Westward expansion & manifest destiny: How our nation grew in size

1. Westward expansion & manifest destiny:How our nation grew in size Mrs. Mata NYOS Charter School

2. Overview • Louisiana Territory • Florida • AJ & the Cherokees • Indian Removal Act • Trail of Tears • Texas Annexation • Oregon Country • Mexican-American War • Gadsden Purchase

3. How do I take notes? • Use your brain, listening skills, and follow along with slides. Here is an example. • Bullet & Underline each slide title • Indent and dash corresponding information

4. U.S. Territorial Acquisitions, 1803-1853

5. Louisiana Territory • First claimed by France, then given to Spain after French & Indian War. • In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte (French) convinced Spain to return Louisiana to France. • President Jefferson was concerned about the relationship between French settlers and American farmers who would share the Mississippi River • President Jefferson sent his Secretary of State, James Monroe, to France in 1803 with an offer to buy the port of New Orleans for $7.5 million What do you think might happen next?

6. Louisiana Purchase • By the time James Monroe reached France, Napoleon changed his mind and no longer needed Louisiana • Napoleons offer to sell all of Louisiana stunned James Monroe. Instead of a city, suddenly the U.S. had the opportunity to buy an area of land as large as itself! • On April 30, 1803 Secretary of State, James Monroe, purchased Louisiana from Napoleon for $15 million, doubling the size of the U.S. ( about $0.02 per acre) Who were the key peoplein this agreement?

7. Louisiana Purchase Debate • Worries: • Impossible to govern large territory • Politicians in East would lose power to those in West • Should not have paid large sum of money • The Constitution stated nothing about purchasing of foreign territory • President Jefferson was troubled by the argument that the purchase was unconstitutional, but did not want to miss out on the opportunity to control the Mississippi River

8. Drama with Florida What images came into your mind about the situations in Florida? • In 1804, President Jefferson tried to buy Florida from Spain, but Spain said “no deal” • Spain’s control over Florida weakened: • Slaves from the South sometimes ran away to Florida • Seminole Indians constantly raided lands in Georgia

9. Jackson and Florida • In 1818, President Monroe sent Andrew Jackson to Georgia to stop thru Seminole Indian raids • Jackson took it upon himself to march into Florida with 1,700 troops. He killed British citizens, and replaced the Spanish Governor • Fearing war, President Monroe sought advice from his cabinet and decided to send a message to Spain: either govern Florida properly or get out • Spain decided in 1819 to exchange Florida to the U.S., under these agreements: • for $5million in settlers claims against Spain • U.S. must honor Spain’s claim to Texas

10. Jackson’s Indian Policy 1831 Can you explain this situation in your own words? • Most of the eastern Indians lived in the South, belonging to five tribes: • Creek • Cherokee • Chickasaw • Choctaw • Seminole • Most of these tribes hoped to remain in their lands, so they adopted the white ways by learning to read & write • The Cherokees had their own written language, newspaper, and a constitution modeled on the U.S. Constitution • As cotton growing spread westward, wealthy planters and poor settlers alike looked greedily at Indian homelands.

11. Jackson’s Indian Policy • President Andrew Jackson had little sympathy for American Indians. During his presidency, it became national policy to remove Indians who remained in the East by force. • By the time AJ became president, only 125,000 Indians still lived east of the Mississippi River. • War & disease had greatly reduced their population How would you have handled the “Indian problem” if you were President?

12. Indian Removal Act • In 1830, urged on by President Jackson • Congress passes Indian Removal Act • This law allowed the President to make treaties in which traded their land for new territory in the west • In 1831, the Supreme Court decided that the Indians could keep their land & could not be forced off • AJ was furious at this decision and declared that if they refused to move, they would be met with military force What was the problem with Jackson ignoring the Supreme Court’s decision?

13. Trail of Tears • In 1836, thousands of Creek Indians who refused to leave Alabama were rounded up and marched west in handcuffs • In 1836, President Jackson forced more than 17,000 Cherokee Indians from their homes in Georgia into the western territory • 4,000 of those Cherokees died during their forced walk during the winter. • Those who survived remember that journey as the “Trail of Tears” How would you feel if you were forced out of your home?

14. To Annex Texas or Not? How is the acquisition of Texas different from Florida? • Texas remained an independent republic for 10 years • Americans were divided over whether to annex • Southerners were eager to add another slave state • Northerners who were anti-slavery wanted to keep Texas out • Others feared that annexation would lead to war with Mexico

15. James K. Polk & Texas Annexation • In 1844, President James K. Polk was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny and was eager to acquire Texas • After Polk was elected President, Congress voted to annex Texas • In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state

16. Oregon • In 1819, Oregon was claimed by four nations: • Russia, Spain, Great Britain, and United States. Spain gave it up as part of the Florida agreement, then later Russia let it go, so that left Great Britain and US to have joint custody • Lewis & Clark explored the Oregon coast • Along with Texas, “Oregon fever” also played a role in the 1844 Presidential campaign, with James K. Polk, using the slogans, “All of Oregon or none!” and “Fifty-four forty or fight!”

17. Oregon • President Polk did not want to start a war with Great Britain over Oregon, so he agreed to a compromise treaty that divided Oregon roughly in half at the 49th parallel • This line now marks the western border between U.S. and Canada • President Polk got neither “fifty-four forty” nor a fight. What he got was a diplomatic settlement that both the U.S. & Great Britain could accept without spilling a drop of blood.

18. President Polk wants more • Polk wanted to expand the U.S. as far as he could, and his gaze fell next on the huge areas known as California and New Mexico. He was determined to have them both, by purchase if possible, by force if necessary. • When Congress voted to annex Texas, relations between the US and Mexico became tense. • To make matters worse, Texas and Mexico could not agree on a border. Do you think wanting more land was good or bad for the U.S. during this time?

19. Mexican-American War begins • On April 25, 1846, Mexican soldiers fired on U.S. troops who were patrolling along the Rio Grande. 16 Americans were killed or wounded. • Polk claimed that Mexico, “has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil.” • 2 days later, Congress declared war on Mexico. • General Zachary Taylor & Winfield Scott led the Americans to victory over Mexico • General Winfield Scott’s army captured Mexico City in September 1847. Was there a better solution to acquiring Mexico than war?

20. Manifest Destiny Come True • In 1848, Mexico and the U.S. signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. • Mexico agreed to give up Texas and a vast region known as the Mexican Cession • This area included present day states of: California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming • Basically, under this treaty, Mexico gave up ½ its territory • U.S. paid $15 million to Mexico and promised to protect the 80,000-10,000 Mexicans living in the Mexican Cession

21. Final Piece to the Puzzle • A few years later, in 1853, the U.S. acquired more land from Mexico • James Gadsden arranged the purchase of a strip of land just south of the Mexican Cession for $10 million • Railroad builders wanted this land because it was relatively flat and could serve as a good railroad route. • The acquisition of this land, known as the Gadsden Purchase, created the present-day border of the southwestern U.S. with Mexico

22. How justifiable was U.S. expansion in the 1800s?

23. Your Homework Assignment Create a 4 layered map of the United States, using your notes and knowledge you learned from class about Manifest Destiny.