Mexican American War Part 1 James K Polk

Mexican American War Part #1

James K. Polk and Manifest Destiny • THE ELECTION OF 1844 • James Polk of Tennessee was chosen as a dark horse candidate – A “compromise” candidate – Deadlock at the Democratic Party convention which could not decide who should run for the Democratic Party • Campaign slogan: Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! • Campaign promises: – Serve only one term – Create an independent treasury system government funds held in the Treasury and not in banks. – Reduce tariffs – Complete the Manifest Destiny (territorial expansion) • Gain all or all of Oregon • Annex Texas • Gain California and New Mexico 1845 – 1849 Democratic Party

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” ACCOMPLISHMENTS 1. Most accomplished President – – 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Completed U. S. Manifest Destiny Last strong President before the Civil War Opened the U. S. Naval Academy The Smithsonian Museum opened Laid the cornerstone for the Washington Monument First postage stamps in the United States First photographs of a sitting president Polk wanted to complete U. S. Manifest Destiny

“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” MANIFEST DESTINY • Texas was annexed a day before Polk was inaugurated – Entered as a slave state to make southerners happy – Annexation angered Mexico; never acknowledged Texas independence; Belived US had no right to take its territory, and did not acknowledge the Treaty of Velasco which set US border at the Rio Grande River. • War over Oregon was averted by extending the 49 th parallel to the Pacific – Entered as a free state to make northerners happy

The Mexican-American War (1846 -1848) • Causes: “American blood on American soil!” – U. S. annexation of Texas the U. S. inherited a border dispute (Nueces River had been the border since 1819, but Texas claimed territory all the way to the Rio Grande River) – Polk sends John Slidell sent to negotiate the boundary dispute Mexico refused to sell California and New Mexico to the U. S. for $30 million – General Zachary Taylor (“Old Rough and Ready”) crossed the Nueces River as a “defensive measure” – Mexican response: "If you insist in remaining upon the soil of the department of Tamaulipas, it will clearly result that arms, and arms alone, must decide the question. " – Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande and attacked American forces (5 killed, 11 wounded, 47 captured) Polk asked for a declaration of war

Anti-War Sentiments “Whether the spot on which the blood of our citizens was shed, as in his messages declared, was or was not within the territory of Spain, at least after the treaty of 1819, until the Mexican Revolution. ” • Whig Congressman, Abraham Lincoln, accused Polk of lying about how the war started – – • Challenged Polk to point to the exact “spot” where the war started ( Spot Resolutions “Spot Resolution” ( Can you tell the exact spot blood was shed? Was it on American or Mexican soil? Or Ulysses S. Grant- ploy to get land for America (greed) and extension of slavery. Anti-War Feeling – – • “Whether that spot is or is not within the territory which was wrested from Spain by the revolutionary government of Mexico. ” Northerners (especially Whigs) opposed the war They believed it was a southern conspiracy to spread slavery in the west Henry David Thoreau wrote On Civil Disobedience to oppose the Mexican War – Do not pay taxes and go to jail (peaceful resistance) Congress declared war on Mexico, despite protests by the Mexican government that Thornton had crossed the border into Mexican Texas — a border that Mexico claimed as the Nueces River. the ensuing Mexican-American War was waged from 1846 -1848 and witnessed the loss of many thousands of lives and nearly half of the territory of Mexico.

• US Problems with Mexico 1) Americans had a negative view of Mexico because of the Texas Revolution 2) Mexico owed the U. S. money for the Mexican Revolution against Spain • Mexican Problems with US. 1) Mexico felt that Texas was being stolen from them. 2) Mexico didn’t believe in Manifest Destiny and didn’t want to give away their land.

Vote Yes-Declare War • Treaty of Velasco is valid • Belief in Manifest Destiny • Texas Annexation is legal Vote no-not to Declare War • Will expand slavery • Manifest Destiny is unfair to Mexico • Treaty of Velasco is a sham and not valid • Annexation is illegal without Mexico approval.

The Mexican-American War (1846 -1848) • American forces under General Stephen W. Kearny had captured New Mexico • Army captain John C. Frémont led settlers in northern California to overthrow the Mexican garrison in Sonoma • Winfield Scott (“Old Fuss and Feathers”) captured Mexico City in September 1847, and Taylor won a series of victories in northern Mexico • Even after these battles, Mexico did not surrender until 1848 – Finally agreed to peace terms negotiated by Nicholas Trist

Treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo • • • Added 1. 2 million square miles of territory to the United States Mexico's size was halved, while that of the United States increased by a third. California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming Recognized the annexation of Texas and acknowledged American control over the disputed territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. (Mexico, in turn, received $15 million) The war claimed fewer than 20, 000 American lives but over 50, 000 Mexicans died

Training Ground for the Civil War? What will slavery be allowed in the land gained from MX-AM War? WILMOT PROVISO Proposed But Rejected • Three attempts by Northern Democrat David Wilmot to prohibit slavery in the Mexican Cession in 1846, 1847, and 1848 • Passed in the House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate, because of a balance of free and equal states

The 1848 Presidential Election Results √

California Gold Rush • Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, California, in 1847 – Rumors spread east • Polk mentioned the gold discovery in his 1849 farewell address • Over 200, 000 Forty-Niners go to California from all over the world • First Chinese immigrants • California requests to become a free state

Overland Immigration West • Between 1840 and 1860, more than 250, 000 people made the trek westward.

Immigration • Immigrants from northern and western Europe – Irish escaping a potato famine – Germans escaping the Revolution of 1848 • These immigrants settled in northern factory towns • Unpopular because: – – they are mostly Catholic work for cheaper wages alcohol was a part of their culture Anheuser Busch, Miller, Schlitz, Pabst, Coors • Nativism – a hatred of immigrants – The American Party (a. k. a. Know Nothings) opposed immigration

Territorial Growth to 1853