American Expansion

America’s Population – Young and Growing

• 1780 – 2.7 million people in 13 states

• 1830 – 12 million in 24 states

• Between 1800-1849, average woman had about five children

• The population’s average age was only 17

Territorial Expansion

• Over 50 years (1780-1830) hundreds of thousands of Americans moved to live in the lands north of the Ohio River– New states – Ohio (1803), Indiana

(1816), Illinois (1818)– The Michigan Territory

• Entire families moved together– “Old America seems to be breaking up and

moving westward. We are seldom out of sight, as we travel on this grand track towards the Ohio, of family groups behind and before us.”

-Morris Birkbeck (English traveler)

Slavery and Expansion

• Slavery was forbidden in the NW Territory by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787– Supposedly, free African Americans could live

in this region– Many white settlers did not want free African

Americans competing with them for jobs– Laws were made to discourage African

Americans from moving into the territory

• Land was surveyed and organized for purchase, unlike previous territories/states

Westward Movement and Native Americans

• White settlers wanted Native American lands

• Native Americans forced to move west by treaties imposed by the US government– Forced west of the Mississippi River

Expansion into Florida

• Florida under Spanish control• Both sides (US and Spain) were to

“control” the Native Americans living in their respective territories

• Spain was preoccupied with rebellions in their South American colonies– Ignored their responsibilities in Florida– Seminoles increased raids on Georgia– Seminoles also allowed escaped slaves to live

among them

Andrew Jackson Back in the News

• Jackson was responsible for protecting the settlers in Georgia

• He invaded Florida and quickly took control of western half of the territory– Spain outraged– Congress threatened to condemn him– Most Americans approved of his actions

• President Monroe made the best of the situation– Accused Spain of not living up to their responsibilities

since they did not control the Seminoles

The Adams-Onis Treaty

• Secretary of State John Q. Adams negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty– Spain agreed to accept the loss of Florida– Spain gave up claims on the Pacific

Northwest– Border fixed between the Louisiana Purchase

and Spanish lands of the west• U.S. gave up claim on area that included part of

Texas

– U.S. now stretched from Atlantic to Pacific

The Independence of Texas

• Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821• Stephen F. Austin founded a colony in east

Texas, which was in northern Mexico– 1825 – 1,800 in colony– 1835 – over 30,000 in colony

• Settlers demanded more political control– Wanted slavery guaranteed under Mexican law– Wanted same rights they enjoyed in the United States

• General Santa Ana declared himself dictator of Mexico– Stripped Texas of its rights of self-government– Texans united in the cause for independence

Stephen F. Austin General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana

Texas War for Independence

• Santa Ana led troops across the Rio Grande

• The Alamo– Small walled mission with about 220 people– 13 day siege slowed Santa Ana enough to allow

Texan army to organize

• Cry of “Remember the Alamo” rallied Texans to a victory against Santa Ana– Santa Ana was captured and forced to recognize

Texas as an independent country

Texas Becoming a State

• Advantages– Protection by the U.S

from Mexico– Gained increased

access to markets of the U.S. and its trading partners

• Disadvantages– Gave up some

independence

Oregon Country

• In 1818, US and Britain agreed to joint occupation of the Oregon Country

• Oregon Trail from Independence, MO to Oregon Country– 2,000 miles across the Great Plains and

Rocky Mountains

• Land divided in 1846 separating US and British lands

Improvements in Transportation• Steamboats

– John Fitch produced 1st American steamboat in 1787

– Robert Fulton improved the design• The Clermont steamed up the Hudson River in

1807

– Ability to travel against the current shortened travel time considerably

– Goods from the west and south could now be sold in markets around the world

Robert Fulton

The Clermont

• Canals– By water was the cheapest way to carry goods– Since rivers did not go everywhere, canals were

dug– Over 3,000 miles built by 1840– Erie Canal linked Hudson River with Lake Erie

• Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast now connected• Great Lakes region grew quickly

• Roads– Road building surpassed canal building– First roads were made of logs

• Neither fast or durable

– National (Cumberland) Road • From Cumberland, MD to Columbus, OH and

beyond• Financed by federal government

– Other roads privately built and were toll roads

• Railroads– Steam engine technology used to build

railroad engines– 1828, 1st American RR began construction in

Baltimore, MD• Became the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O)

– By 1840, 3,300 miles of track in US• Most in the world

Improved Communication

• With better transportation came better communication– Federal mail delivery sped up drastically– National network of information

• By the 1820s, more than 500 newspapers and magazines published daily in the US

• Education effort improved literacy rate• Different parts of the country now tied together

through improved communication and the free exchange of ideas

Indian Relocation• Jackson encouraged the passage of the Indian

Removal Act– Forcibly removed about 100,000 members of the Five

Tribes (Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole) from about 100 million acres of land

– Moved to areas of the Louisiana Purchase– Seminoles sued and the case went to Supreme Court

and the court ruled in favor of the Seminoles– Jackson reportedly then said, “John Marshall (Chief

Justice) has made his decision, now let him enforce it”• The Court does not enforce its decisions – its the President’s

job

– This led to the Trail of Tears

Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War

• Manifest destiny is the belief that is was the fate of the U.S to possess the entire continent– This led to the annexation of Texas

• A boundary dispute with Mexico combined with President James K. Polk’s desire to acquire more territory led to the Mexican War

• California Gold Rush added to desire for western lands

Compromise of 1850

• California wanted to become a state

• This would upset the balance of free/slave states

• Compromise passed five laws, two favored the North, two favored the South

• Nothing done to solve the slavery issue

Kansas Nebraska Act

• Two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska• Both would be allowed to choose if they would

be free or slave• Contradicted the Missouri Compromise• Land not good for plantations, and so not good

for slavery• Politically though, people from both sides knew

the importance of having another free/slave state on their side

• Led to “Bleeding Kansas”

Bleeding Kansas

• Both sides of slavery debate encouraged people sympathetic to their cause to settle in Kansas

• Led to antislavery capital in Topeka and a proslavery capital in Lecompton

• Tensions led to violent raids and counter-raids in 1856