Manifest Destiny
Map of United States Circa 1830
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American Progress – Manifest Destiny
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If the painting is about Manifest Destiny – What is
Manifest Destiny?
American Progress
This painting (circa 1872)
by John Gast called
American Progress, is an
allegorical representation of
Manifest Destiny. Here
Columbia, intended as 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.
MANIFEST DESTINY
• First used by John O’Sullivan,
a newspaper editor, in 1845
• It was the idea that Americans
were destined to extend across
the continent – from sea to
shining sea
Understanding Manifest Destiny
"(It is) ..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"
-John O'Sullivan
Democrat
Editor of 'The Morning Post‘ – 1840’s
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Manifest Destiny in 1840s America
Once the concept had been given the
name 'Manifest Destiny' it became widely
used, appearing in newspapers, debates,
paintings and advertisements. It became
the leading light for westward expansion
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So…how has
our nation
grown?
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U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• Along Atlantic Coast
Step 1 – Original 13 States
Acquired In
• 1776
Acquired From
• Great Britain
Acquired Because
• Independence was
declared from Great
Britain (D of I)
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1
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• East of the Mississippi River (Ohio
Acquired In
• 1783
Acquired From
• Great Britain
Acquired Because
•
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Treaty of Paris 1783 ended the
ended the Revolution and gave U.S.
gave U.S. control of land west of the
west of the Appalachian Mountains
Step 2 – Treaty of Paris
1783
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• East of the Rocky
Mountains and West of
the Mississippi River
Acquired In
• 1803
Acquired From
• France
Acquired Because
• President Jefferson paid
Napoleon $15 million
for the land
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Step 3 – Louisiana
Purchase 1803
• Jefferson bought the
Louisiana Territory
from France for $15
million
• Control of New
Orleans = Control of
Mississippi River
• It DOUBLED the size
of the U.S.
• Explored by Lewis &
Clark with Sacajawea
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• Northern U.S.; bordered
by Great Lakes and
Canada
Acquired In
• 1818
Acquired From
• Great Britain
Acquired Because
• Establish a firm border
between British Canada
& U.S. at 49th parallel
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Step 4 – British Cession 1818
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• SE U.S.; bordered by
Atlantic Ocean & Gulf of
Mexico
Acquired In
• 1819
Acquired From
• Spain
Acquired Because
• The Adams-Onis Treaty
avoided a war with
Spain/crisis with
Seminole Indians
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Step 5 – Spanish
Cession 1819
Thinking Question??
Why weren’t Americans happy with the size of
their country at this point in their history?
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U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• Southern U.S.; bordered
by Gulf of Mexico
Acquired In
• 1845
Acquired From
• Texas
Acquired Because
• Texas wanted to enter
as a slave state; Maine
wanted to enter as a
free state
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Step 6 – Texas
1845
Step 2 – Treaty of Paris 1783
Texas Declaration of Independence
March 6, 1836
The Lone Star Republic
• Texas wins independence on
April 21, 1836
• Not allowed to immediately join the
U.S. (was a slave state)
• Was the Lone Star Republic for 9
years
• Joined the U.S. as the 28th state in
1845
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• NW U.S.; bordered by
Pacific Ocean
Acquired In
• 1846
Acquired From
• Great Britain
Acquired Because
• Americans wanted to
move there for fur
trapping, fishing, logging,
etc.
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Step 7 – Oregon
Country 1846
Oregon Country
• England and the U.S.
shared the entire territory
• “Mountain Men” lived there
• They hunted and sold
beaver pelts and animal
skins for lots of $$$
• Eventually there were no
beavers left and the
mountain men became
farmers or guides
Why did the U.S. want Oregon?
• Settlers began to head there in the
1830s
• Fertile land
• New opportunities
The Oregon Trail
• Oregon fever began in
the 1840s
• Mississippi valley people
began to form societies
to discuss trips to
Oregon
• Great Migration –
emigrants left U.S. to go
to Oregon, usually in
covered wagon trains
Trails Westward
The Oregon Trail – Albert Bierstadt,
1869
Pioneers Heading West to Oregon
Oregon Population Growth
• 1840 – only 500 Americans
• 1845 – 5,000 Americans (but only 700
•
•
•
British)
Americans thought the U.S. should own all of
Oregon because it had more people living
there
“Fifty-four, forty, or fight!” became the war
cry
Compromise – placed boundary between U.S.
and British territory at the 49th parallel
Oregon Country
• What We Wanted
• What We Got
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• Southwest U.S.
Acquired In
• 1848
Acquired From
• Mexico
Acquired Because
• Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo ended the
Mexican-American War,
which Mexico lost
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Step 8 – Mexican
Cession 1848
Causes of the Mexican War



