Western Expansion PowerPoint PDF

Ch. 13: Western Expansion 1  Moving West The West = Freedom, Self-Fulfillment, & Economic Gain Pacific Northwest a region viable to fishing, hunting, and the fur trade Pacific coast ports link trade with Asia Economic improvement the biggest impetus (reason) for westwar...

Ch. 13: Western Expansion 1  Moving West The West = Freedom, Self-Fulfillment, & Economic Gain Pacific Northwest a region viable to fishing, hunting, and the fur trade Pacific coast ports link trade with Asia Economic improvement the biggest impetus (reason) for westward movement Some choose to move west for religious freedom or to obtain new converts The West not an empty region- Native American & Hispanic residents pushed aside by white settlers Southerners particularly interested in western lands for cheap agricultural expansion South maintains a political edge due to counting slaves among the population, but not as registered voters 2 3  The Western Frontier 1845: Democratic party propagandist John O’Sullivan coins the term “manifest destiny” to describe American expansion westward U.S. to extend Christian capitalism across the county & beyond Moral justification for brutal expansion tactics & racism 1841- 1867: about 350,000 men, women, & children trek overland to the Pacific Northwest Hundreds of thousands more settle in CO, TX, & AR 1845: 5,000 people making the trip annually 1848: gold discovered in CA, prompting a mass migration of 30,000 along the Oregon Trail in 1849 1850: travel peaks at 55,000 in a year 4  Native Americans in the West 1840: Greater than 325,000 Native Americans occupy the Great Plains, CA, & the Pacific NW More than 200 nations, each with its own culture, language, religion, & system of governance Plains Indians- Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Sioux Some farmers, some nomadic hunters Pueblo Nations- Acoma, Hopi, Laguna, Taos, Zia, Zuni Farmers living in adobe villages Rivals with the Apache & Navajo- warlike, nomadic hunters Apache & Navajo troubled by their rivals; the Comanche Great Basin Indians- Paiutes, Gosiutes Struggle to survive in modern-day NV, UT, Eastern CA Hunter-gatherers Pacific NW Tribes- Nisqually, Spokane, Yakama, Chinook, Klamath, Nez Perce Natural resources & temperate climate- whale & seal hunting, fishing 5 6 Mexico & the Whites as prejudiced against Hispanics as they are toward Native Spanish West Americans Spanish colonization less successful in AZ & TX than in FL & NM Yuma, Apache, & Comanche prevent establishment of Spanish missions 1807: French forces under Napoleon occupy Spain & imprison the king Spanish colonies thrown into a state of confusion Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a creole priest, convinces the Indians & Hispanics to revolt against Spanish rule in Mexico = to failure 1820: Mexican creoles stage another resistance, causing Spanish officials to flee Mexico by 1821 Mexico achieves independence Americans take advantage of the fledgling government to seize control of its northern provinces- TX, NM, AZ, NV, CA, portions of OK, CO, KS, & WY American settlers flood into the provinces to cement the fur trade 7  The Oregon Trail Early 19th century: Far Northwest territories divided into the Nebraska, Washington, & Oregon Territories The Oregon Country includes OR, ID, WA, & parts of MT, WY, & British Columbia Convention of 1818: Britain & the U.S. agree to join occupation 1820s-30s: “mountain men” abandon civilization for a primitive existence in the wilderness 8 The Oregon Trail Oregon a target for settlement due to fertile soil, heavy rainfall, & plentiful forests 1840: several emigrants journeying across the Oregon Trail, beginning in St. Louis, MO 1841-42: first wagon trains begin journeys 1843: mass migration underway Wagon trains often miles long, involving closely-knit communities “prairie schooners” Rarely attacked by Indians: often the opposite Trek usually lasts 5-6 months 9  Pioneer Difficulties Innumerable hardships along the Oregon Trail Cholera & dysentery two primary killers due to tainted water Estimated one grave every 80 yards Initially, the same division of labor employed from the East Women cook, wash, sew, & monitor children Men drive the wagons, tend the livestock, & do heavy labor Eventually, greater need for labor dissolves previous institutions Women gather buffalo dung for fuel, drive wagons, dislodge wagons stuck in the mud, construct makeshift bridges, pitch tents, etc. Family relations heavily strained Divorce rates soar out west 10  The Donner Party April 1846: George Donner leads his family, 74 other settlers, & 23 wagons on the Oregon Trail Several mistakes: Start too late in the year Overload wagons Inadequate food, water, clothing, experience The Donners get lost in the Wasatch Range & lose 3 weeks of progress September: snow begins to fall Eventual descent into the