American Stories:
A History of the United States
Second Edition
Chapter
13
An Age of
Expansionism
1830–1861
American Stories: A History of the United States, Second Edition
Brands • Breen • Williams • Gross
Ambition and Ambivalence Herman Melville,
shown here in an 1870 portrait by Joseph Oriel
Eaton, shaped the knowledge he gained as a
merchant sailor into Moby-Dick, a cautionary saga
about the dark side of human ambition.
An Age of Expansionism
1830–1861
• Texas, Manifest Destiny, and the
Mexican-American War
• Internal Expansionism and the Industrial
Revolution
The Spirit of Young America
• “Young Americans”—coined by Emerson
—generation favored acquiring new
territory
• Cultural, economic, political movement
• Had no qualms about the market
economy
Songs of Ourselves Walt Whitman in the
“carpenter portrait” that appeared in the first
edition of his great work, Leaves of Grass, in 1855.
The poet’s rough clothes and slouch hat signify his
identification with the common people.
The Spirit of Young America
(cont’d)
• 49-year-old James Polk, youngest
president
• Young American writers, Whitman,
Melville
• After Mexican-American War, focus on
western territories
Texas , Manifest Destiny, and the
Mexican-American War
Texas, Manifest Destiny, and the
Mexican-American War
• Widespread call for annexation of newly
settled lands
• “Manifest Destiny” a slogan of those
believing the U.S. divinely ordained to
encompass Mexico and Canada
The Texas Revolution
• 1820s: Americans encouraged to move
into Texas
• "Anglos" never fully accept Mexican
government rules on slavery and
Catholicism
The Texas Revolution (cont’d)
• 1830: Mexico bans immigration from
U.S. and importing slaves
• 1835: Armed rebellion breaks out after
Santa Anna seems bent on using
military to enforce Mexican government
policy
Map 13.1 Territorial Expansion by the MidNineteenth Century Fervent nationalists
promoted the growth of America through territorial
expansion as the divinely ordained “Manifest
Destiny” of a chosen people.
The Republic of Texas
• March, 1836: Texans declare
independence and the Alamo under
siege
• April, 1836: Santa Anna defeated at
San Jacinto
Map 13.2 Major Battles of the Texas
Revolution The Texans suffered severe losses at
the Alamo and Goliad, but they scored a stunning
victory at San Jacinto.
The Republic of Texas (cont’d)
• May, 1836: Santa Anna’s treaty
recognizes Texas’ claim to territory
(Mexico repudiates)
• Texas offers free land grants to U.S.
settlers
• Annexation to U.S. refused by Jackson
Battle of San Jacinto In this panorama of the
Texas Revolution’s decisive battle at San Jacinto by
H. A. McArdle, Sam Houston leads the charge
against Santa Anna’s forces.
The Annexation of Texas
• 1841: John Tyler assumes presidency
after William Henry Harrison’s death
• Tyler negotiates annexation with Texas
for re-election; Senate refuses to ratify
because of expansion of slavery
• Polk runs on expansionist platform
• After Polk’s victory, Congress approves
annexation
TABLE 13.1
The Liberty Party Swings an Election
TABLE 13.2
The Election of 1844
The Doctrine of
Manifest Destiny
• "Manifest Destiny" first used in 1845 by
John O’ Sullivan
 God wants the U.S., His chosen nation, to
become stronger
 Americans make new territories free and
democratic
 Growing American population needs land
• Limits to American expansion undefined
War with Mexico
• Texan claim to area between Nueces
and Rio Grande Rivers not recognized
by Mexico
• After Texas annexation, this causes
conflict between U.S. and Mexico
War with Mexico (cont’d)
• Polk orders General Zachary Taylor into
disputed area
• April 24 1846 Mexicans attack
Americans in disputed area
• May 13, 1846: War on Mexico declared
Settlement of the
Mexican-American War
• Nicholas Trist, negotiator with Mexico,
disobeys Polk’s orders to return to
Washington
• February, 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo
 New Mexico, California ceded to U.S.; U.S.
pays Mexico $15 million
 Why not annex all of Mexico?
 U.S. only wanted west coast ports
Settlement of the
Mexican-American War (cont’d)
• February, 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo
 Whigs criticized Mexican War
 Northerners view war aimed at more
slavery
 Wilmont Proviso
• Manifest Destiny ultimately limited by
racism and slavery question
Map 13.3 The Mexican-American War The
Mexican-American War added 500,000 square
miles of territory to the United States, but the cost
was high: $100 million and 13,000 lives.
Internal Expansionism and the
Industrial Revolution
Internal Expansionism and the
Industrial Revolution
• “Young Americans” link territorial
growth to other material achievements
 Technological innovation—e.g., telegraph,
railroad, trade growth, mass immigration
Internal Expansionism and the
Industrial Revolution (cont’d)
• Discovery of California gold inspires
transcontinental projects
• Territorial expansion wanes after 1848,
economic, population growth continues
The Triumph of the Railroad
• 1840s: railroad begins displacing canals
• Rail construction stimulates iron
industry
• Railroads stimulate new forms of
finance
 Bonds
 Preferred stock
 Government subsidies
The Industrial Revolution
Takes Off
• Mass production, the division of labor
makes production more efficient
• Factory system emerges
 Gather laborers in one place for
supervision
 Cash wages
 “Continuous process" of manufacturing
Map 13.4 Railroads, 1850 and 1860 During
the 1840s and 1850s, railroad lines moved rapidly
westward. By 1860, more than 30,000 miles of
track had been laid.
Labor Advancements A revolution in farming
followed the introduction of new farm implements
such as Cyrus McCormick’s reaper, which could do
ten times the work of a single person. The
lithograph, by an anonymous artist, is titled The
Testing of the First Reaping Machine near Steele’s
Tavern, Virginia, 1831.
The Industrial Revolution
Takes Off (cont’d)
• Agriculture becomes mechanized
• Northern economy based on interaction
of industry, transportation, agriculture
TABLE 13.3
The Age of Practical Invention
TABLE 13.3 (continued) The Age of Practical
Invention
Mass Immigration Begins
• 1840–1860: 4 million Irish, Germans
immigrate to U.S.
• Most come for higher wages
• Immigrants fill low-paying jobs in port
cities
Mass Immigration Begins (cont’d)
• Low immigrant wages contribute to
slums
• Urban reform movement results from
poverty of slums
• Working class experience unifies
different ethnicities into an American
working class
Figure 13.1
Immigration to the United States,
1820–1860
The New Working Class
• 1840s: Factory labor begins shifting
from women, children to men
• Immigrants dominate new working
class
• Employers demand more work, less pay
The New Working Class (cont’d)
• Unions organized to defend worker
rights
• Workers cling to traditional work habits
• Adjustment to new work style painful,
took time
Greater Fortunes This 1854 cartoon, titled “The
Old World and the New,” shows a shabbily dressed
man in Ireland examining posters for trips to New
York (left). At right, he is shown later, in America,
wearing finer clothes and looking at posters
advertising trips for emigrants returning to Dublin.
As was the case for many immigrants seeking
economic opportunities in the “New World,” his
situation has apparently changed for the better.
Conclusion: The Costs of
Expansion
Conclusion:
The Costs of Expansion
• Working class poses problem for ideals
 Working for wages was assumed to be the
first step toward becoming one’s own
master
 New class of permanent wage-earners
conflicted with old ideal
Conclusion:
The Costs of Expansion
• Economic expansion creates conflicts
between classes
• Territorial expansion creates conflicts
between sections
• Both sets of conflicts uncontrollable
Timeline
Timeline (continued)