Manifest Destiny
Texas Annexation by the United States
Boundary dispute between Mexico and
the U.S. over the boundary of Texas
Rio Grande boundary
Nueces River boundary
The Mexican War (1846-1848)
Support of the War



For many Americans the war led to
greater national pride
Many people who supported the war
believed it would spread republican
values
Many southerners supported the war,
thinking any territory won would be
organized into slave states
Opposition to the War



Many members of the Whig Party thought the
conflict was unjustified
Northern abolitionists feared any territory
gained in the war might be organized into
slave states
Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln wrote
the “Spot Resolutions” in 1848– asking Polk
to show the spot where American blood had
been shed on American soil
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 1848
• Mexico loses – gives up HUGE territory
Nicholas Trist,
American Negotiator
Treaty Provisions
• Mexico gave up claims to Texas and
accepted Rio Grande as US/Mexico border
• Mexico gave the U.S. California and New
Mexico Territory – this meant we gained all
the area we know today as Utah, Nevada,
Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona!
• U.S. agreed to pay $15 million to Mexico
and pay debts of Mexico to U.S. citizens
Effects of Mexican-American War
• U.S. gains control of greater southwest
• Opens southwest up to settlement
• Allows for greater debate over the
expansion of slavery (would it be allowed
in the new territory?)
U.S. Territorial Expansion
Location
• Along SW border
between U.S. and
Mexico
Acquired In
• 1853
Acquired From
• Mexico
Acquired Because
• U.S. needed it to build a
transcontinental
railroad to California
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Step 9 – Gadsden
Purchase 1853
Westward Expansion
Complete!!!
British Cession
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3
8
4
2
6
1
1776
Treaty
of Paris
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5
Spanish
Cession
How did it start?
• James Marshall was building a
sawmill for John Sutter
• Saw something shiny
• Small shiny things
• GOLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Tried to keep the secret (like that’s
gonna happen!)
Gold at Sutter’s Mill, 1848
John A. Sutter
’49ers
• Gold seekers began arriving
in California in 1849
• Wanted to get rich quick
• They were farmers, lawyers,
priests, doctors, etc.
• Americans were 80% of
49ers
• People came from all over
the world!
California Gold Rush, 1849
California Gold Rush, 1849
• Boomtowns – gold communities
• California Gold Rush doubled
world’s supply of gold
• But – few miners ever got rich!!!
• Merchants made huge profits – eggs
$10/dozen
• Levi Strauss started his business of
making blue jeans!
California becomes a state
• Applied for statehood in 1850
• Easily had 60,000 to qualify (remember
the Northwest Ordinance!)
Mormon Migration
• Brigham Young – founder of Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka
Mormons)
• 1844 – left Illinois
• Move near Great Salt Lake – 1846
• Migration west began
• 12,000 Mormons start journey
• Largest single migration in American
history
Brigham Young
Mormon Route
Moving West…
Mormon Settlement
• Planned towns carefully in desert
• Built irrigation canals
• Farming & industry
• Learned salt extraction (Great Salt
Lake)
• Sold supplies to 49ers
Overland Migration to the West
• Between
1840 and
1860, more
than
250,000
people
made the
trek
westward