desert of the Great Salt Lake, but lose over 100 oxen & wagons in the process 11 12 The Donner Party Trapped by a 2-week long blizzard in the Truckee Pass, Eastern CA December: Only enough food to last through the end of the month; ½ of pioneer children die 17 of the strongest continue; two turn back & eight more die of starvation One settler, Billy Graves, urges his daughters to eat his body after his imminent death Two more settlers cannibalized after death; only 7 of the 17 survive the trip All livestock slaughtered; two Indian guides killed & cannibalized 2 months later, a rescue team discovers the remaining 47 members of the Donner Party Survived by cannibalizing 13 people total George Donner & his wife refuse to be rescued; they stay behind to die 13 14  The Settlement of California 1769: Spain settles the Pacific coast to prevent Russian incursion Presidios constructed at San Diego & Monterey Franciscan friars led by Junipero Serra establish a Catholic mission in San Diego CA missions larger, better funded, longer lasting Spanish Catholic missions in CA control most of the Indians living along the Pacific coast 15 The Settlement Catholic missions in CA = churches, villages, fortresses, of California homes, schools, shops, farms & Spanish outposts Indians provide most of the labor Viewed bas practical & morally enriching by the Franciscans Prayers every morning, then labor until dark Men work the fields, or in specialized skill sets (masonry, carpentry, leatherwork) Women handle domestic chores All expected tow work the fields during harvest Indians paid with food, clothing, housing, & religious instruction 1769-1821: Native population of CA coast drops from 72,000 to 18,000 16  The Settlement of California Following Mexican Independence, missions fall into disuse Caballeros/rancheros lord over the 6,000 Mexicans in the region as well as the Indians who survive 1821-1841: Hispanic Californios launch 10 different revolts against Mexican governors 17 John Fremont: 1840’s: John Charles Fremont champions settlement & exploration in Mexican California & Pathfinder the Far West 1838: commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Topographical Corps Excels at surveying, mapmaking, & woodcraft, as well as botany, zoology, geology, & ornithology 1842: Fremont sets out to map the Eastern Oregon Trail in 5 months, collect specimens Expeditions published in excerpt form in several national newspapers Fremont dubbed “The Pathfinder” for his rugged exploits 18  John Fremont: Pathfinder August 1845: Fremont launches a “military” expedition westward with 62 armed soldiers, sailors, scientists, hunters, & frontiersmen December: the party heads south of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into Mexican-controlled CA January 1846: Fremont instructed by the president to encourage a spontaneous uprising among Americans to take control of CA Fremont leaves the province under Mexican orders & resigns from the U.S. Army to work as a private citizen June 14, 1846: Americans capture Sonoma & proclaim the Republic of California 19 The Mexican-American War 20 21  Texas 1820s: the U.S. offers to purchase TX from Mexico twice, to no avail Stephen F. Austin the lead promoter of American settlement in TX Convinces the Mexican government he can recruit 300 American families to settle along the Gulf coast, provide a “buffer” against the raiding Comanche Americans settle in Austin’s Anglo “colony” in Eastern TX Each given 177 acres, along with thousands of acres of common pasture 1830: 20,000 whites & 1,000 black slaves living in coastal TX 1835: 35,000 white Texans & 3,000 slaves Hispanic Tejanos & Indians outnumbered April: Mexico outlaws further immigration from the U.S. 22  Texas 1834: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the Mexican president, suspends the national congress & proclaims himself dictator Austin imprisoned by Santa Anna, prompting backlash from Texans 1835: white Texans & black slave communities outnumber Tejanos 10:1 Austin proclaims TX should be Americanized & a slave state, calling for an armed revolt Santa Anna calls for all Americans to be expelled, all Texans disarmed, & all rebels arrested & executed as “pirates” Fall: Texans launch a rebellion against Santa Anna (30,000 against 7 million) 23  The Alamo Santa Anna’s 3,000-man army clashes with fewer than 200 Texans, Tejanos, & a TX volunteer army at The Alamo James “Jim” Bowie commands the TX volunteer army Slave trader & land speculator who migrates to TX in 1828 from LA William Barrett Travis: 26-year-old commander of the TX regular army Leaves behind a failed marriage, a pregnant wife, a 2-year- old son, & several debts in AL Refuses orders to retreat from the Alamo David Crockett: TN frontiersman who served under Jackson & was an anti-Jacksonian Whig in Congress 24  The Alamo February 1836: Santa Anna demands the