Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny

• Westward expansion was a significant American trend, driven by the desire for new territories.
• Manifest Destiny, a concept from the mid-19th century, asserted America's God-given right to control the entire continent.
• John O'Sullivan's 1845 statement encapsulates the idea: "the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us".

Reasons for Westward Expansion

• Access to resources, like gold discovered in California (1848), prompted the California Gold Rush.
• Economic opportunities and homesteading potential were increased by Preemption Acts of the 1830s and 40s.
• Religious refuge, particularly for Mormon groups fleeing persecution.

Election of James K. Polk and Manifest Destiny

• James K. Polk strongly supported Manifest Destiny.
• Polk aimed to annex Texas and Oregon.

Texas Revolution and Annexation

• Americans settled in Texas, part of Mexico.
• Mexican government regulations (conversion and no slavery) were ignored.
• Texas revolted against Mexican rule under Sam Houston.
• Mexico refused to acknowledge Texas' independence.
• Texas was eventually annexed into the United States during Polk's presidency.

Oregon Territory

• Both Britain and the US claimed the Oregon Territory.
• American settlers outnumbered British settlers.
• Polk's platform included the annexation of Oregon and Texas.
• The U.S. and Britain agreed to divide Oregon at the 49th parallel.

Causes of the Mexican-American War

• The U.S. annexation of Texas was a major cause.
• Disputed border (Rio Grande vs. Nueces River) fueled the conflict.
• Mexico's refusal to sell land fueled tensions.

Events Leading to the War

• Polk sent troops under General Zachary Taylor to the disputed Rio Grande territory.
• The resulting conflict, with the death of American soldiers, became a pretext for war.
• The U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.

Effects of the War and Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• The Rio Grande became the southern border of Texas.
• Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to the U.S. for $15 million.
• The U.S. substantially expanded its territory.

The Wilmot Proviso

• Congressman David Wilmot's proposal aimed to prevent slavery's expansion in newly acquired territories.
• It was rejected but highlighted growing slavery tensions.
• Though not abolitionists, some politicians voted against it due to the ideals of free soil (open lands for homesteaders).

Impact on Non-American Peoples

• Mexicans in the ceded territories were granted U.S. citizenship, but the rights of Natives were not recognized.
• Discrimination against both Mexican Americans and indigenous peoples emerged.

The Growing Tension Over Slavery

• The acquisition of Mexican territory led to debates over slavery's expansion.

Three Main Positions on Slavery

• Southern Position: Slavery was a constitutional right. Southerners wanted to expand the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific.
• Free Soil Movement: Aimed to halt slavery's expansion (sometimes coupled with white opportunity arguments); not necessarily focused on moral abolition everywhere; focused on land access.
• Popular Sovereignty: Territories should vote on slavery.

The Missouri Compromise

• A previously established agreement which affirmed areas of slavery vs non slavery in existing land; a key reference for tensions that followed.

The Consequences of the Mexican-American War

• California and New Mexico joining the Union as free states shifted power in the Senate.
• It jeopardized the institution of slavery in the long run.

The Compromise of 1850

• Henry Clay's proposal attempted to ease tensions.
• Created the New Mexico & Utah territories, making California a free state, banning the slave trade in Washington D.C.
• Established a stricter fugitive slave law.

Regional Conflict: Immigration and Slavery

• Immigration (primarily Irish and German) increased.
• Nativism, a policy protecting native-born citizens' interests.
• The Know-Nothing Party opposed immigration.

Labor Systems

• Contrasting northern (free wage labor) and southern (enslaved labor) economies.

The Free Soil Movement

• Aimed to keep newly acquired lands from slavery.
• Did not initially seek outright abolition in the South but sought to prevent expansion into new territories.

Abolitionists

• Advocate for complete abolition of slavery
• Influential figures included William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Frederick Douglass.
• Activities included aiding fugitive slaves through the Underground Railroad.
• John Brown's raid highlighted the increasing violence.

The Failure of Compromise

The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Senator Stephen Douglas' proposal divided the Louisiana Purchase.
• Enabled popular sovereignty over slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.
• This challenged the Missouri Compromise.

