The Mexican War: Manifest Destiny or a Slaveholder Conspiracy?
I. Texas Fights for Independence from Mexico (1836)
Context: -- Mexican Independence from Spain (1821)
• Stephen Austin & a Growing “Gringo” Population in Texas
Increasing Tension in Texas: Religion, Slavery & Santa Anna’s Dictatorship
The Fighting: Texas’ Defeat at The Alamo -- then Victory
C. A Slaveholder Conspiracy? Sectionalism and US Neutrality
II. The US Annexes Texas
A. The Dangers of an Independent Texas
B. The 1844 Election: Polk Promises Manifest Destiny
C. Nueces or Rio Grande? US Annexation of Texas & the Border Dispute (1845)
D. Spotty Lincoln: American Blood on American Soil?
III. The Mexican-American War and Its Impact
A. Surprising Victories: California, Buena Vista, Mexico
B. The Impact• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), The Gold
Rush & American Expansion
The Wilmot Proviso & the Beginning of the Sectional Crisis
Expansion + Slavery Debate Civil War