surrender of the Alamo Bowie bedridden, turns command over to Travis, who answers with cannon fire 12 days of fighting later, Mexicans are pushed back with heavy losses March 2, 1836: delegates from all 59 TX towns meet at Washington-on-the-Brazos, 150 miles Northeast of San Antonio, to sign a TX declaration of independence & draft a constitution Sam Houston named the commander of the TX army March 6, 1836: Santa Anna’s men launch the final attack on the Alamo before dawn All but a handful of women & children & Travis’s slave Joe, are killed Over 600 Mexicans killed 25  The Republic of Texas Two weeks after the Alamo, Mexicans defeat Texans at the Battle of Coleto Mexicans the 465 captured Texans to Goliad March 27: (Palm Sunday), over 300 Texans marched out of Goliad & executed 26  The Republic of Texas Sam Houston now the deciding force behind the Texas Revolution Born in VA to Scots-Irish immigrants Runs away from home at age 16 to live among the Cherokee, earning the name “The Raven” Serves under Andrew Jackson with Crockett Federal Indian agent, attorney, congressman, commanding general of the TN militia, & governor, all before the age of 30 1829: resigns the TN governorship after being left by his young wife Prevented from committing suicide by a vision of destiny out West Rejoins the Cherokee & marries into he tribe Becomes an adept negotiator among Indian tribes & the federal government 1832: moves to TX at Jackson’s behest, reports TX ripe for revolt against Mexico 27 The Republic of Texas April 21, 1836: Santa Anna’s 1,600-man force trapped at the San Jacinto River by 900 Texans Battle lasts 18 minutes; Texans spend 2 hours slaughtering Mexican soldiers 630 Mexicans killed, 700 captured Only 9 Texans killed Santa Anna captured; signs a treaty (revolution lasted 7 weeks) 1836: TX legalizes slavery, bans free blacks, elects Sam Houston as its first president & votes for annexation to the U.S. 28  Quick Succession William Henry Harrison, the oldest president upon election in 1841 (68 years old) 1st Whig in office Whigs control Congress after opposing Andrew Jackson, promoting strong federal government Dies of pneumonia exactly one month after his inauguration VP John Tyler ascends to the presidency following Harrison’s sudden death Praised by Andrew Jackson as divine providence John Quincy Adams dismisses Tyler as a slave-driving political sectarian Henry Clay believes he can dominate Tyler, who fights back 29  Quick Succession: John Tyler Tyler, in contrast to Harrison, the youngest-serving president to date (age 51) Former state legislator, governor, congressman & senator Characterized by many as kind, stubbornly independent, & charming Politics Originally a Democrat who supported states’ rights Believes states have a constitutional right to secede Becomes a Whig in response to Jackson’s condemnation of SC nullification Vetoes Clay’s call for the creation of another Bank of the U.S. (1841), while agreeing to repeal the Independent Treasury Act Clay publicly calls Tyler a traitor & convinces his entire cabinet to resign, except for Daniel Webster, leading to a 3-year conflict between the two Tyler replaces his cabinet defectors with anti-Jacksonian Democrats- turned Whigs Texas referred to as Tyler’s “great object of ambition” by his wife, Julia 30  The Princeton & a New State February 28, 1844: Tyler & 300 dignitaries board the new steam propeller-driven U.S.S. Princeton on the Potomac “The Peacemaker” explodes, killing 6 people & injuring 20 others Secretary of State Abel Upshur: replaced Daniel Webster Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer: only in office 10 days Captain Beverley Kennon: head of the Bureau of Construction & Repair Virgil Maxcy: MD Attorney David Gardiner: NY Lawyer & father-in-law of John Tyler Armistead, President Tyler’s valet 31 The Princeton & a New State Tyler uses the accident as a means of appointing southern Democrats to key positions John C. Calhoun named Secretary of State April 12, 1844: Calhoun signs a treaty of annexation with Texas Declares TX instrumental to keeping slavery in place in the south June 8, 1844: Northerners downvote the annexation 35 to 16 TX not annexed until December 29, 1845 TX added as a new state right before Tyler leaves office- annexed by join resolution (majority vote in each house) rather than by 2/3 treaty March 1, 1845: Tyler signs the resolution admitting TX as the 28th state on December 29 32  The Election of 1844 TX kept out of the election of 1844 due to its divisiveness Henry Clay: Whig- 3rd presidential election Martin Van Buren: Democrat James Polk, nominated by Jackson, who abandons Van Buren over TX Tyler initially independent, but drops out, endorsing Polk Polk, a loyal Democrat who runs as a dark horse candidate on the 9th ballot Polk wins the election due to his Pro-TX platform & insistence on the complete