The area in the Pacific NW above California is known as the Oregon Territory

In 1820 this land was claimed by four different countries

1. Spain 2. Russia 3. Great Britain 4. United States

Russia and Spain quickly leave fearing the Monroe Doctrine

The U.S. and Britain agree to jointly own this land

This is known as the Treaty of 1818

Americans become interested in fur trading in Oregon

The Rocky Mt. Fur Company becomes a large fur company in the U.S.

The fur industry becomes very profitable for many settlers

Jedediah Smith and James Beckwourth decide to explore the Oregon Territory

These men discover a pass through the Rockies that cut through the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean

This became the Oregon Trail

Increased fur trade and freedom of religion become the two main reasons people move to the Oregon Territory

By 1840 pioneers enter Oregon at 1000 settlers per year

The settlers decide to form a government

By 1840 a new treaty is needed to settle Oregon’s disputed boundaries

With U.S. pressure, Britain signs the Treaty of 1846

Britain gives up all its claim to lands south of the 49th parallel creating a boundary between Canada and the U.S.

In 1820 Moses Austin receives permission from Spain to start a colony in what is now Texas

In return the colonists would promise to become loyal to Spain

Austin dies in 1821 before the colony could be started

On May 5th 1821 Mexico gains its independence from Spain

In 1821 Mexico grants Stephan F. Austin the right to bring 300 settlers to Texas to farm the land

These people were known as “The Old 300”

By 1830 there were more than 20,000 Americans living in Texas

Slavery was illegal in Mexico but authorities did not force the Americans to obey the law

Many Americans brought slaves into Texas to help with farming

In 1830 Mexico closes its doors to Americans and starts to enforce slavery laws

Mexico also begins to strengthen its army posts

American settlers protest restrictions put on their rights by the Mexican government

The Mexican government refuses to give in and small skirmishes begin to take place

On October 2nd 1835 Ben Milam leads a group of Texas settlers against Mexican troops in San Antonio

The Dictator of Mexico, General Santa Anna leads a large army into Texas to crush the Texas revolt

The Alamo

General Santa Anna rides north with over 5,000 Mexican troops

His goal is to crush the Texican revolt At the Alamo (old mission ) 182

defenders prepare to defend to the last man

They need to slow down Santa Anna’s army so a Texican army could be formed

These three famous men help to defend the Alamo

William B. Travis

Davy Crockett James Bowie

Will make the Bowie Knife very famous

Very ill during the battle and was killed while lying in bed

Man in charge at the Alamo

It was said that he was shot right between the eyes at the beginning of the battle

Former U.S. Congressman from Tennessee who went to the Alamo to help defend the Texicans rights

His death has been argued for years

Santa Anna surrounds the Alamo for 13 days

On March 6th 1836 Santa Anna’s troops storm the fort and kill all defenders of the Alamo

The battle only lasted 90 minutes When the news reaches America, many

leave to go to Texas to fight the Mexicans

After the disaster at the Alamo another group of Texas settlers were put to death in a town named Goliad

These settlers laid down their weapons to surrender and were then massacred

Sam Houston continues to build an army of Texas to fight Santa Anna

Texans led by Sam Houston destroyed Santa Anna’s advance at San Jacinto

On April 21st 1836 Santa Anna was captured

The war was over but Texas was not yet Independent

On March 2nd 1836 a group of Texas delegates declared their Independence from Mexico

A constitution was drafted for the new Lone Star Republic

Sam Houston was elected the first President of Texas

Lorenzo de Zavala was the first Vice-President

Sam Houston

After Texas gains its Independence they petition the U.S. to become a state

Northerners were opposed because Texas would be considered a slave state

Others feared that annexing Texas would invite war with Mexico

Texas does not become a state until 1845

The Whigs nominate Henry Clay of Kentucky to run for President

The Democrats nominate James K. Polk of Tennessee to run for President

Clay chose not to take a stand on any of the difficult issues in 1844

Polk stood for the annexation of Texas and Oregon

James K. Polk

The historic duty of the U.S. to own all land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean

Mexico feared that this belief would result in the U.S. overtaking land in the southwest

American naval officers had orders to attack upper California if war broke out

In 1842 Commodore Thomas A.C. Jones attacks the capital of upper California (Monterey) after hearing of war

The news of war was only a rumor and Jones gives Monterey back to the Mexicans

President Polk tries to mend the wound between the U.S. and Mexico

In 1845 he sends John Slidell to Mexico to offer to buy Upper California

The Mexicans refuse to even see Slidell and he is sent back to the U.S. empty handed

