
• Many others—especially businesspeople—settled in ______________.
• ________________________________________, the port nearest the gold fields, grew
from _________ people in 1848 to some _________________________ the next year.
• Stockton and Sacramento also grew rapidly during the gold rush.
Major Effects of Westward Migration
The Oregon Territory
• Presidential candidate James K. Polk campaigned in 1844 on the promise of securing the
Oregon Country for the United States even if it meant war.
• The United States and Britain had jointly controlled Oregon since 1818.
• Polk won, but made a _____________________ with Britain, setting the boundary
between the United States and British Canada at the ______________ parallel.
Communication Links
• Westward migration also led to the need for business, government, and personal
______________________________ over long distances.
• Butterfield _______________________________________ carried passengers and mail
between St. Louis and San Francisco on a two-week trip.
• ____________________________________________ mail service used relays of young
riders on fast horses between Missouri and California.
Texas Independence
The Main Idea
American settlers in Texas revolted against the Mexican government and created the independent
Republic of Texas.
Reading Focus
• What system did the Spanish use to settle Texas?
• How did Americans begin to move into Texas?
• What were the causes and effects of the Texas Revolution?
Spanish Texas
• The original inhabitants were ______________________________________, living in
Texas for thousands of years.
• The Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to visit Texas, crossing it several times
during the 1500s. Spain claimed Texas based on these explorations. Finding little
_____________________ in the region, they made no attempt to settle.
• In 1689, the Spanish discovered the ruins of a French fort built on the coast that had been
destroyed by local Indians. Alarmed that the French would try to claim the land, the
Spanish came up with a plan to settle Texas.
The Mission System
• The Spanish attempted to settle Texas by building ___________________, small
settlements designed to convert the Indians to Christianity.
• The Spanish had effectively used the ________________________________________
in Mexico.
• They built two dozen missions and ______________________ (forts) between the late
1600s and 1700s; they also built San Antonio and Nacogdoches.
• Despite Spanish hopes, the missions failed and the towns never flourished.
• Native Americans rejected mission life, where they were expected to give up their
____________________ as well as their ______________________.
• Some Indian groups viewed the Spanish as dangerous trespassers, attacking the missions
and towns.
• The system was built to convert the Indians and to thwart French claims. In 1762,
_____________________ ceded to Spain much of its land claim in North America.
• By 1800, Spain still claimed Texas, but had only ________ settlements in the region.
Americans Move into Texas
• Moses Austin
– In 1820, Austin proposed to Spanish colonial officials that, in exchange for land,
he would build a ________________ in Texas. The Spanish agreed, but Austin
•
died before he could start. His son, _____________________________________,
would carry out his wish for a colony. By 1824 about ___________ families lived
on farms and ranches throughout Austin’s colony.
Mexican independence and the empresarios
– Mexico gained its independence in ___________. The new government wanted
Texas settled. They assigned large amounts of land to
___________________________, contractors who recruited settlers and
established colonies. Austin was the most successful of the empresarios.
– By 1830, Texas had more than a dozen colonies with _____________________
settlers. This included several thousand enslaved Africans and 4,000
_____________________, or Texans of Mexican heritage.
The Texas Revolution
American settlers in Texas had to agree to certain conditions in exchange for receiving land.
They had to surrender their American citizenship; swear allegiance to Mexico; adopt the Roman
Catholic religion; and hold the land for seven years.
Tensions in Texas
• The settlers ignored the Mexican rules. They kept bringing in _________________, even
after Mexico outlawed slavery. Settlers were still Americans, not Mexican. In 1830,
Mexico passed a law halting __________________________________ immigration and
sent troops to Texas to enforce it.
International Tensions
• Mexican officials suspected that the U.S. wanted to acquire Texas. Originally claimed as
part of the _________________________________________________________, the
U.S. had dropped its claim. But when an offer was made to buy a large part of Texas for
$1 million, Mexicans refused, but their fears of U.S. intentions were confirmed.
The Texas Revolution Begins
• Tensions between settlers, now calling themselves Texans, and the Mexican government
grew continually worse.
• After several bloody _________________________, Texans held conventions to discuss
the best course of action. A plan to make Texas a separate Mexican state failed. The new
Mexican president, Antonio López de ______________________________________,
supported a strong central government and enforced new laws banning state
_________________________.
• War came when violence erupted at Gonzales over possession of a ______________.
Though small, it was the first battle of the ___________________________________,
and hopes for a peaceful resolution between the Texans and Mexico diminished. At a
meeting, called the Consultation, the settlers founded a government and asked
_____________________________________________________ to raise an army.
From the Alamo to Independence
• The Alamo
- Rebel Texan forces captured _____________________________________,
which contained a fort called the Alamo. Santa Anna led an army into Texas to
punish the rebels and put down the unrest once and for all.
