9.1

Migrating West

Trace the settlement and development of the Spanish borderlands.

Explain the concept of Manifest DestinyDescribe the causes and challenges of

westward migration.

Objectives

Settling the Spanish BorderlandsAmericans Look WestwardThe Journey Westward

Key Parts

Read section 9.1Answer questions 4-6 on page 304

Introduction

One of the biggest factors discouraging further settlement was the threat of war with nomadic Native Americans.

Colonists depended on protection based on an alliance with local Pueblo Indians.

Disease steadily reduced the Pueblo population.

During this time the nomadic Apaches were becoming more powerful.

Settling the Spanish Borderlands

The nomads also acquired horses and weapons from the French.

This allowed them to become more successful hunters.

They still used bows and arrows to hunt with, but guns to wage war.

Some Apache’s found a haven in the canyons of the northwest New Mexico and settled. They were then called the Navajo.

Cont.

Most Apaches stayed nomadic.During this time raids on Spanish settlements

became more frequent and destructive.Comanche's also began to attack Mexico as

well.Spanish Officials rescued New Mexico by

building stronger frontier defenses and using more flexible diplomacy with the nomads.

Cont..

Spain learned it is better to become allies with some rather than fight all the nomads.

They paid the Comanche and Navajo to attack the Apaches. This worked pretty well for the most part.

As the colony became safer the population began to grow and its economy developed.

By 1821 the Hispanic population had grown to 40,000.

Cont…

In 1760 the Spanish increased their buffer zone into California to prevent the Russian Traders from attaining the land.

Led by Father Junipero Serra, Franciscan priests set up a string of missions.

The missions in California were much more successful than in New Mexico or Texas because the Indians there did not have guns or horses.

Americans Look Westward

In 1821 a revolution toppled Spanish rule and established Mexico as an independent republic.

Soon after American Expansionists began to covet New Mexico, Texas, and California.

These expansionist began to use the term Manifest Destiny in trying to gain land.

They said the God wanted the United States to own all of North America.

Cont.

Mexican independence spurred American trade with northern Mexico.

The large systems of trails that the trade occurred on was called the Santa Fe Trail.

During this same time men began up the Missouri River into the Rockies seeking valuable furs from the abundant beaver filled mountain streams. They were called Mountain Men.

Cont..

These men found the best route through the mountains, in 1826 Jedediah Smith found a great route that became the California Trail. This linked the United States with the Pacific Coast.

A variant of this trail turned northwest at South Pass to reach Oregon Country. In 1836 Marcus and Narcissa Whitman established this trail as the Oregon Trail.

Cont…

In 1842 an official government expedition led by John Fremont set off across the western country following the trails blazed by the Mountain Men and the Whitmans.

This stemmed the vast movement of wagon trains journeying west.

There were a lot of dangers to the 2,000 mile journey that took approximately five months to complete, but the rewards could be great.

The Journey Westward

Between 1840 and 1860 about 260,000 Americans crossed the continent to settle on the west coast.

The Mormons decided to settle along the way. Brigham young moved the Mormons west to establish a new colony named New Zion on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake.

By 1860 around 40,000 Mormons moved west

Cont.