“Go West Young Man”- Horace Greeley

Westward Expansion

Themes

• Expansion of U.S. territory: - Texas, Oregon, California, and Southwest • Manifest Destiny • Personalities: Stephen Austin and James K.

Polk

Move West!

Move West!

Early Settlement and Texas

• In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain

• In early 1820s about 3,000 illegal immigrants (mostly from the United States) lived in Mexico

• Mexican Government: Passed legislation hoping immigrants would become loyal Mexican citizens

Mexican Colonization Law (1824)

• American immigrants could receive a League and Labor of land if they

1. Became Mexican citizens2. Obeyed Mexican laws3. Converted to Catholicism

League and Labor

• League- 4,400 acres of grazing land• Labor – 170 acres of farmland

Texas Colonizer

• Stephen Austin• An empresario who led many American families to

Texas• Over 35,000 Americans had moved to Mexico Texas

by 1835• Texans

- Former American citizens who moved to Texas• The majority of these settlers lived in what is now

east Texas

empresario

• empresario – facilitated relocation of American families to Mexico

• Agents received land grants in return for recruiting settlers to move

Mexican Government (A New President)

• Goal of Texans and Tejanos: More autonomy • Goal of Santa Ana: Limit power of Mexican

states• 1829 – Mexico abolishes slavery • Law of 1830 – The Mexican government

passes a law stopping legal immigration into Texas from the United States

• Result- Texas War for Independence

Prelude to War

• Many Texans are angry about the Law of 1830 led by Stephen F. Austin

• In 1833, Stephen F. Austin goes to Mexico City to discuss reforms. The trip results in him arrested without any charges

• 1834, President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna suspends the Mexican Constitution and assumes power

• Result- Texas War for Independence

Texas War for Independence (1835-1836)

• Texans and Tejanos vs. Mexico• Sam Houston led Texan army • Some Americans became involved but not the

U.S. government (stay out of foreign affairs)• Texans compared their rebellion to American

Revolution

Texas War for Independence (1835-1836)

• Texas Revolution began with the Battle of Gonzales (1835)

• Mexican Army was sent to Gonzales to retrieve a canon but was defeated by John Henry Moore and Joseph W.E. Wallace

• The Texans stood their ground, and the Mexican Calvary returned empty-handed to San Antonio

Texas War for Independence (1835-1836)

• With war the only option, Austin now leader of the ALL volunteer Texan army marched out of Gonzales and to San Antonio

• Two others shared command: James Bowie and James W. Fannin• Bowie and Fannin led a siege on San Antonio by wining the Battle

of Concepcion in October• The siege of Bexar would come to an end on December 5 when

over 300 volunteers, led by Benjamin R. Milam, into the heart of the city

• After 3 days the city was taken along with the Alamo • Milam would be shop by a sniper during the siege and die

instantly

Texas War for Independence (1835-1836)

• By March 2 the Convention of 1836, formally voted for independence

• The convention appointed Sam Houston major general of the Texas army

• Shortly after Santa Ana’s forces grew to over 8,000 while he crossed the Rio Grande heading for San Antonio

The Alamo

• Battle of the Alamo – 187 Texans vs. 5,000 Mexicans • Texans led by Jim Bowie and William B. Travis• While waiting for reinforcements that never came,

the Texans that stayed at the Alamo knew they would all die fighting

- “Remember the Alamo” became a battle cry - Davey Crocket, William B. Travis, and Jim Bowie

were killed

The Battle of Goliad

• Battle of Goliad – Santa Ana ordered the execution of over 400 prisoners of war in a Texan defeat-James Fannin is executed

The Battle of Goliad

Texas War for Independence (1835-1836)

• Battle of San Jacinto - Texans slaughter Mexicans and win the war

• Santa Ana captured • Treaty of Velasco signed to end the war - Texas independence was recognized, hostilities

were ended, and the Mexican army was retired beyond the Rio Grande

Lone Star Republic

• The Texans had won their independence and attempted to join the United States

• From 1836-1845 Texas was an independent nation: The Lone Star Republic

• Because of the slavery issue, Texas was not admitted into Union

• Sam Houston became the 1st President of Texas • Border at Nueces River (disputed)

