Unit VPart 41820-1861
The War with Mexicoand Sectionalism
Background to Mexican-American War
Natives in California had staged four separate rebellions against the disorganized government of Mexico
Britain and France were lusting after harbors
Polk tried invoking the Monroe Doctrine against Brits and French…they were not impressed
Background to the Mexican-American War
Polk tried to buy California from Mexico
Mexico not interested in selling
Polk got creative… He will end up handling the details
of the war himself (he had good military sense) after he started the war…
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The Boundary
The boundary between Texas (now part of the U.S.) and Mexico had not been established formally (by a treaty)
The United States believed that the boundary was the Rio Grande
But Mexico believed it to be the Nunces River (north and parallel to the Rio Grande)
The War
Polk KNEW that Mexico believed that the Nunces River was the boundary but he sent American troops to line up along the Rio Grande BETWEEN the two rivers
Mexico believed that the U.S. had invaded its territory (Polk knew that they would)
April 1846 Mexico crossed the Rio Grande and attacked!
Polk ran screaming like a girl to Congress
Polk claimed that the Mexicans crossed the river and attacked U.S. and that it was an unprovoked act of war
May 1846 Congress declared war on Mexico
Will end with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848
The Mexican-American War
It was a quick war BUT proportionally had the highest (proportional) death rate of any U.S. war in history:
104,556 fought 13,768 died
The Important Generals
Were both Whigs Polk couldn’t find a better Democrat to
take charge so he sent spies to their camps
Zackary Taylor (Old Rough and Ready) Winfield Scott (Old Fuss and Feathers)
All important military figures of the Civil War were here.
Opposition to the War
Many saw it as an immoral land grab (Maybe because it was)
Lincoln spoke out against it (who was HE?)
The Whigs were against it but were outnumbered
The Transcendentalists were against it
The Army
Congress did not enlarge or improve the army until after this war
Most U.S. troops were volunteers (undisciplined)
Officers from West Point (established in 1778)
Mexico had a big war budget but Generals were corrupt and soldiers undersupplied
The War
1847 troops commanded by Winfield Scott captured Mexico City
Many in the U.S. urged the annexation of ALL of Mexico
We only took 1/2
1848 The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
U.S. gained California, New Mexico Territory
Boundary between Texas and Mexico: the Rio Grande
U.S. promised to assume claims that American citizens had against Mexico ($3,250,000)
U.S gave $15,000,000 to Mexico (Polk angry at American Diplomat: Trist)
New land means more fights over slavery in the
territories The slavery issue was put aside with the
Gag rule in Congress and the Missouri Compromise
In 1846…the year the war started…Americans just assumed that we would win and that we would get more land…we did.
The Wilmot Proviso (1846) broke the Gag rule and created 4 years of heated debates in congress
The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot (Penn) suggested that all land that the U.S. would get from Mexico should be free of slavery
Naturally, the South objected
Passed in the House Caused a four-year debate in the
Senate
The South
Tried to organize against Oregon’s statehood (was going to be a free state)
Calhoun: insisted that slavery should be protected in federal territories
Polk suggested extending the 36-30 line
Folks started to bring pistols to the Senate!
Election of 1848
Whigs: Zachary Taylor (slave owner) 163
Hero of the Mexican War
Democrats: Lewis Cass (Michigan) Popular Sovereignty: People who
live in a territory should decide if it would be slave or free
Election 1848
Both parties avoided the Slavery issue
The Free-Soil Party (3rd Party): Van Buren: Was made up of the Liberty Party and anti-slavery wings of the Whig and Democratic Parties.
Van Buren took 10% of the popular vote
1848 California Gold Rush
January 1848 James Marshall found traces of gold at Sutter’s Mill
Word Spread Population exploded from 14,000 in 1848
to 220,000 in 1852
The 49ers left their jobs to find their fortune
Caused labor shortages elsewhere filled by Chinese
The Native Americans
Indian Hunters Native American population declined
from 150,000 to 30,000 between 1850 and 1870
Mining Camps: Rooms (one night!) $1,000 One dozen eggs…$10.00
Zackary Taylor
Without consulting Congress, Taylor urged California and New Mexico to draw up contstitution
They did …both banned slavery
South even more furious
Trouble
1849 California applied for statehood (as a free state)
Huge debate in congress…weapons were carried
Protestant churches split over slavery Every Northern state legislature but one
passed resolutions in support of the Wilmot Proviso
South threatened Succession!
Heavens to Betsy!What Shall We Do?
Henry Clay to the Rescue (My Hero! Swoon)
aka the Great Compromiser
Came up with the Compromise of 1850: dealt with the land from Mexico and boundary dispute between Texas and NM Territory
DO NOT mix this up with the Compromise of 1820 (aka the Missouri Compromise): dealt with the Louisiana Purchase
The Compromise of 1850
California should be admitted as a free state
All other land from Mexico should be organized without restrictions on slavery
A new and improved Fugitive Slave Law The Slave TRADE (not slavery) should
end in Washington D.C. Texas should yield land involved in a
boundary dispute with New Mexico territory and the Federal Government would pay off the Texas state debt
The Compromise of 1850 Many Southerners supported it because of
the New Fugitive Slave Law
Webster was attacked by New England abolitionists for supporting the Compromise of 1850 BECAUSE of the Fugitive Slave Law. They thought he was a traitor
Remember : the Whigs were willing to compromise on slavery…that is why the Liberty and (later) the Free Soil Parties stole votes from Whigs (who would not take a stand against slavery)
In the Meantime
Taylor did not favor the compromise while his VP (Fillmore) did.
Taylor died suddenly (and mysteriously) and the different parts of the Compromise of 1850 became law
Also
The Great Triumvirate: Clay, Calhoun, and Webster were old as dirt and failing in health
Three New Rising Stars helped to push the compromise through:
William Seward (New York) Stephen Douglass (Illinois) Jefferson Davis (Mississippi)
The New Fugitive Slave Act
Remember …The South supported the compromise because of the new FSA
It said the same thing as the old one (all citizens must aid in the capture and return of runaway slaves) but the new one had stiffer fines and penalties for non-compliance
The South decided to give the North another chance on this issue….
But then…
The North proved that they could not be trusted
Many Northern states passed Personal Liberty Laws: Citizens could not be compelled to follow the FSA
The South was bitter The above was proof that the North
could not be trusted
Think About It
The South was forced to follow Federal Law (the tariff) even though it caused them hardship but the North seemed to be able to pick and choose
There WAS a double standard
The FSA was the only reason the South agreed to the compromise
A Question…
How did territorial expansion impact American unity to 1860?
Think…How was the “Slavery in the Territories” problem dealt with after the Louisiana Purchase?
Think…How was the “Slavery in the Territories” issue dealt with after the U.S. gained land from Mexico?
If we needed to compromise…
Doesn’t that mean adding land caused conflict and DISunity?