The U S government and its citizens believed

* The U. S. government and its citizens believed that the nation’s “destiny” or fate was to expand westward from sea to sea. Unit 9

* The Treaty of Paris had given the United States lands west to the Mississippi and north to Canada.

* *Orderly procedure for establishing territories and applying for statehood. *As a territory grew in population it gained rights to self-government *At least 5, 000 men who owned at least 50 acres *60, 000 people must live there to apply for statehood.

* *The Louisiana Purchase spurred the desire to move west across the country.

* *Economic – *New land for farmers *New trade routes and markets (Santa Fe Trail) *New opportunities to start a business *Political – *Expansion of our nation’s borders/territory *Expansion of slavery *Social – *Remove Native Americans *Refuge for persecuted groups (Mormons)

“American Progress” by John Gast 1872

Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way – by Emanueal Leutze 1861

* *The new Mexican republic (free from Spain) wanted to draw more people to Texas *Settlers were promised land *These settlers outnumbered Tejanos and often ignored Mexican laws (slavery had been outlawed by Spain in 1652) *Texas revolution began in 1835 *Texas won its independence, but independence was not recognized by Mexico *In 1837 Texas asked the U. S. to annex it – Jackson and Van Buren worried because it supported slavery *New land became a worry to several presidents *John Tyler supported annexation, but did not win reelection

* *Rumors of rich farmland, forests, rivers full of fish and a good climate drew many settlers to the West. *It was a long hard journey by wagon train, but many Americans journeyed west.

* *The discovery of gold in California sparked a massive immigration to that area

* *The rush of settlers pushed many American Indians off their lands *The population of California quickly rises to the amount required for statehood *California’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean led to an increase of Asian immigrants as well Native Americans attacked mining outposts and towns San Francisco 1850

* *Settlers had many reasons for heading west. *Some moved for a better way of life – more land – freedom from cities *Some moved due to religious persecution (Joseph Smith - Mormons moved to Utah) *Due to the Second Great Awakening – many missionaries moved west to try to convert Native Americans to Christianity

* *In the early 1800 s Oregon was occupied by American Indians *Great Britain, Russia, Spain and the U. S. all had claims in this land *1819 – Adams-Onis Treaty – Spain gave up lands beyond the northern border of what is now California *1824 – Russia signed a treaty with the U. S. *Many Americans had moved to this land desired statehood *1846 – U. S. and Great Britain signed the Oregon Treaty – this set the boundary between the U. S. and Canada

* *President Polk quickly set out to acquire new lands. He had a great desire to expand the U. S. *Texas Congress approved the annexation of Texas in 1845 and it became the 28 th state. *This angered the Mexican government *They considered Texas a “stolen province”

* *The border of Texas was heavily disputed between Mexico and the U. S. *President Polk sent out General Zachary Taylor with troops to the border to protect from a possible attack *Polk sent diplomats to Mexico City, to see about the border and offer to pay for California, but they refused to meet with them. *A Mexican commander insisted General Taylor remove his troops – Taylor refused *Mexican soldiers attacked, killed 11 Americans, wounded 5, captured the rest *Two days later, Congress declared war *This was considered a “War of Aggression” by many Americans

* *U. S. asked for volunteers to fight – got more than needed *First war fought on foreign soil *Americans fought several battles and won the majority *U. S. finally captured the Mexican capital

* *This ended the war *The treaty called for the United States to pay $15 million to Mexico and pay off the claims of American citizens against Mexico *Grants the U. S. the Mexican territory of New Mexico, Arizona and California

* *The boom of California and the economy of the East required transportation to and from. *The Rocky Mountains were a barrier to travel *This building of railroads made travel and trade easier from East to West *In order to avoid mountains, the government was considering swinging a railroad down into Mexican territory.

* *Territory for a railroad was purchased for $10 million *This fixed the southern border of the U. S. *This also opened up a warmer, southern route to the west.

* *Westward expansion of the U. S. made many new cities and expanded old cities *Many immigrants from East to West and even other countries contributed to the customs of our country