President Polk sends Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande River to protect the U.S. border

Mexico claims the U.S. has invaded their country when they crossed the Nueces River

Mexican troops then cross the Rio Grande river and attack U.S. troops

On May 13th 1846 the U.S. declares war on Mexico

Abraham Lincoln issues his “spot resolution”

“Is the spot where fighting broke out, U.S. or Mexican land”

In general most people supported the war in Mexico

U.S. troops swiftly took over Mexico

Many Mexicans did not even fight the American troops that entered their town

General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City and the war is over

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war in 1848

Terms of the Surrender 1. Mexico was forced to give up Texas,

New Mexico and Upper California (this was also known as the Mexican Cession)

2. The U.S. agrees to give Mexico $15 million

3. The U.S. will pay off $3 million in Mexican debt

On the morning of January 24th 1848 James W. Marshall saw shiny yellow flakes in a stream

The news was supposed to be a secret

The news spread like wildfire across the world

Thousands of Americans sold everything they had and went west to pan for gold

The trip took about 5 months from the east coast

Those who searched for gold earned the nickname of “49ers”

The increase in 49ers led to many towns, stores and hotels to rise up in California

Late in 1849 a convention met to draft a state constitution

The constitution outlawed slavery

The Gadsden Purchase Was Signed in Mexico City December 30, 1853

James Gadsden, U.S. Minister to Mexico, and General Santa Anna, president of Mexico, signed the Gadsden Purchase.

The price was $10 million. The land was needed to build a

transcontinental railroad

In 1848, Polk tries to buy Cuba for $100 million dollars from Spain

In 1854 ministers from Great Britain, France, Spain and the U.S. met in Ostend, Belgium

They developed the Ostend Manifesto “If Spain refused to sell Cuba to the

U.S., we have the right to seize it by force”

The deal never went any farther

The Whigs nominate General Zachary Taylor (Old Rough and Ready)

The Democrats nominate Lewis Cass of Michigan to replace James K. Polk

The newly created Free Soil party nominates former President Martin Van Buren as their man for President in 1848

“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free Men” becomes a famous slogan in 1848

The Freesoilers hurt Lewis Cass by capturing important votes, especially in New York

Taylor wins the election of 1848

Americans held four different ideas of what to do with the Mexican Cession when it came to the idea of slavery

This land will cause the nation to argue the issue of slavery in the territories

Extend the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific Ocean

Everything above the line was free, below was slave

David Wilmot of Pennsylvania said that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in the land acquired from Mexico”

Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in the Southwest

It is the duty of Congress to protect the rights of slaveowners and their “property”

Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan and Senator Stephan Douglas of Illinois developed the idea of Popular Sovereignty

They said the people who lived in the territories should decide on the issue of slavery

California wanted to enter the Union as a free state (16 free vs. 15 slave)

Texas expands its borders west into the New Mexico Territory

A proposal to abolish slavery in Washington D.C.

In 1842 the Supreme court ruled that state officials did not have to return runaway slaves

Southerners wanted to permit slavery in the newly formed territories of New Mexico and Utah

1. California would enter as a free state 2. Popular Sovereignty in the Mexican

Cession 3.Texas gets $10mill. To give up its

claims to New Mexico 4. The abolition of slave trade in D.C. 5. A more effective fugitive slave law

was going to be enforced

Clay’s proposals sparked one of the most critical debates in American history

Daniel Webster and Stephen Douglass supported Clay’s ideas

Calhoun was opposed to all compromises on the question of slavery

Calhoun was so old and weak that he had to be carried into the debate and his speeches were read for him by a colleague

In 1850 Congress adopted Clay’s compromise

Calhoun did not live long enough to see the outcome of the Great Debate

The “Father of the South” dies March 31st 1850 at age 68

Clay died on June 29th 1852 at age 75 Webster dies on October 24th 1852 at age

70

Stephen Douglas pushes an idea to build a transcontinental railroad west into Missouri

This land had to be cleared of Indians in order to become an organized territory

Douglas then sponsored the Kansas-Nebraska Act

The new act did the following: Created the Kansas Territory Created the Nebraska Territory Abolished the Missouri Compromise

line The 36 30’ line is now gone Slavery can now exist in any territory

Northerners and Southerners race weapons into Kansas to protect their interests

Proslavery towns and Free towns attack each other over the issue of slavery

John Brown and his sons attack and murder 5 unarmed proslavery men

Over 200 men and women die before Federal troops arrive to keep the peace