The West

Ch 7.2, 7.3

Ch 10.2, 10.3 through Great Compromise

Westward Expansion

• US needed to expand west into trans-Appalachia (just west of Appalachians)

• Several roads were taken to move depending on where you lived in the east– Daniel Boone: helped to build the Cumberland Road

which became main route to trans-Appalachia

• Many people ran into Native Americans and the government forced them to move further west

• Most families moved into the Ohio valley

Florida

• Pinckney Treaty: between US and Spain– US boundary set between GA and FL– US allowed to use MS River– Each side would control their Indians and not

allow them to attack each other’s territory

• Americans slowly moved into Florida

Seminole Wars

• Native Americans in Florida began to rebel– US moved in to put an end to the attacks– Spanish realized FL wasn’t as important to

control as other areas in the Americas

Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)

• Spain ceded Florida to the US

• Boundary between Louisiana and the Spanish territory west of LA was fixed

Manifest Destiny

• Inevitable expansion of the United States westward

Oregon Country

• From Northern California to Southern Alaska

• Mountain men: 1st men there, trappers that lived much like Indians and frequently had Indian wives

• In early 1800’s, 4 countries claimed Oregon Territory– US -- Russia– Great Britain -- Spain

• Eventually Russia and Spain gave up their claims to the land and the US and Great Britain agreed to split the territory

• Next people who moved there were missionaries who were there to try to convert Native Americans into Christians

Trails West

• Most began in Independence, Missouri

• Main route across the central plains and the Rocky Mountains was the Oregon Trail

• Trip took 4-6 months to complete

• Trip was exhausting, backbreaking work and quite expensive

Trails cont.

• Most common reason to make the trip west was to obtain land or to trade goods, some people just enjoyed the challenge and independence of life on the frontier

• What happened when they came in contact with Indians?– Traded with them mainly, some white man’s

illnesses made them sick, wasn’t until the 1850’s that wars broke out between settlers and Indians

• What is a pass?– A low spot in a mountain range that allows

travelers to cross over to the other side

• Santa Fe trail: – Independence, MO to Santa Fe, NM (but

wasn’t NM just yet)

Mormons

• Why did they move west?– To avoid harassment from neighbors about

their religious practices

• Leaders– Joseph Smith until he was killed– Brigham Young moved them to present-day

Utah

California Gold Rush

• Carpenter working for John Sutter discovered gold on Sutter’s land

• If the gold rush began in 1848, why are they the San Francisco 49’ers?– Took time for word to spread and people to

rush to California, it was 1849 by the time they got there

Other gold strikes in the west

• People swarmed an area where gold was struck and make-shift towns arose

• Mostly men moved out looking for gold (didn’t plan on being out there long, strike it rich and return home)

• People left mining communities when gold was exhausted– Towns slowly decayed and died, leaving abandoned ghost

towns– Not all towns turned out this way, some became established and

are still towns today– Some later turned into resort towns, especially for skiing in the

Rocky Mountains

Plains Indians

• Western plains: nomadic

• Eastern plains: some settled and farmed, some nomadic

• Impact of the horse: much more efficient hunters

• Key to life on the plains: BUFFALO

Impact of American Movement West

• Removal further west or to the Indian Territory (present-day OK)

• IO, WI, MN all became states

Mexico Became Independent

• 1821 from Spain

• CA, NM, TX all part of Mexico

• Encourage Americans to move to Texas

Texas

• Stephen Austin was the 1st to lead Americans to Texas

• At 1st, Texas allowed slavery

• Number of Americans in TX higher than Mexicans

• Mexico decided to outlaw slavery in TX

• Americans wanted same rights from Mexican gov as they had in the US

• 1833: Santa Anna took over Mexico– Ruled as a dictator (angered Americans)

• Independence movement started in TX over slavery

• Oct 1835 clash between Mexican troops and independence-minded settlers– Began the Texas War for Independence

Texas War for Independence

• Sam Houston: commander in Chief

• Santa Anna: sent troops to stop the rebellion

• Battle of the Alamo: 13 days– Mexican troops laid siege to the Alamo– Mexican troops climbed walls and killed 180

Texans

Texas Declares Independence

• 1836: Texas declared itself the Republic of Texas

• Sam Houston was the 1st president

• Wrote a Constitution modeled after the US Constitution but slavery was legal

Battle of San Jacinto River

• Texans surprised the Mexican troops

• Texans captured Santa Anna

• Treaty of Velasco: Santa Anna was forced to sign treaty that said Mexico would recognize independence for Texas

• Americans continued to push west past Texas

• Loss of Texas was a source of tension between US and Mexico

• Tensions between Mexico and the US grew more tense with more Americans creating a strong presence in Hispanic North America

Texas Annexation

• 1836 Texas voted to be annexed to the US

• American split on the issue– South and Democrats wanted another slave

territory– North and Whigs opposed

• 1844 President Tyler signed treaty of annexation– Whig controlled Senate defeated

