I am John Tyler. I became president after the death of

William Henry Harrison.

Because I speak softly and am courteous, some believe I am

weak

I am stubborn and proud and not very imaginative. I

disagree with the Whigs on several issues and I am a state’s rights Southerner.

I am willing to cooperate with

Congress and its leader, Henry Clay, but I will not be his puppet!I wanted to be

president! It was my turn!

As leader of Congress, I have pushed through a bill to establish a new

Bank of the United States

I veto that Bill!

We Quit!!!

After Tyler’s veto, his entire cabinet resigns in protest

I’m staying ‘cause I got other plans

All except for Tyler’s Secretary of State, Daniel Webster

I want to distribute money from land sales to the states to help with their finances

I actually want to reduce federal

revenue so I can push for a higher tariff! Heh-heh.

To win votes for his plan, Clay backed the Preemption Act of 1841 legalizing the right of squatters to occupy and later buy unsurveyed land. Southerners wanted an amendment that stopped distribution if the tariff were raised above 20 percent.

And when Congress attempted to pass a new tariff without repealing the Distribution Act…

I veto it!

Curses! Foiled Again!

• The border between Maine and Canada was in dispute since the peace treaty of 1783

• 1842- Britain sent Lord Ashburton to the US to settle that and other disputes

• Ashburton and Webster quickly came to agreement- the British needed only territory for a road- but Massachusetts and Maine wanted every acre in dispute

• At the time of the revolution, Ben Franklin had marked the boundary in red on a map now lost

• Webster had someone mark the British version of the boundary in red on an old map and convinced the states that they better agree to the new treaty or they would lose land

• In fact, the British owned a copy of the original map that showed all of the territory belonged to America

• The Transcontinental Treaty excluded Texas• Americans began settling Texas with Mexican

permission• By 1830 20,000 white settlers and 2,000 slaves

inhabited Texas versus a few thousand Mexicans

• Both John Quincy Adams and Jackson tried to buy Texas but Mexico would not sell

• The flood of American immigrants gave Mexico second thoughts

• Most Americans remained Protestant despite requirements they become Catholic

• When Mexico outlawed slavery in 1829, Americans “freed” their slaves and made them lifetime “indentured servants”

• 1830 Immigration from America was prohibited but failed to stop the flow

• The increasing restrictions caused many American immigrants to seek independence

• By 1835 skirmishes with Mexican authorities had erupted into full-scale rebellion

• 1836 Mexican President Santa Anna marched north to subdue the rebels

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

• 187 men under command of Colonel Travis died at Alamo

• Slaughter of Americans at Goliad

• Independence declared March 2, 1836

• Santa Anna defeated at San Jacinto

• Sam Houston elected president of the Republic of Texas

• Most Texans favored immediate annexation by US

• President Jackson and his successor, Martin Van Buren, made no move – did not want war with Mexico nor to rekindle slavery issue

• Texas made friends with Britain- Texas cotton was in demand and free from tariffs

• The US (especially South) was alarmed at Texas’ relations with Britain

• South feared Texas might abolish slavery under British influence

• Tyler, a Southerner, also saw a chance to revive his presidency

• When Webster resigned in 1843, the new Secretary of State, Abel Upshur, was ordered by Tyler to seek a treaty of annexation

• Everyone wanted TexasThe South to extend slaveryThe North and West due to patriotic fervor

• Before the treaty was signed Upshur was killed in an accident

• Tyler appointed Calhoun as Secretary of State – a blunder

• Calhoun was associated with slavery and the South and he alienated Northerners

• Texas was now a political issue

• Both Clay and Van Buren (both with presidential aspirations) opposed annexation as it would bring war with Mexico

Squirrely Boy

No, my nickname is NOT Lurch!

• Annexation was rejected 35 to 16 by the Senate• Texas was angry – Britain was happy

• California was Mexican territory and Oregon was jointly claimed by the US and Britain

• By 1840 American settlers were flowing into these lands

• The fertile soil and mild climate were attractive

• New settlers burned with the fever of Manifest Destiny

• Societies were founded in the east with the purpose of organizing groups for settling the West

• Much of the travel was over the Oregon Trail

• Most travelers were young families with enough money to make the trip ($600 for a family of four)

• Indians posed no great threat to large groups

• The trip took about 5 months and was one of hardship and uncertainty

• Western ports were also important to future trade with Asia: San Diego, San Francisco, and Puget Sound

• Clay was nominated by the Whigs

• Martin Van Buren seemed to have wrapped up the Democratic nomination

• Both wanted to avoid the issue of Texas

• Calhoun pushed the issue especially for slavery

• Van Buren was swept aside and James K. Polk was made Democratic nominee

• Polk was a Jacksonian- against the Bank and high tariffs

• Believed in expansion - annexation of Texas and taking of Oregon

• Anti-slavery Liberty Party cost Clay the election by pulling Whig votes away

• Tyler asked Congress for a joint resolution to annex Texas- Texas became state in 1845

Henry Clay

Curses! Foiled Again!

