Age of ExpansionAge of ExpansionAway, away with all these cobweb

tissues of the rights of discovery, exploration, settlement… The American claim is by the right of 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….

- John L. O’Sullivan, Democratic Review, 1845

““Young America”Young America”- Coined by Emerson to reflect the positive attitude toward

market economy and industrial growth

Great writers of the time:Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road”Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”

Pushing the BordersPushing the BordersU.S. has interest in expanding…1. Southward into Texas (Mexican province)2. Westward into Oregon (claimed by

Britain)- 1818, agree to 10 years joint occupation3. Adams-Onís Treaty – Spain gives

America the rights to the Pacific Northwest4. Canadian lumberjacks and Maine militia

fight over New Brunswick/Maine boundary

Territorial Expansion by the Territorial Expansion by the Mid-Nineteenth CenturyMid-Nineteenth Century

TexasTexas1821 – Mexico wins its national independence

from Spain… hopes to attract settlers- Texas = Northern frontier provinceStephen Austin – son of Missouri banker- Given large land grant- Brings 300 American families to Texas1830 – Americans (white farmers & black

slaves) outnumber Mexicans 3 to 1

Friction between Americans and Mexicans1829 – Mexico:a.) outlaws slaveryb.) require immigrants to convert to Roman

Catholicism- Settlers refuse to obey- Mexico closes Texas- Thousands of land-hungry Americans

ignore the “closing”

Revolt and IndependenceRevolt and Independence

1834 – General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna makes himself dictator of Mexico

- Abolishes federal govt.- Enforces Mexico’s laws in TexasMarch, 1836- Sam Houston leads American settlers- Declares Texas an independent republic

Santa Anna leads Mexican army- Captures town of Goliad- Attacks Alamo (San Antonio), kills all

defenders- Battle of San Jacinto River, Sam Houston

captures Santa Anna- Leader forced to sign treaty granting

independence and a republic north of Rio Grande

- News reaches Mexico city… Rejected!

Texas RevolutionTexas Revolution

Santa AnnaSam Houston

Annexation DeniedAnnexation DeniedSam Houston – first president of the Lone

Star Republic- Applies to U.S. govt. for Texas to be

annexed as new state- Jackson and Van Buren put off the request- Northern opposition to possible 5 new

slave states- John Tyler tries… worried about British,

but Senate rejects

Boundary Dispute Boundary Dispute in Maine (1840s)in Maine (1840s)

Maine/ Canadian province of New Brunswick

- Canada still under British rule- Rival groups of lumbermen

fight - Aroostook War- Ends with Webster-Ashburton

Treaty of 1842- Also settles a dispute over

Minnesota territory

Boundary Dispute in OregonBoundary Dispute in Oregon

Disputed

Boundary Dispute in OregonBoundary Dispute in OregonVast territory on Pacific Coast was claimed by four

nations at one timeU.S., Britain, Spain, Russia- Spain gives up with Adams-Onis (1819)- Britain bases claim on prosperous fur trade with

Natives- U.S. claim based on1. Captain Robert Gray discovers Columbia River in

17922. Lewis and Clark3. Fur trading post est. by John Jacob Astor (1811)

- Russia… scarcely occupied

Manifest DestinyManifest DestinyTo take OregonTo annex Republic of TexasTo convince Mexico to give up its West Coast

province… California- 1845: 7000 Spanish-Mexicans in CA- Americans arriving to “play the Texas game”

“expansion by white Americans across the continent was inevitable and ordained by God”… c. 1845

Agnew- “Hatchet man” against

Vietnam War- Resigns Oct. 1973

because of tax evasion, accepting bribes

- Nixon??- 25th Amendment,

Nixon brings in Ford (Michigan congressman) as VP

Spiro Agnew

Young Gerald Ford

1Vice President Dick Cheney2Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi3President pro tempore of the Senate Robert Byrd4Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice5Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr.6Secretary of Defense Robert Gates7Attorney General Michael Mukasey 8Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne9Secretary of Agriculture10Secretary of Health and Human Services

Michael Leavitt11Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Alphonso Jackson12Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters13Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman14Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings15Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson

John Tyler 4 PrezJohn Tyler 4 PrezVP for “his accidency”States rights, pro-slavery Virginian

lawyerStubborn, uncooperativeWhig campaign objective… keep

Harrison vague and Tyler quietLike Jackson, hated National Bank…

vetoes twiceWhigs kick him out, talk of

impeachmentDemocrats reject him, fails as

independentDecides to back Dem. James PolkDies a Confederate in 1862

Tyler’s successTyler’s successSettles border Maine

border disputeAnnexing of Texas- Tyler pushes Manifest

Destiny & annexation- Cannot get 2/3 Senate

approval of treaty- Changes rules: gets

joint resolution passed by both Houses… needs only a majority in both Houses

Election of 1844Election of 1844Polk – Democrat – 170Clay – Whig – 105Birney – 0“Fifty four forty or fight”- Dem nominee Van Buren and Clay

disagree on annexation, slavery- Dark horse… James Polk appeals to

westerners and southerners with commitment to Manifest Destiny

Election of 1844, Polk 4 PrezElection of 1844, Polk 4 Prez

“Fifty four forty or fight”(Columbia District vs. Oregon Territory)

Henry Clay, Whig from KY, is against annexation, then for it

Alienates NY voters who turn to Liberty Party

NY’s electoral votes prove important

Polk

Clay

Oregon- Polk backs off slogan “Fifty four forty…”- Compromises with Britain… - Divide Oregon at 49th parallel - Britain holds out… then gets Vancouver

Island and right to use Columbia River- Northerners angry at “sell out” of British

Columbia

Causes of Mexican War (1846-Causes of Mexican War (1846-1848)1848)

Mexico does not recognize the 1836 secession of Texas… intends to take back the rebel state

1845 U.S. annexation of Texas

Tyler annexed Texas… left Polk to deal with Mexico’s reaction

On the Way to War with Mexico

Polk first sends John Slidell to Mexico City

Goals:1. Buy California and New

Mexico territories2. Settle dispute on Texas-

Mexico borderNueces River or Rio Grande??