U.S. domination of the Oregon Territory 33  The Election of 1844 Polk breaks Tyler’s record for youngest president, at 49 4 Major Goals: Reduce tariffs on imports Re-establish the Independent Treasury Settle the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain Acquire CA from Mexico; add OR, CA, NM to the Union to fill out the continent June 15, 1846: James Buchanan signs the Buchanan-Pakenham Treaty, extending the U.S. border to the 49th parallel Jacksonian in nature & politics (anti-tariff, anti-national bank) Satisfies the South, but angers northerners & westerners Self-declared “hardest-working man in the country” – dies at age 53, 3 months after leaving office 34 Mr. Polk’s War March 6, 1845: Mexico breaks off relations with the U.S. over the annexation of TX Polk willing to risk war for CA & NM, but without firing the first shot General Zachary Taylor ordered to take up positions around Corpus Christi- Mexico views this as an act of war 35  Mr. Polk’s War May 9, 1845: Mexican troops attack U.S. soldiers north of the Rio Grande 11 Americans killed, 5 wounded, the rest taken prisoner Polk declares Mexico the aggressor, requests war funds from Congress Congress authorizes the recruitment of 50K soldiers Several Congressmen skeptical of Polk’s claims- “begun in fraud….will end in disgrace” Polk argues the war over-extending America’s boundaries to the Pacific, not slavery expansion 112K whites serve (eventually) serve in the war Far less enthusiasm for war among New Englanders & northern abolitionists Viewed as an excuse to extend slavery into new territory Most northern Whigs accuse Polk of inciting war Abraham Lincoln among those congressmen opposed to Polk’s decision 36 The Annexation of California U.S. ill-equipped for a major war Regular U.S. Army at barely 7,000 Mexico’s forces over 32K- crippled by lack of discipline, training, morale, supplies, & munitions U.S. military swells to 79,000 by war’s end due to volunteerism Four Fronts to the Mexican-American War Southern TX/Northern Mexico Central Mexico New Mexico California 37 The Annexation of California May 18, 1845: Taylor crosses the Rio Grande & occupies Matemoros Taylor made overall commander of the U.S. forces California a primary objective of Polk’s July: U.S. captures San Francisco, claiming CA as part of the United States 38  War in Northern Mexico 1846: Taylor assaults Monterrey, which surrenders after 5 days Exiled Santa Anna promises to end the war if allowed to return Polk agrees, vowing to pay well for Mexican territories October: Santa Anna resumes presidency & raises an army against U.S. troops, invites U.S. to surrender February 22-23, 1847: the Battle of Buena Vista fought Both sides declare victory, although Mexican losses are 5x higher than U.S. Mexico continues to lose battles, refusing to surrender to Polk March 9: American forces stage the largest amphibious landing ever attempted by U.S. forces, without casualties, at Veracruz March 29: Veracruz surrenders August: Scott’s forces march on Mexico City, 200 miles away 39 The Saint Patrick’s Battalion Since the beginning of the war, approx. 7,000 soldier desert Several hundred- mostly poor Catholic Irish & German immigrants- defect to the Mexican army: “Saint Patrick’s Battalion” Reasons for defection debated Abuse by largely Protestant commanders Atrocities committed against Catholic Americans Attraction to higher wages Shared religious convictions 40 The Saint Patrick’s Battalion 72 defectors captured during Mexico City battle Scott calls for 50 of them to be hanged rather than shot The rest to be whipped & branded with a “D” for “deserter” on each cheek September 13, 1847: 29 captured defectors made to stand under wooden gallows in the hot sun for 4 hours, watching the battle Once the U.S. flag is raised, all are hanged simultaneously 41  The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo After Mexico City falls, Santa Anna resigns & flees the country again January 2, 1848: Peace talks begin at Guadalupe Hidalgo, outside the capital February 2, 1848: Treaty of Guadalup Hidalgo signed Mexico agrees to Rio Grande border w/ TX All control of CA, NM, NV, UT, AZ, WY & CO transferred to the U.S. (over half of Mexico) Mexican-American War involves several firsts First major military intervention outside U.S. First time U.S. forces conquer & occupy another country 42 43  The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Over 13,000 Americans killed 11,550 die from disease (measles & dysentery) Deadliest in American history in terms of percentage of soldiers lost (110 in every 1000) Ends America’s economic depression Gradually seen as a shameful war based on selfish conquest & slavery expansion America now a transcontinental nation, requiring dramatic expansion of its federal government Acquired territories soon embroiled in controversy over whether to allow slavery 44