• Successful president in that he accomplished his goals

• Polk informed Britain he would compromise on boundary in Oregon territory at 49th parallel- Britain refused

• Polk notified Britain he was abrogating the treaty of Joint Occupation- Britain compromised and got Vancouver Island

First president with a mullet

• Make a timeline that shows the major events of the war with Mexico including causes and results

• Include important people and their impact

• Use pages 327 War with Mexico through 332 The Fruits of Victory

July 1845 - Polk sends Zachary Taylor to defend Texas border. Border in dispute. Taylor stops at Corpus Christi

November 1845 - Polk sends John Slidell to Mexico to negotiate. US would cancel Mexican debt in return for recognition of Texas and border on Rio Grande. Mexico refuses.

• Expansion again brought back the issue of slavery

• States had complete control over slavery but Congress had control over territories

• Wilmot Proviso was proposed- that slavery would be forbidden in any territory taken from Mexico

• Proviso was defeated in the Senate

• Calhoun introduced resolutions arguing Congress had no right to bar slavery anywhere

• Compromises were offeredExtend the Missouri Compromise line to the

PacificOrganize territories and let their populations

decide

• The issue of slavery was avoided

• The Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor due to his fame as a general – he expressed no views on any issues

• Democratic hopefuls were little better

• Democrats finally settled on Lewis Cass

• Martin Van Buren’s faction in the Democratic Party were known as the “Barnburners”

• Barnburners were against Cass as he was for extending slavery into the new territories

• The Barnburners joined with the anti-slavery Liberty Party forming the Free Soil Party which nominated Martin Van Buren

• Van Buren knew he could not be elected but wanted to take a stand against slavery

• The Free Soil Party took 10 percent of the vote

• After a dull campaign, Taylor was elected

• The discovery of gold brought a huge influx of mostly males to California - 25,000 by ship, 55,000+ by land, about 8,000 Mexicans, 5,000 South Americans, and hundreds of Europeans

• Gold was sought along the Sierras

• Practically overnight, the native Mexican population became a minority

• Competition resulted in ethnic conflictAmericans used violence and laws to restrict

Latin Americans from miningFree blacks were treated no betterThe Native-American population was almost

wiped out

• The rough and tumble life in gold towns demanded government

• Taylor suggested California be admitted as a state and let its citizens decide whether to be free or slave

• Californians were against slavery due to its threat as competition

• California drew up its constitution• Southerners were against

admission as it would upset the balance of slave and free states

• With Union at stake, the Great Compromiser, Henry Clay, went into action

• Clay’s ProposalCalifornia admitted as a free stateThe Southwest territory organized without reference

to slaverySoutherners would have right to bring slaves into the

territoriesUS would take over Texas’ pre-annexation debtsSlave trade to be abolished in Washington DC but

fugitive slave laws strictly enforced

• The issue sparked on of the greatest debates in the history of the Senate

• Calhoun, too feeble to speak, rejected the compromise and indirectly endorsed secession

• Webster urged the acceptance of the compromise- argued that secession would result in war

• The majority favored compromise but the deadlock was not broken until the death of President Taylor in July 1850

• The compromise was voted issue by issue

• Senator Stephen Douglas made an impact in pushing the compromise

• California became the 31st state

• The Mexican cession was divided into the New Mexico and Utah territories- slavery to be decided by their populations

• Texas had its debts paid

• The slave trade was abolished in Washington DC

• Federal commissioners were appointed to aid in tracking/returning runaway slaves

• The compromise was not voted as a whole but piecemeal

• Each measure succeeded because each received a majority vote- some senators refusing to vote on some issues

• The public approved of the results- no one wanted the alternative

• Slavery was brushed under the rug again

The North The South

What they wanted

• California admitted as a free state• Southwest territory organized without regard to slavery• Survival of the Union

• No restrictions on slavery or South would secede• Balance of Free versus Slave states to be maintained

What they offered

• US to pay Texas’ pre-annexation debts• Slave trade ended in DC but not US• More effective fugitive slave laws

What occurred

• California admitted as free state• NM and UT organized as territories with issue of slavery undecided• Bills passed individually – slavery issue swept under the rug

• Texas received $10 million for debts• Slave trade abolished in DC• Fugitive Slave Act made more stringent

The Compromise of 1850

Background:

California ready to enter the Union. Was it to enter as slave or free?

President Taylor left it to California. California voted to be free state. The South saw it as upsetting the balance set by the Missouri Compromise. Calls were made for secession.