• Later in 1844: Democrat James K. Polk elected president– Huge advocate for expansion

• Feb. 1845 Congress approved annexation of TX– Dec 1845 TX became 28th state

• March 1845 Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the US

Border Dispute

• What would be the southern border between TX and Mexico?– TX and the US said the Rio Grande– Mexico said the Nueces River– Tried negotiations => FAILED

Mexican War Begins

• Polk sent Gen. Zachary Taylor with >3000 troops into the disputed territory

• Mexico considered it an attack/invasion and a skirmish resulted

• Polk asked Congress to declare war– May 1, 1846 the Mexican War was declared

• Meanwhile, Captain John C. Fremont and his troops moved into CA

California

• June 14, 1846: settlers proclaimed the Republic of California– Uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt

• Fremont took control and drove the Mexican army out of northern CA

• July 1846: Gen. Stephen Kearny crossed into NM– Marched to CA to join Fremont– Together defeated Mexican Army

• By Jan. 1847 The US had taken control of NM and CA

Fighting in Mexico

• Battle of Buena Vista: Feb. 1847 – Taylor vs. Santa Anna– Taylor’s army won but Santa Anna declared

victory and returned to Mexico City

• Gen. Winfield Scott ordered to take Mexico City– Captured Veracruz in March– Captured Mexico City (Sep. 14) = end of war

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• February 2, 1848

• Mexico gave up claim to TX and the Rio Grande set as border

• Mexico gave NM and CA to the US (2/5 of Mexico’s territory)

• US paid Mexico $15 million

• US paid claims made by US citizens against Mexico (>$3 million)

Gadsden Purchase

• 1853 the US bought 30,000 square miles of land for $10 million from Mexico

• Bought little strip of land for future continental railroad to be built on the land

Effects of War with Mexico

• Treaty of Guadulpe Hidalgo, the 1846 division of Oregon Territory, and the Gadsden Purchase established the current borders of the continental United States

• Many Mexicans were left feeling bitter toward Americans

• New territory opened the doors for even more migration westward

• What about slavery in the new land?

Wilmot Proviso

• If we allow slavery to expand into the new territory from Mexico, we need a balance in Congress

• David Wilmot: proposed the Wilmot Proviso in Congress– No slavery in any territory received from Mexico

• IF passed, would mean CA and NM would not be allowed to have slavery if annexed– **Did NOT pass the amendment– **NEVER became law– Revealed the growing gap between the North and

South over slavery

Remember the Missouri Compromise?

• 36°30’ line

• Was ok for a while, but after the Mexican War, there was a LOT of land below the line– If we followed this rule, if would upset the

balance between slave and free states in the US

Presidential Election of 1848

• Both sides avoided the slavery issue

• Democrat: Gov. Lewis Case of Michigan

• Whig: Gen. Zachary Taylor

• Free Soil Party: Formed by people of both parties– Angry at the avoidance of slavery issue– Took enough votes away from Cass for Taylor

to win

Slavery Issue Resurfaces

• Slavery becomes issue again in 1850 with the gold rush in CA

• CA asked Congress to be added as a free state (would upset the balance in Congress)

• Debates in Congress happened over issue

Henry Clay (KY) proposed a compromise: Compromise of 1850

• CA admitted as a free state

• NM and UT have popular sovereignty (people can vote and decide for themselves)

• Congress would abolish the sale of slaves (NOT slavery) in Washington, DC

• TX gave up all claims to NM for $10 million

• Fugitive Slave Act more strict

Fugitive Slave Act

• Fugitive slave = runaway slave

• New law ordered all citizens of the US to assist in the return of enslaved people who had escaped from their owners– Also denied a jury trial to escaped slaves

John C. Calhoun: opposed the compromise

• South had the right to leave if it would be for its own protection

• South would not give up on its liberty to save the Union

• Believed stopping slavery was morally wrong because it interfered with their liberty to own enslaved people as property– Government should protect this liberty

Daniel Webster

• Encouraged compromise

• Must compromise to save the Union

Presidential Actions

• Taylor probably would’ve vetoed the compromise but he died in July of 1850

• Millard Fillmore became next president

• Meanwhile, Stephen Douglas took over for Clay– Broke the compromise into parts

• Congress passed the compromise and Fillmore approved it

1852 Election

• Whigs: not happy with Fillmore so they chose Winfield Scott

• Democrats: Franklin Pierce of NH

• Results: Pierce won by a landslide

• Marked the decline of the Whig Party– Never won another Presidential election

• Rise of the Know-Nothings

Nativism

• Movement to ensure the native-born Americans were treated better than immigrants

• Was a response to surge in immigration between 1846 and 1854

• Secret nativist society: Order of the Star Spangled Banner “I know nothing”

• Formed the American Party (1854) or Know-Nothings– Worked against Irish Catholic candidates– Campaigned for laws requiring immigrants to wait

longer before becoming citizens