Immediate Causes- Slidell waits for response- Polk orders General Zachary Taylor toward Rio

Grande, across from Mexico- Provokes Mexico- 11 Americans killed(?)- Pre-prepared war messagesent to Congress- Whigs, including Lincoln, doubtthat American blood was shed- Majority in houses approve war

Military CampaignsMilitary CampaignsFought in Mexican

territory with small American armies

General Stephen Kearney

- Takes Santa Fe, New Mexico, S. California

John C. Fremont (and a few dozen others)

- Takes N. California in June 1846

Taylor and 6000 men- Drives Mexicans from

Texas- Crosses Rio Grande- Victory at Buena VistaGeneral Winfield Scott- Selected by Polk to

invade central Mexico- Capture Vera Cruz

and Mexico City in 1847

Results of Mexican WarResults of Mexican WarMilitary disaster for Mexico- Will not concede northern lands- Agree to terms after fall of Mexico City Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)- Mexican Cession- America sends diplomat, Nicholas Trist1.) Mexico recognizes Rio Grande as Texas

southern border2.) U.S. will pay $15 mil for NM and CA

Opposition to TreatyOpposition to Treaty

Whigs

“The war was an immoral effort to expand slavery”

Southern Democrats

“As expansionists, we want the U.S. to take all of Mexico”

Treaty is still ratified

Wilmot Proviso- 1846, PA congressman David Wilmot

proposes a bill to forbid slavery in new territories

- Passes the House twice- Defeated in SenateLegacy of Mexican-American War- Slavery debate- Prelude to Civil War?

Renewed SectionalismRenewed Sectionalism

- Tensions increase between North and South

- Northerners view war w/ Mexico as a southern plot to extend slavery

- Wilmot Proviso – another escalation in political tensions

Expansionism turns to Expansionism turns to Internal GrowthInternal Growth

Excitement of Young Americans, Ideas of Manifest Destiny fade after Mexican War

- Improvements in manufacturing, agriculture- New economic opportunities- 1848, gold discovered in CA

RailroadsRailroads

Transforms American economy, 1840s, 1850s

Steam locomotive technology brought from England

1831 – First LinesCharleston and Hamburg

in SCBaltimore and Ohio in MD

RailroadsRailroadsBegin to compete with canals- Faster- Canals remain cheaper1840s- Extend to mid-Atlantic states1850s- 20,000 miles laid down1860s- All states east of Mississippi- Cut into canal business

Europe- Invests in U.S. railroads- Provides iron railsU.S.- Domestic iron industry

beginsAmerica’s largest industry- Requires much capital and

labor- First major U.S. corporations- govt. oversees routes and

provides land grants- Links western agriculture

with northern industry

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution

Period of rapid growth for industryFactory system expands- Wool cloth, iron, guns, clocks, sewing machinesThe new mode of production- Supervised workforce under one roof- cash wages- interchangeable parts- Mass production, continuous process(Specialized tasks… not one worker/many jobs)

Transition to Mass ProductionTransition to Mass Production

From small workshops to large factoriesEx. The cobbler is replaced by shoe

factoriesNew Technology

Elias Howe

Pullman Car

Richard Hoe – Rotary Printing Press

John Deer – Steel Plow

Samuel Morse - Telegraph

Samuel Colt - 45

Machine tools – mid 19th century- Sign of American industry, ingenuity

U.S. still NOT an industrial society- Factory workers = small % of work force- Agriculture supports life and the GNP- Farming influences by technological

revolutionEx. Deere’s steel plow, McCormick’s

mechanical reaper

Mass ImmigrationMass Immigration

Up North- Drive for mechanization of industry and

labor- Due to shortage of cheap labor- Compared to Europe, U.S. is labor-scarce- Women and children work because…Men will not work farms and factories for low

wages

Mass ImmigrationMass Immigration

1820-1840- 700,000 immigrants- Mostly British, German1840-1860- 4 million (added to 20 million)- Mostly Ireland… Germany(also Swiss, Swedish, Norway)

1845-18551845-1855

3 million people arrive in this decade

Many Irish…Great potato famine

New Working ClassNew Working ClassMany immigrants end up working in factories,

mines, or doing construction

Cheap labor fuels the Industrial Revolution

Immigrants displace native born workers in the Northeast

Ex. Irish in Boston(lower economic expectations.. more conservative

social values)1860… immigrants = 60% of workforceMen displace women in factories

Resistance to Factory DisciplineResistance to Factory DisciplineRural people enter factory system

Protestant/ Immigrant clash

Tardiness, drunkenness, loafing on the job

Discontent and Cultural resistance

Industrialization + Immigration = New working class of low wage labor

Land of opportunity??

Stephen DouglasStephen DouglasThe Little Giant

Democrat

Fails to win nomination despite reflecting Young American ideas

Shows America’s unwillingness to compromise on expansionist ideas