Bleeding Kansas

• Violence erupted between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups.
• Irregular election processes led to competing governments. Presidential complicity furthered regional animosity.

The Dred Scott Decision (1857)

• Denied Dred Scott’s right to sue for his freedom.
• The court declared that Congress could not ban slavery in any territory.
• This decision significantly expanded the reach of slavery.

The Impact on Political Parties

• Political divisions deepened.
• Whig party split over slavery (Cotton Whigs vs. Conscience Whigs).
• Democratic party gained strength regionally.
• The Republican Party was formed out of different factions.

Election of 1860 and its Effects

The Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln

• The Republican Party opposed the extension of slavery into new areas.
• Lincoln ran on a platform restricting slavery's expansion.

The Divided Democratic Party

• The Democratic Party split into northern and southern factions.
• Northern faction (Douglas) supported popular sovereignty.
• Southern faction (Breckinridge) supported a federal slave code.

Election Results

• Lincoln won the presidency.

Lincoln's Victory and Southern Reaction

• Lincoln's victory without Southern electoral votes worried the South.
• Southerners viewed his election as a threat to their way of life.

Secession of Southern States

• South Carolina seceded.
• Six other states (Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana) followed.
• Other states (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) joined the Confederacy.

The American Civil War

Factors Contributing to the Union Victory

• Union had advantages in population, economic capacity, and industrial output.
• Confederate strengths mainly relied on defending their territory.

Mobilizing the Economy for War

• North ramped up industrial production.
• South relied on tariffs and exports.
• Union naval blockades hampered Southern trade significantly.

Opposition to the War

• South faced resistance to centralizing war efforts.
• North had social and class-based opposition (New York City Draft Riots).

The Course of the War and Key Battles

• Fort Sumter triggered the war.
• Battle of Bull Run was a major setback for the Union (first major land battle).

Strategies and Key Battles

• Anaconda Plan (Union naval blockade and control of Mississippi River).
• Southern strategy (reliance on foreign aid, especially Britain and France, through "King Cotton" and international relations).
• Key Union victories at Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Sherman's March to the Sea significantly hampered Southern capacity.
• The Union naval blockade prevented Southern supplies and decreased support from Europe.
• The final surrender at Appomattox Courthouse marked the end of the war in April 1865.

Leadership During the Civil War

• Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
• The Gettysburg Address (a key pivot point in the articulation of the war's goals).

Reconstruction

Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction

• Lincoln sought a lenient approach, regarding the Confederacy as still part of the Union.
• His plan required 10% of 1860 electorate loyalty and ratification of 13th Amendment.

Johnson's Presidency and Radical Republicans

• Johnson continued Reconstruction but became a source of conflict.
• Radical Republicans in Congress pushed for stricter measures involving direct Congressional oversight (not just Presidential control).

Key Legislation and Acts

• Freedmen's Bureau: Assisted newly freed people.
• Civil Rights Act of 1866: Protected black citizenship and equal protection.
• 14th Amendment: Guaranteed citizenship and equal protection.
• Reconstruction Acts of 1867: Divided the South into military districts, tightened the terms of rejoining the Union.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

• Tenure of Office Act of 1867 (designed to limit presidential control over cabinet appointments during Reconstruction).
• Johnson's defiance led to an impeachment effort, although he was not removed from office.

Women's Rights Movement and Reconstruction

• The 15th Amendment granted voting rights to black men.
• Some groups pushed for women's suffrage but it failed due to political divisions and disagreements on the pace of change.

Post-Civil War Reconstruction Failure

• Civil Rights and Black Codes: White supremacy persisted in many Southern communities in varied forms.
• Sharecropping: Replicated many constraints of slavery in new forms.
• The Ku Klux Klan (KKK): Terror and intimidation tactics.
• Black Codes: Limited black Americans' rights and freedoms.

The End of Reconstruction

• The Compromise of 1877: Removed federal troops from the South, marking the end of Reconstruction.

Explore the pivotal themes of westward expansion and manifest destiny in 19th-century America. This quiz covers key motivations behind territorial growth, including economic opportunities and political aspirations during the presidency of James K. Polk. Challenge your knowledge of this era and its lasting impact on American history.