Manifest Destiny

Chapter 12

I. The Oregon Country

A. Rivalry in the Northwest

1. Oregon Country—included all modern day Oregon, Washington, and Idaho plus parts of Montana and Wyoming.

2. 4 Countries lay claim to the territory

a. USA, Great Britain, Spain, and Russia

B. Adams-Onis Treaty1. John Quincy Adams negotiated a treaty with Spain (1819)—setting the limit of the

Spanish empire at the border of Northern California.

2. Russia also gives up claims to Oregon Territory

3. Great Britain and the USA agree to Joint Occupation of the area.

C. Mountain Men

1. First Americans in Oregon territory were fur traders.

2. John Jacob Astor organized the American Fur Company. Astor will become the wealthiest family in the USA

3. Those that spent most of their time in the Rocky Mts. becoming know as Mountain

Men—they meet in late summer at Rendezvous to exchange goods and stories

4. Jim Beckworth-African American who explored Wyoming’s Green River

5. Robert Stuart and Jedediah Smith found the South Pass—break through the Rockies

6. Kit Carson and Jim Bridger acted as guides for other parties.

Jim Beckworth Kit Carson

D. Settling Oregon

1. The Whitman Mission

a. Dr. Whitman and his wife attempted to build a mission for the Native American

Cayuse Tribe

Beginning in 1845, most wagon trains took a shortcut that bypassed the Whitman Mission. Emigrants came here only if they were sick, or low on supplies. In 1847, one of those emigrant wagon trains brought measles to the mission. The white children recovered, but the local Cayuse tribe had no resistance. Half the tribe died. In a fit of rage, two Cayuse killed Marcus and Narcissa Whitman--and a dozen others. The story of the Whitman mission came to an end.

2. The Oregon Trail

a. Due to the Panic of 1837 many leave the USA for Oregon Country

1. emigrants—left USA for Oregon

b. 2,787 mile journey in prairie schooners with supplies

c. They followed the Oregon Trail across the Rocky Mts.

The journey west on the Oregon Trail was exceptionally difficult by today's standards. One in 10 died along the way; many walked the entire two-thousand miles barefoot. The common misperception is that Native Americans were the emigrant's biggest problem en route. Quite the contrary, most native tribes were quite helpful to the emigrants. The real enemies of the pioneers were cholera, poor sanitation and--surprisingly--accidental gunshots.

E. The Division of Oregon

1. Most headed for the Willamette Valley

2. Expansion and Freedom

a. Population grows from 500 to 5000 from 1840-1845 (all Americans)

3. Manifest Destiny

a. Newspaper editor John O’Sullivan declared “Manifest Destiny to overspread and to possess the whole continent which Providence has given us”

4. “Fifty-four Forty or Fight”

a. Many wanted the USA to claim Oregon all for itself

b. Presidential Election of 1844

1. James Polk

a. Favored claiming Oregon

2. Henry Clay

a. Didn’t take a stance on Oregon and loses the election to Polk

5. Reaching a settlement

a. Polk becomes President and wants Oregon

b. Britain and USA reach a compromise

1. 49 degree line becomes the border between the USA and

British Canada

NEXT UP---TIME TO TAKE TEXAS!!!!