Texan Independence Primary Source Activity
• For Documents A-D answer the following
questions (COMPLETE SENTENCES!):
– Who wrote it? (Name, Mexican or American,
Date)
– According to this document, why did Texans
decide to declare independence in 1836?
– Do you trust the perspective of this document?
Why or why not?
• Conclusion: Based on all 4 documents, do you
think the Texans were justified in declaring
independence?
Texas & the Mexican-American
War
Texas
Immigration to Texas
• Americans begin to expand and settle in
Texas (Spanish Territory)
– Stephen Austin leads settlers
• Spanish accept settlers on three conditions
1. Convert to Catholicism
2. Become Mexican citizens
3. Outlaw Slavery
Stephen Austin
Expansion & Conflict in Texas
Why did Mexico want Americans
to settle in Texas?
• To help defend and develop the
province economically
Why did Americans want to settle
in Texas?
• Abundant, cheap, fertile land
with a small population
1835
• 30,000 Americans settle in Texas
(outnumber Mexicans 6 to 1)
• DO NOT observe Mexican laws
Texas Revolution (1835-1836)
Texas Revolution
• American colonists rebel
– Declare the “Republic of Texas”
• Mexico declares war
What brought American settlers into conflict with the
Mexican government?
• They did not convert to Roman Catholicism (remained
Protestants) & they ignored Mexico’s ban on slavery
What happened at the
Alamo?
• Texas rebelled against
Mexican rule
• Santa Anna attacks the
Alamo to put down the
rebellion
• 12 days of fighting, Mexico wins, then kills every
prisoner; “Remember the Alamo!”
The Alamo
“Remember the Alamo”
Sam Houston
Mexican General/Dictator
Antonio de Santa Anna
Texas as a “Nation”
• Why was the U.S. at first reluctant to annex
Texas?
• Northern Democrats did not want to add another
big, powerful slave state
James K. Polk’s Platform
• Pro Annexation of
Texas and Oregon
– “54/40 or Fight”
• Campaign Slogan
• Expansionist Policies
• 4 nations claimed
Oregon (Russia, USA,
Spain, Britain)
• Supported Manifest
Destiny
• What promises did
Polk make to help
him win the election
(of 1844)?
• To make Northern
Democrats happy, he
promises to get all of
Oregon from Great
Britain or go to war;
*“54-40 or Fight!”*
Why did Polk need to satisfy the
interests of Northerners specifically?
54 Line
• What did Polk do
that left many Northern
Democrats feeling
betrayed?
• To avoid war with
Great Britain, Polk
compromised on
Oregon in order to fight
Mexico (British kept
what became British
Columbia)
Annexation of Texas (1845)
• 10 days after inauguration Polk annexes
Texas
– “We have always owned it”
The Mexican American War
• 1846-1848
– WHY?
•
•
•
•
Land Hunger
Annexation
Mexico Insulted
Manifest Destiny
Warm-up
• What factors influenced the decision for
Texas to declare independence?
• Why would the US be hesitant to annex
Texas?
• Why do Texans “remember the Alamo?”
• What was “54-40 or fight” about?
• Why did James K. Polk include the Oregon
Territory as well as Texas in his land
expansion policy?
The Border Dispute
• Polk moves the Texas border south to the
Rio Grande (150 miles south of the original
border)
• Offers Mexico $30 million for New Mexico
and California (Mexico insulted)
• Mexico prepares for war
Outbreak
• Polk enforces the southern border with
American troops
• 1846 – Mexican troops cross the Rio
Grande
• 17 Americans Die
• Congress Declares War
General Zachary Taylor
Heroes of the War
• Many junior lieutenants of the War
eventually become leaders in the next war.
• Leaders include: Zachary Taylor, Winfield
Scott
• Upcoming leaders include: Robert E. Lee,
Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson,
George Meade, James Longstreet, etc.
Major Battles
•
•
•
•
•
What formally ended the Mexican-American War?
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(Mexican Cession)
US adds 1.2 million square miles
Mexico was humiliated by the treaty, bitter toward US
for many years
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
(1848)
• Mexican Cession – Mexico cedes Texas
(with Rio Grande Border), California and
New Mexico
• USA pays $15 million for territories
– ½ of what Polk originally offered
• US gains land covering Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada and
parts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming
• US added more territory with the
Gadsden Purchase (1853)
• Bought from Mexico, consisted of the southern
parts of Arizona & New Mexico
• Needed to run
transcontinental RR
How is this further
contributing to
Manifest Destiny?
• What issue continued to divide the nation?
– SLAVERY, and its expansion
• Whig Congressman David Wilmot proposes the
Wilmot Proviso:
• Proposed law would
ban slavery in all lands won
from Mexico
• Law DID NOT pass
• Lands won from
Mexico increased
North/South tensions
• Proposed
Congress
for 15Proviso
more years
Why
do you in
think
the Wilmot
didn’t pass?
Election of 1848
Gen. Zachary
Taylor (Whig,
LA) wins
narrow election
*Last president
to own slaves
during his term
“Old Rough and Ready”
*Dies after
16 months in
office
*Food
Poisoning
Millard Fillmore
Wrap-up Questions
• What was the major reason for Texans rebelling
against Mexico?
• What does “54/40 or fight” mean?
• What were the reasons for the Mexican-American
War?
• How does the new territory addition affect the
balance of power in the US?
Reflection: Write 1 paragraph explaining how the
Mexican-American War might affect us today and
its lasting legacy.