War With Mexico

Chapter 12: Section 3Pp. 372-377War With MexicoThe New Mexico TerritoryPresent-day New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, parts of Colorado and Wyoming

Mexico won its independence in 1821

Mexico encouraged Americans to trade in Santa Fe

The Santa Fe TrailIndependence, MO to Santa Fe, NM

Mostly flat, good for wagons

Became a busy trade route

Americans soon began settling and saw New Mexico as part of the Manifest Destiny of the U.S.Santa Fe Trail

Californias Spanish CultureSpanish explorers and missionaries settled California in the 1700sMissions used to convert Native Americans to ChristianityNative Americans also farmed and practiced weavingAfter Mexico won its independenceNative Americans worked the land in return for food and shelterWar With MexicoPresident James PolkNew Mexico and California are part of Manifest DestinyTried to buy the land from MexicoMexico refusesPolk tries to provoke them to justify war

Two nations disagree about Texas-Mexico borderConflict BeginsPolk orders General Zachary Taylor to cross the disputed border with MexicoApril 24, 1846Mexican soldiers attack TaylorPolks planTake disputed borderCapture New Mexico and CaliforniaInvade Mexico CityThe United States ExpandsCapture Mexico City in September 1847

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo- 1848Mexico gave up Texas and agrees to Rio Grande borderMexican CessionMexico sells California and New Mexico for $15 millionGadsden PurchaseU.S. Pays $10 million for strip of land along southern edge of present-day Arizona and New Mexico

Chapter 12: Section 4Pp. 378-382California and UtahCalifornia Gold RushGold discovered in 1848

People who arrived in 1849 known as Forty-ninersAmericans made up 80% of Forty-ninersOthers came from Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and China

Life in CaliforniaBoomtowns: New community that experiences a sudden growth in business or populationBoomtowns were built by people rushing in to California looking for goldSan Francisco: Small village to city of 20,000

Forty-ninersMost had no experience miningVery few found goldMany of those that did lost their riches through gambling and wild spendingCalifornia Gold Rush doubled the worlds supply of gold

Boomtown merchants made huge profitsNo other nearby stores that sold certain productsCharged whatever they wanted

Levi StraussImmigrant

Made a fortune selling miners sturdy pants made of denim, Levis

VigilantesMany men, few womenMen were lonely and suffering hardshipsSpent time drinking, gambling, and fighting

Vigilantes: Citizen groups that protected themselves by taking the law into their own handsMormonsThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Religious movement that developed during the religious awakening of 1830s

Joseph Smith- Founder of the Mormon ChurchWrote The Book of MormonClaimed it was a translation of golden plates he had received from an angel

The Mormon MigrationMormons settled in Nauvoo, IllinoisSmith was killed in 1844 by a mob

1846- Brigham Young leads 12,000 Mormons to the Great Salt Lake in Utah

Established flourishing communitiesUtah becomes a territory in 1850, Brigham Young was named governorUtah does not become a state until 1896