Manifest Destiny - - 1821-1835

Citizens believed that had a “God Given” right to take over the Western Territories

-----------------------------------------------------------Jedediah Smith: Mountain man hunted for furs, lived with

Natives at timeJim Beckwourth: Fur trader

Mountain men would hunt for furs and the meet at specific sites and specific times of the year – rendezvous system

Mountain men found better routes to the West – Others began to follow

Land Speculators

Bought up huge tracks of land – then divided it into smaller plots and sold it off for a profit

Others braved the trail to new territories into what is now New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah….once there they claimed their land as their own.

Santa Fe Trail1821 Mexico Gained Independence from Spain

and opened its boarders to Americans. Fur traders thought they could become rich.

Becknell findsShortcut to Santa Fe – Avoiding theMountains. Covered Wagons can Take this route

Oregon Territory

First to the area (besides the mountain men) were missionaries.

Missionaries made reports of how wonderful, and beautiful the land was. The sun always shone and the wheat grew feet tall.

Pioneers became interested…….Problem: This territory was jointly occupied

by US and by Britain

The Mormon Trail

Church of Latter-Day Saints: went west in pursuit of religious freedom.

The Mormons were hard workers, but many people did not like their practice of polygamy.

1830 – their leader Joseph Smith was killed.

The next leader, Brigham Young, moved the group west (out of the US) to Utah.

Songs – Assignment

Songs were a large part of the pioneer culture. Their songs depicted the adventure, hardship and successes of their journey. Groups will research songs of the Trail – print and analyze the lyrics of the song. Students will share their research and perform the song in front of the class.

Adams-Onís Treaty•

Signed in 1819, in this treaty Spain ceded Florida to the U.S., the border was set between Texas and Louisiana, and Spain withdrew all claims of land in the West north of the 42nd parallel. In return, the U.S. assumed $5 million in damages claimed by U.S. citizens against Spain. Texas Expansion

•The Texas Revolution began in 1835 when Texas began fighting for its independence from Mexico. In 1836, an important battle took place at the Alamo, a former Spanish mission in San Antonio. About 200 Texans attempted to defend the Alamo from the Mexican Army, led by General Santa Anna. In April 1836, Texas gained independence from Mexico and requested to be annexed by the United States. Texas was not immediately annexed by the U.S. because it would have entered the Union as a slave state. Texas remained an independent country until the United States annexed it in 1845. Mexican War

•In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Mexico had never officially recognized the independence of Texas. When the United States annexed Texas in 1845, Mexico viewed this as an act of aggression against them and ended diplomatic relations with the U.S. Also, the U.S. and Mexico had a dispute over the border between Texas and Mexico. The U.S. claimed that the border between the U.S. and Mexico was at the Rio Grande, whereas Mexico claimed that the border was at the Nueces River. President James K. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor and his troops to the north bank of the Rio Grande. Mexico viewed this as an invasion of their country and then sent their troops across the Rio Grande. The U.S. declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846. The Mexican War continued until the U.S. and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which Mexico recognized the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico, and the U.S. paid Mexico $15 million to gain all of what is now California, Nevada, and Utah along with parts of Wyoming, and Colorado. Gadsden Purchase

•This purchase from Mexico allowed the U.S. to acquire the land in Arizona south of the Gila River and the southwestern corner of New Mexico for $10 million. This land was important to the U.S. because of plans to build a southern transcontinental railroad route through the area. California Gold Rush

•In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California. Hoping to strike it rich, thousands of prospectors flocked to California. Many of them came in 1849, thus the prospectors became known as "49ers." Very few of them actually found gold, but they contributed to the rapid population growth in California. This rapid population growth allowed California to apply for statehood, and it became a state in 1850. Oregon Expansion

•From 1818 to 1846, the Oregon Territory was jointly occupied by the British and Americans. In 1846, the U.S. signed a treaty that set the boundary between the U.S. and Canada at the 49th parallel. During the 1840s, thousands of pioneers moved to the Willamette River Valley in the Oregon Territory and traveled overland on the Oregon Trail to reach their destination. Pioneers left from Independence, Missouri, and traveled along the Platte River through the Great Plains. The pioneers crossed through the Rocky Mountains, traveled along the Snake River, and then went along the Columbia River before arriving in the Oregon Territory. The Homestead Act of 1862

•The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 by Congress. The act let settlers claim up to 160 acres of surveyed federal lands. After living on and improving the land for five years, homesteaders paid a small registration fee and got the title for the land. The act also allowed unmarried women age 21 and up to claim homesteads. Manifest Destiny

•First used in a newspaper article written by John O'Sullivan in 1845, the term Manifest Destiny was used to describe the idea that the westward expansion of the United States was inevitable because of fate. In 1845, John O'Sullivan wrote a newspaper article on the annexation of Texas in which he said it was America's "manifest destiny to overspread the continent." The concept of Manifest Destiny was also used to justify expansion into California, Oregon, and Alaska. The Santa Fe Trail

•The Santa Fe Trail was a trade route to the southwest United States extending about 800 miles westward from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This route was first used in 1821 and was the primary wagon and stage route to the Southwest until the coming of the railroad in 1880.   Next   Copyright © 2011 Study Island - All rights reserved.