• Santa Anna
- On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s force of _______________________
soldiers reached San Antonio. A demand of surrender was met with cannon fire
from _________________________________________. The Mexican army laid
siege to the fort, pounding it for 12 days and nights. The fort was finally stormed,
with nearly all defenders killed.
• March 2, 1836
- While the Alamo was under siege, a small group of Texans met at Washingtonon-the-Brazos to issue the Texas Declaration of Independence. They wrote a
_________________________________________ for the new, independent
nation.
• The Runaway Scrape
- Santa Anna’s army continued to ____________________ the Texan rebels.
Prisoners were held in the presidio at ______________________.
- After Mexican soldiers executed ___________ prisoners at Goliad, Houston
retreated to the east with his poorly trained army.
- Word of Houston’s retreat and the news of the Goliad Massacre started a
____________________.
- In what would be called the Runaway Scrape, thousands of Texans, including
many Tejanos, fled Santa Anna’s advancing army.
• Texans Victorious
- Santa Anna’s army followed Houston’s forces to _________________________,
where Houston managed to take the Mexican army by surprise. Texans shouted,
“Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember Goliad!” as they won a quick victory.
- The captured ___________________________ was forced to sign the Treaties of
Velasco, ending the war. Mexico had to withdraw its troops and recognize Texas
independence.
- Problems with Mexico continued for the ________________________________.
War with Mexico
The Main Idea
Soon after annexing Texas, the United States declared war on Mexico.
Reading Focus
• What were the arguments for and against the annexation of Texas?
• What created tensions between the United States and Mexico in the 1840s?
• What were the causes and effects of the Mexican-American War?
The Annexation of Texas
Proponents (Supporters)
• Americans who believed in _____________________________________ wanted to
admit Texas to the Union.
• Supporters viewed the Texas Revolution in the spirit of the ________________________
Revolution.
• Southerners supported annexation because Texas allowed _____________________, and
its admission would boost the South’s political power.
Opponents
• Americans were concerned that the U.S. would have to bear the substantial Texas
______________.
• Northerners opposed annexation because it would spread ________________________
westward and increase slave states’ voting power in Congress.
• A major argument in Congress was that the __________________________________
said nothing about admitting an independent nation.
Process
• A Republic for _______ years
– The annexation question was a significant issue in the 1844 presidential election.
When ________________________________, the pro-annexation candidate,
won, Mexico warned that it would consider the annexation of Texas as a
declaration of war.
• Tyler signs the joint resolution
– Outgoing president _____________________________ signed the joint
resolution of Congress into law just three days before the end of his term, in
March 1845.
• Texas becomes a state
– Voters in Texas overwhelmingly approved annexation, and Texas became a part
of the United States on _____________________________.
Tensions Between the U.S. & Mexico
• Mexico Responds
- The annexation of Texas enraged the Mexican government. Mexico had refused
to recognize the Republic of Texas, and they broke off _____________________
ties with the U.S. after the vote for annexation.
Polk and Manifest Destiny
- In March 1845, James K. Polk became __________________________________.
He wanted the nation to acquire the land between ________________ and the
_____________________ Ocean. These sparsely populated territories, New
Mexico and California, belonged to Mexico. Polk sought an opportunity to
acquire these remote regions.
• The Boundary Dispute
- The U.S. needed to secure the boundary between Texas and Mexico. Texans put
the border at the __________________________________. Mexico maintained it
was at the ______________________ River. There were also disputes about
money, and Polk wanted these issues resolved.
• Slidell’s Trip
- In the fall of 1845, Polk sent a special envoy to Mexico.
- John Slidell arrived with a U.S. offer to cancel the $________________________
in claims against Mexico in exchange for Mexico’s recognition of the Rio Grande
as its ____________________________ with the U.S.
- He was further authorized to pay Mexico up to $30 million to purchase
________________________________________________ for the United States.
- Neither of the rivals for Mexico’s presidency would meet with him. An angry
Slidell recommended to Polk that Mexico be punished.
The Mexican-American War
• The War Starts
- While Slidell was in Mexico, Polk ordered General ________________________
_____________________________ to take his troops into the disputed border
territory. The U.S. used the event of a minor skirmish to declare war on Mexico.
• Fighting the War
- American forces under Taylor advanced into northern Mexico. General
_________________________________________________ marched his forces
into Mexico City. In a matter of months, U.S. forces had captured New Mexico
and California. When their capital fell, the Mexican government was forced to
give in.
•
Results of the War
- The ________________________________________________________ (1848)
forced Mexico to turn over a huge tract of land known as the
_____________________________________________, while the U.S. paid
Mexico $________________________________. Debate continues over whether
the Mexican-American War was justified.