MANIFEST DESTINY

UNIT 81

Western Expansion1. Oregon Territory

2. The Republic of Texas

3. California and Southwest

4. War with Mexico

5. Americans rush West2

Vocabulary

• Mountain Men- adventurous people who lived off the land in Oregon Territory

• Oregon Trail- a route followed by wagon trains from the East to Oregon

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Westward Expansion• Economic Growth

- Industrial Revolution

-Southerners move west

-Transportation connected different regions

• Territorial Expansion

- Louisiana Purchase 1803- largest expansion in the 19th century

- Texas 1845

- Oregon Territory 1846

- Mexican Cession 18484

Westward Expansion• Manifest Destiny- The belief that it was the

mission and God given right to expand across the entire North American Continent

• Manifest Destiny is considered as the era of:

- conflict

- expansion

- migration

- territory

- exploration5

• The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided procedures for establishing territories and creating states during the orderly expansion of the United States

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Settlers and Trappers Were Attracted to Oregon

Oregon Country —a huge region west of the Rocky Mountains that included present-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, and western Canada.– Good farmland along the Pacific coast attracted farmers.– Fertile soil– Mild temperatures year round– Plentiful rainfall– Forests further inland and in the Rocky Mountains attracted

fur trappers.– Beavers and other fur-bearing animals

At first, four countries claimed Oregon—United States, Great Britain, Spain, and Russia. Later, Spain and Russia dropped their claims. 7

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Mountain Men in the Far West

• The China trade: New England merchants stopped along the Oregon coast to buy furs to sell in China.

• The mountain men: These rugged individualists—people who follow their own independent course in life—led dangerous lives. They faced long, cold winters, wild animals, and hunger. Often they learned trapping and hunting skills from Indians.

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Mountain Men in the Far West

• .

The fur trade: During fall and spring, mountain men tended their traps. Then in July, many mountain men headed for a rendezvous—a French word meaning “get-together”—at a place chosen the year before. There they met with traders, who bought the furs.Famous mountain men: In their search for furs, mountain men explored parts of the West, then showed settlers the way. Jedediah Smith, Manuel Lisa, and James Beckwourth were some well-known mountain men.

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Missionaries in Oregon

• The first white Americans to settle permanently in Oregon Country were missionaries, including Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.

• The Whitmans built a mission near the Columbia River. They worked with the Cayuse Indians. Soon other missionaries and settlers joined them.

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Missionaries in Oregon

• Missionaries attracted more settlers when they sent glowing reports about Oregon to friends and family in the East.

• Some settlers carried diseases that struck the Indians. A measles outbreak killed many Cayuses.

• Indians, angry over the spread of disease attacked the Whitman’s mission and killed the Whitmans and 12 others.

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The United States Gains Oregon and Texas

Oregon

• The United States and Britain agreed to a compromise. The two countries divided Oregon at latitude 49°N .

• Later, the Oregon Territory became the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

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The Republic of Texas

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Vocabulary

• dictator- a ruler with absolute power and authority

• siege- a strategy in which enemy forces try to capture a fort or city by bombarding and surrounding it

• Alamo- an old Spanish fort in San Antonio, TX

• annex- to take control of a territory or country

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• New independent country of Mexico wanted Americans to settle in Texas

- offered free land

- Stephen Austin led first settlers to Texas

- By 1830, 20,000 Americans lived in Texas

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Problems between Mexico and Americans

• Settlers did not like Mexican laws such as:

- one law required all Texans to worship in the Catholic Church

- another banned slavery

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Texas Declares Independence

• Texas won their independence from Mexico in 1838

• Texas was now an independent country that was also called the Lone Star Republic

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The War Left Problems

• many Mexicans did not accept Texas independence

• Texas had little money after their struggles for independence

• many wanted the United States to anex the Texas Republic

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A Mix of Cultures in California and the Southwest

After 1848, English-speaking settlers flocked to the Southwest. They brought their culture and ideas about democracy.

Ideas and practices that Americans adopted from the Mexican Americans who lived in the Southwest.

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A Mix of Cultures in California and the Southwest

– Silver mining techniques.– Methods of irrigation.– Spanish and Native American words, for

example, stampede, buffalo, tortilla, soda, and tornado.

– Some Mexican laws, for example, one law that said that a husband and wife owned property jointly and another law that said landowners could not cut off water to their neighbors.