Stephen F. Austin(Angleton, TX)

Sam Houston(Huntsville, TX)

Benjamin Milam(Milam Park, San Antonio)

James Bowie(Texarkana, TX)

Davy Crockett(Lawrenceburg, TN)

William B. Travis(The Alamo, San Antonio)

James Fannin(9 miles east of Goliad, Texas)

Expansion West

• Manifest Destiny (1840s):- The nation’s obvious destiny was that it expand

from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean “ Our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative self-government entrusted to us”

- John L. O’Sullivan (1845)

Expansion West

• Effects of O’Sullivan

• Many Americans now believe the United States was special because of its democracy

• It is the duty of America to conquer the land from ocean to ocean in order to secure democracy for all

• Critics have argued the United States wasn’t very democratic (women, Indians, slaves)

Presidential Election and Manifest Destiny

• Presidential Election of 1844:James K. Polk vs. Henry ClayDemocrat- PolkWhig – Henry Clay • James K Polk (from Tennessee) promised to:

1. Acquire Oregon, Texas, and California2. Retire after one term as President

Polk and Texas

• After Polk’s election but before his inauguration:

- Texas entered the Union in 1845

Oregon Trail

• By the late 1830s, settlers began to trickle along the Oregon Trail

• The 1st wagon trains headed west in 1841, and by 1843 about 1,000 emigrants a year set out from Missouri

• While many lived in peace with the Indians along the trail there were some who resisted

• “Savage” Indians tribes- Sioux, Cheyenne, Shoshoni, Wichita, and Comanche

Oregon Country

• Remember – Oregon was “jointly occupied” by the United States and Great Britain since 1819

• Polk’s campaign slogan: “54, 40 or Fight!”• Privately, Polk agreed to compromise with the

British; the led to Oregon Treaty (1846)

Oregon Country

Oregon Treaty (1846)

1. 49th parallel became the boundary between the United States and Great Britain (Canada)

2. Great Britain retained control of Vancouver Island

James Polk and California

• Polk tried to purchase California, New Mexico, and recognition of U.S. Annexation of Texas for $25 million.

• Polk wanted the Rio Grande as the Texas border- Mexico rejected this offer

• Polk took advantage of the boundary dispute to provoke a war

• U.S. troops were sent into the disputed region

Disputed Land in Texas

Mexican - American War

• Before Polk was about to go to Congress to ask for a declaration of war, troops were attacked on the border of deep South Texas

• Congress declared war in May 1846• Polk and his allies supported the war• But many in the United States were opposed

- Expansion of slavery- War of conquest

• James K. Polk will send Zachary Taylor to fortify Brownsville, TX

Mexican - American War

• First major battle of the War took place at Palo Alto• Location: north side of Brownsville near the present-

day city of Los Fresnos, TX• Zachary Taylor had two locations to capture: Fort Texas,

a recently built fort on the Rio Grande near Matamoros, and Point Isabel where his supplies were

• Taylor and Ulysses S. Grant would soon fight General Mariano Arista at Palo Alto

• After weeks of skirmishes the fight was a draw until Mexican troops began to retreat deeper into Mexico

Mexican War (1846-1848)

• Zachary Taylor – Monterrey and Buena Vista – Halted due to lack of supplies

• Battle of Buena Vista - U.S. troops were outnumbered; however forced the Mexican army, led by Santa Ana, to retreat

Mexican War (1846-1848)

• Stephen Kearney – New Mexico • John C. Freemont – California • Winfield Scott and Robert E Lee – the Siege of

Veracruz and occupation of Mexico City

Mexican War (1846-1848)

• About 13,000 Americans died• Officers introduced: Robert E. Lee and Ulysses

S. Grant • Many Mexicans became resentful of the

United States

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo(1848)

• Treaty that ended the Mexican War:1. The Rio Grande became border between

Mexico and the United States2. United States received California and

territory in Southwest3. United States gave Mexico $15 million

Mexican Cession (1848)

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Critics)

• Many criticized the Treaty; expansionists such as Polk hoped to acquire more territory (ALL of Mexico)

• Biggest obstacle: American racism

Review

• Expansion West and U.S. acquisition of Texas, Oregon, and Southwest

• James K. Polk – accomplished all his goals