• close• Galleries• of • by • Westward Expansion and Settlement • The Civil War was the result of many different events and compromises that began occurring well before the war even began.

Missouri Compromise• This compromise settled some of the debate over the spread of slavery. Southern states wanted slavery allowed in new states, while northern states opposed the expansion of slavery. Under the Missouri Compromise, Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state, keeping the number of free and slave states in the Union equal. The compromise also made slavery illegal in the Louisiana Territory north of Missouri's southern border.

Mexican War• The U.S. declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846. Shortly after the war began, Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania submitted a proposal to Congress that would have outlawed slavery in any land acquired from Mexico. The amendment, known as the Wilmot Proviso, was not approved by Congress, but it raised the issue of how the United States should deal with the expansion of slavery in the event that the U.S. gained new territory. The Mexican War continued until the U.S. and Mexico

signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Compromise of 1850

• The Compromise of 1850 dealt with the issue of slavery in territory that the U.S. acquired as a result of the Mexican War. Henry Clay proposed the idea that California would be admitted as a free state, and the territories of New Mexico and Utah would decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty. Kansas–Nebraska Act

• Under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was not allowed in areas that were part of the Louisiana Territory and were north of Missouri's southern border. In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois introduced a bill to create the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and to let those territories decide on the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty is the practice of allowing the people to decide on an issue by voting on it. The bill was favored by southerners, but opposed by northerners. Despite the opposition, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and repealed part of the Missouri Compromise in the process. Dred Scott Case

• Dred Scott was a slave whose master in 1834 had taken him from Missouri (a slave state) to Illinois (a free state), then into the Wisconsin Territory (a free territory under the provisions of the Missouri Compromise), and finally back to Missouri. In 1846, with the help of antislavery lawyers, Scott sued for his freedom in the Missouri state courts on the grounds that his residence in a free state and a free territory had made him a free man.

The Supreme Court decided against Scott, saying that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the court's opinion that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This was only the second time in the nation's history that the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, and was a clear victory for the slaveholding South. John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

• Harpers Ferry, Virginia was a federal arsenal. On October 16, 1859, John Brown led a raid at Harpers Ferry with the intention of stealing weapons from the arsenal and giving them to slaves. Then the slaves would start a rebellion in order to gain freedom. Shortly after John Brown's raid, he was captured and executed. Many slave owners feared that there would be additional slave rebellions. Presidential Election of 1860

• In the presidential election of 1860, the issue of slavery divided the country and divided the Democratic Party. Northern Democrats chose Stephen Douglas of Illinois as their candidate. Southern Democrats were not pleased with Stephen Douglas's position on slavery, so they chose John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky as their candidate. The newly formed Constitutional-Union Party did not take a stand on slavery and nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois was the Republican candidate. Abraham Lincoln won all of his electoral votes from free states, and John C. Breckinridge won all of his electoral votes from slave states. With 180 electoral votes, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. In response to Lincoln's election, southern states began seceding from the Union.   Back     Next   Copyright © 2011 Study Island - All rights reserved.

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Lawyers• Find out more or Compare Prices on Lawyers• Ave99.com/Lawyers• Westward Expansion and Settlement • Several events led to the westward expansion of the United States of America. Some of these events are the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, American Spanish missions, and the Trail of Tears.

Louisiana Purchase•

     The Louisiana Purchase was a large area of land in North America that the United States bought from France in 1803. The land allowed the U.S. to expand in size. Also, it encouraged people to move and settle farther west. It increased the number of natural resources available to the U.S.

Lewis and Clark expedition•

     The Lewis and Clark expedition was an early exploration of the vast wilderness of what is now the northwestern United States. The United States government paid for the expedition, and Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the leaders. The Lewis and Clark expedition began near St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1804 and returned there in September 1806.

American Spanish missions•

     From the 1560s to the 1820s, Spanish missionaries build missions to help convert the Indians to Christianity. Missions were built in what are now Georgia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Trail of Tears•

     The Trail of Tears made the Cherokee Indians leave their homes in northwestern Georgia. Their new land, in what is now Oklahoma, became known as the Indian Territory. They traveled nearly 1,000 miles in rain and other bad weather. Many Cherokee became ill during the journey, and thousands died.   Back   Copyright © 2011 Study Island - All rights reserved. • close• Galleries• of • by •        

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