Chapter 12 Territorial and Economic Expansion 1830 1860

Chapter 12 – Territorial and Economic Expansion, 1830 -1860

Manifest Destiny • Coined by John L O’Sullivan • America should expand “by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread… [the] continent…”

Territorial Expansion • A means to restore confidence and prosperity lost during the Panic of 1837 • America called on the nation to expand “the area of liberty” to include lands controlled by Mexico and Native Americans • Expansion meant more land for slavery – Led to an increase of southern influence in Congress

Election of 1844 • Central issue: expansion into Texas and Oregon – Democrat: James K. Polk – Whig: Henry Clay – Northern Whigs who opposed the admission of a new slave state supported the Liberty Party: James G. Birney

The Oregon Question • Britain and the US had jointly occupied the Oregon country since 1818 – In the 1840 s, thousands of Americans settled in the region • Polk threatened war if the British did not accept the demands – Compromised reached in June 1846 • US sole ownership of the Oregon country with Britain controlling northern border

Texas Statehood • Texans sought annexation by the United States – Congress repeatedly rejected Texasstatehood bids from 1836 to 1845 • Feared war with Mexico • Dealing with the Panic of 1837 • Divided over the addition of a new slave territory

Texas Statehood • 1845 – President Tyler passes a joint resolution that admitted the Lone Star Republic to the Union – Was a lame-duck = did not win election of 2 nd term • The problems with admitting Texas as a state would be Polk’s problem

Texas Statehood • President Polk wanted: – Mexico to agree to annexation of Texas – Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and Mexico – To buy California from Mexico

Mexican-American War • Polk pursued a two-way policy: 1. Sent John Slidell to negotiate an agreement to resolve Texas annexation and boundary problem – Also hoped to buy California for $20 -25 million 2. Sent General Zachary Taylor and 3, 500 troops to the disputed border area

Mexican-American War • When Slidell’s mission failed, Taylor moved his troops from the Nueces River [Mexico claimed as border] to south of the Rio Grande River – Mexico viewed this as an aggressive act • April 1846 – Mexican and American troops clashed • May 13, 1846 – Congress declared war on Mexico

Mexican-American War • Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott led American troops to victory after victory • By 1848, most of Mexico was under American control • Stephen Kearney successfully seized parts of California and established American claims to the region

Mexican-American War • Although the war was a military success, it gave Polk and the Democrats political headaches – Military successes promoted the presidential aspirations of Taylor and Scott, both of whom were Whigs – The Whigs were raising charges that Polk had deliberately provoked the border incident in 1846

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo [1848] • 1848 - Resolved the issue of Texas and gave the US control of the Mexican Cession (present-day California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, about ½ of New Mexico, ¼ of Colorado, and small section of Wyoming)

Wilmot Proviso • New territories proved to be “a dose of poison” for American unity • Polk’s opponents charged him with provoking the war to satisfy a “slave power” in the South • Wilmot Proviso – Introduced during the war by Polk’s opponents – Attempted to block the spread of slavery into any new lands acquired from the war

Election of 1848 • Polk chose not to run for reelection • Democrat: Lewis Cass – Promoted squatter sovereignty: Congress would allow settlers in each territory to determine its status as free or slave • Northern democrats who opposed any expansion of slavery joined the Free Soil Party: Martin Van Buren • Whig: Zachary Taylor wins - was firmly committed to the defense of slavery, but not in the territories

Proslavery Initiatives • Pres. Franklin Pierce wanted to expand into the Caribbean [1854] – Pierce threatened war with Spain [who controlled Cuba] and covertly supported private military expeditions to Cuba • Secretary of State William Macey urged American diplomats to compose the Ostend Manifesto, urging Pierce to seize Cuba – Northern Democrats denounced (were against) these aggressive initiatives

Proslavery Initiatives • President Pierce desired lands south of the Rio Grande to expand the United States • He had to settle for a small slice of land in what later became part of Arizona and New Mexico – Gadsden Purchase [1854] – He was hoping to construct a transcontinental railroad through this part of the country

California Gold Rush • In 1848 gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra Nevada foothills – By January 1849, 61 crowded ships left New York and other eastern seaports to sail around Cape Horn to San Francisco – By May, 12, 000 wagons had crossed the Missouri River headed for the area • By the end of 1849, more than 80, 000 people, mostly men called forty-niners, had arrived

California • Northern California: grew most crops[corn and oats] to feed work horses, pigs and chickens; potatoes, beans, peas, grapes, apples, peaches, wheat and barley • Ranchers replaced Spanish cattle with American breeds that yielded more milk and meat – Population in 1860: 380, 000 – Population in 1870: 560, 000