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War with Mexico

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The United States Gains Oregon and Texas

Texas• In 1844, Texan president Sam Houston signed a

treaty of annexation with the United States.• Fearing war with Mexico, the United States

Senate refused to ratify the treaty.• Houston pretended that Texas might ally itself

with Britain. This move prompted Congress to pass a joint resolution admitting Texas to the Union.

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Causes of the Mexican War

• Mexico did not accept Texan independence and was outraged by the United States annexation of Texas.

• Americans resented Mexico’s rejection of President Polk’s offer to buy California and New Mexico.

• A border dispute sparked war. Both nations claimed land between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River and sent troops into the area. President Polk claimed Mexico had invaded American soil and asked Congress to declare war

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Results of the Mexican War

• During the war, Americans in northern California revolted against Mexican rule and declared California an independent republic, the Bear Flag Republic.

• In the fighting, the United States won control of all of New Mexico and California. Despite the heroic stand of young Mexican soldiers in a battle at Chapultepec near Mexico City, American forces took over the Mexican capital.

• The Mexican government moved to make peace. In 1848, it signed the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, ending the war.

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The United States Acquires New Lands

In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico had to cede, or give up, some of its lands.– Mexico ceded all of California and New Mexico to

the United States. These lands were called the Mexican Cession.

– In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million.

– The United States agreed to respect the rights of Spanish-speaking people in the Mexican Cession.

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The United States Acquires New Lands

In 1853, the United States bought the Gadsden Purchase.– The United States wanted to build a

railroad across an area that is now the southern part of Arizona and New Mexico.

– The United States paid Mexico $10 million for the strip of land, known as the Gadsden Purchase.

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American’s Rush West

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Americans Rush West

• Why did the Mormons move west to settle in Utah?

• How did the gold rush affect life in California?

• Why did California develop such a diverse population?

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The Mormons Settle Utah

• Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1830 in upstate New York. Members of the church were called Mormons.

• Neighbors were angered by Mormon beliefs that property should be owned in common and that a man could have more than one wife.

• The Mormons moved west to Ohio, where they faced opposition.

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The Mormons Settle Utah

• The Mormons moved to Missouri, and then to Illinois. In the 1840s, they built a community called Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi River. They again clashed with neighbors. An angry mob killed Joseph Smith.

• A new leader, Brigham Young, realized Mormons needed a refuge, a place where they would be safe from persecution. In 1847, he led an advance party to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, in present-day Utah. Thousands of Mormons followed.

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People Rush Westward

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The California Gold Rush

• In 1848, James Marshall was supervising the building of a sawmill for John Sutter, when he discovered a lump of gold.

• Sutter tried to keep the news a secret, but within days people from San Francisco and other California towns were rushing to Sutter’s Mill to look for gold.

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The California Gold Rush

• Soon, thousands of Americans, as well as people from around the world, were rushing to California to search for gold. They became known as forty-niners.

• Early miners found gold easily. Some miners found a way to get the gold out of riverbeds. Yet, very few miners struck it rich. Many went broke trying to find gold. Still, although many miners left the gold fields, they stayed in California to farm or work at other jobs.

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The California Gold Rush

• San Francisco grew from a sleepy town to a bustling city.

• When crime grew in the mining camps, miners and city-dwellers formed vigilance committees. Vigilantes, or self-appointed law enforcers, dealt out punishments. Sometimes, a person accused of a crime was lynched—hanged without a trial.

• Californians realized they needed a strong government. In 1849, they wrote a state constitution and asked to be admitted to the Union.

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California’s Diverse Population• Originally, many Native American tribes made

California their home.

• Before the gold rush, California’s population included large numbers of Mexicans.

• The gold rush brought in people from all over the world, including large numbers of Chinese. Many stayed on when the gold rush ended.

• Escaped slaves and free blacks joined the gold rush. Many African Americans also remained in California.

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People Rush into The WestC

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• Oregon has fertile land

• Texas is ideal for raising cattle and growing cotton

• Many Americans believe in Manifest Destiny

• Mormons seek a safe home

• Gold is discovered in California

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• Texas wins war for independence

• United States annexes Texas

• Britain and United States divide Oregon

• United States defeats Mexico in war

• Cotton Kingdom spreads

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• United States stretches from sea to sea

• California and Texas are the most populous states

• Mexican American culture enriches the United States

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