Manifest Destiny

Main Idea:Westward expansion had political, economic, and social effects on the development of the United States.

Mountain Men Open the West

•Mountain men explored the West while searching for furs

•They provided knowledge of the West that helped later pioneers move west

•Jedediah Smith & Jim Beckwourth found passes used by settlers.

The Lure of the West•Many used the West to

make money and take land from Native Americans

•Land speculators bought huge areas of land, hoping value would increase – divided it, sold it for profit & made lots of money!

The Lure of the West•Manufacturers and merchants soon followed the settlers west

•They hope to earn money, making, and selling items that farmers needed (targeted the consumers!)

The Trail to Santa Fe•Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 and opened its borders to American traders

•Trip from Missouri to Santa Fe, N.M. - called Santa Fe Trail 

Santa Fe Trail

•Oregon Country

Oregon Fever•Hundreds of settlers began migrating west on the Oregon Trail  

*U.S. and Britain argued over ownership of Oregon

Oregon Fever•Rich, fertile land attracted settlers

•In 1843, nearly 1,000 people traveled from Missouri to Oregon

The Oregon Trail

The Mormon Trail•Mormons—members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

•Many people did not agree with Mormon teachings b/c:–practice of polygamy–objected to their holding of property in common

The Mormon Trail•A mob killed Mormon leader Joseph Smith and the Mormons decided to leave U.S.

•The next leader, Brigham Young, led 1,600 Mormons to Utah (1847)

•They built a new settlement by the Great Salt Lake

The Mormon Trail

Americans Support Manifest Destiny

•The West was occupied by Native Americans and Mexicans

•Americans viewed the West as unoccupied, many wanted to settle in the region

•Manifest Destiny—U.S. expansion from Atlantic to the Pacific was sure to happen

Americans Support Manifest Destiny

•Manifest destiny became a U.S. policy under President James K. Polk. (11th pres.)

•The U.S. and Britain divided the Oregon territory at the 49th parallel (1846)

Oregon Territory (U.S. & Britain)

49th Parallel (present day U.S. Canada border)

•Mexican – American War

Troubles with Mexico•The U.S. Congress admitted Texas as a slave state (1845).

*Texas had been a Republic from 1836-1845

•Mexico still claimed Texas as its own.

•Texas and Mexico did not agree on an official border and U.S. diplomacy failed.

•Texas claimed the Rio Grande as the southern boundary

•Mexico claimed the Nueces R.

**Thousands of miles of territory were at stake!!

Troubles with Mexico

•General Zachary Taylor stationed U.S. troops in the disputed region north of Rio Grande.

•The action was viewed by Mexico as an invasion & ambushed and killed American soldiers.

•Congress declared war on Mexico in 1846.

•Americans had mixed reactions on going to war.

•Was the territory worth dying over???

•South saw expansion as an opportunity to extend slavery and increase power in Congress.

The Invasion of Mexico•General Zachary Taylor led

U.S. troops into Mexico from Texas.

•Taylor’s 4,800 troops fought Santa Anna and his 15,000 troops at Buena Vista.

• The Mexican troops retreated.

The Invasion of Mexico

•General Winfield Scott and U.S. troops landed in Veracruz, Mexico

•They headed inland to Mexico City, fought Mexican troops, and captured Mexico City

The Mexican Cession

•War officially ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

•Mexico recognized Texas as a part of the U.S. and the Rio Grande as Mexican/U.S. border

The Mexican Cession•Mexico gave up a vast region known as the Mexican Cession:–This land amounted to almost one-half the size of Mexico

–The U.S. paid Mexico $15 million for the region in 1848.

– Made up of California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Mexican Cession

The Mexican Cession•Mexicans living in the U.S. were

suddenly the minority in a nation with a strange language, culture, and legal system.

•They would make important contributions: taught settlers to develop land for farming, ranching, & mining.

•A rich new culture resulted from the blend of many cultures in the Mexican Cession.

“From Sea to Shining Sea”

•Mexico sold land to U.S. in 1853.•It was called the Gadsden Purchase –Cost the U.S. $10 million–included southern New Mexico and Arizona

–The U.S. government wanted the land as the location for a railroad.

Gadsden Purchase

“From Sea to Shining Sea”

•By 1848, the U.S. now extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific

•President Polk learned gold was found in California

•California Gold Rush

California Before the Rush

*Before gold miners, California was populated by Native Americans and Californios – settlers of Spanish or Mexican descent.

*Most Californios lived on huge cattle ranches.

Rush for Gold*The news of the discovery of gold spread rapidly and started the California gold rush.

*A gold rush occurs when large numbers of people move to a site where gold has been found.

Rush for Gold*Thousands of gold seekers set out to make their fortunes, choosing one of three routes, all dangerous:

1. Sail 18,000 miles around South America and up the Pacific coast.

2. Sail to the narrow Isthmus of Panama, cross overland, and then sail to California.

Rush for Gold

3. Travel the trails across North America.

*Because the adventure was so difficult, most gold seekers were young men.

Life in the Mining Camps*Beginning in 1849, people went to California to find gold and earned the nickname, forty-niners.

*Camp life was dangerous, mining was hard work, and very few found much gold.

Life in the Mining Camps

*Miners also had to pay outrageously high prices for basic supplies.

*Gamblers and con artists swarmed into the camps swindle the miners of their money.

*As a result, few miners grew rich.

Miners from Around the World*Two-thirds of miners were

American and the majority of them were white men from New England.

*Native Americans, free blacks, and enslaved African Americans also mined.

*Foreign miners came from Europe, South America, Australia, Mexico, and China.

Miners from Around the World

*Through steady, patient, hard work, the Chinese made abandoned sites by Americans yield profits.

*As the number of Chinese miners grew, American anger toward them also increased.

Conflicts Among Miners*A mixture of greed, anger, and prejudice caused some miners to cheat others.

*Once the easy-to-find gold was gone, American miners began to force Native Americans and foreigners out of the gold fields to reduce competition.

Conflicts Among Miners*California became a U.S. state in 1850 and passed the Foreign Miners Tax.

*The Foreign Miners Tax imposed a tax of $20 a month on miners from other countries.

*That was more than most could afford to pay and most foreign miners left.

Conflicts Among Miners*Driven from the mines, the Chinese opened shops, restaurants, and laundries.

*So many Chinese owned businesses in San Francisco that their neighborhood was called Chinatown, a name it still goes by today.

The Impact of the Gold Rush

*By 1852, the gold rush was over.

*About 250,000 people had flooded into California, which caused economic growth and forever changed California permanently.

The Impact of the Gold Rush

*San Francisco became a center for banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade.

*Sacramento became the center of a productive farming region.

The Impact of the Gold Rush

*The gold rush ruined many Californios.

*Americans did not respect their customs, or legal rights and in many cases seized their property.

The Impact of the Gold Rush

*Thousands of Native Americans died from diseases brought by newcomers.

*Miners hunted down and killed thousands more, believing Native Americans stood in the way of progress.

The Impact of the Gold Rush

*B/c of gold rush, Calif. applied for statehood b/c of the pop. growth.

*In 1850, Calif. admitted as a free state.

*This made free states outnumber slave states and the conflict over this issue threatened the survival of the Union.