CH. 9 EXPANSION LEADS TO CONFLICT

CH. 9 EXPANSION LEADS TO CONFLICT CH. 9-1 MANIFEST DESTINY American History

AMERICANS HEAD WEST • Hundreds of Americans headed west in the 1840s & 1850s • They went for different reasons and settled in different areas • They all shared a dream of new opportunities and a better life • “MULTIPLYING MILLIONS” • 1840-USA population 6 times larger than during the American Revolution • The country’s geographic area had doubled

MANIFEST DESTINY—the idea that the nation had a God-given right to all of North America • REASONS FOR WESTWARD MIGRATION • Mountain men—trap and trade • Missionaries—convert Native Americans to Christianity • Lumberjacks & miners—capitalize on the region’s natural resources • Most pioneers were farmers • Farmers moved west to farm the vast, rich lands

ENTREPRENEURS—people willing to invest money in something to make a profit • Shopkeepers, carpenters, and others knew if they were among the first to practice their trade, they stood to have the most success and make the most money

MAJOR WESTERN TRAILS • Americans that headed west had the adventure of their lives but some lost their lives in the process • No train tracks or smooth highways • THE SANTA FE TRAIL • First major western trail • Independence, MO to Santa Fe, NM • Began as a commercial route or trade route • 1821—war veteran William Becknell and a small band of traders left Arrow Rock, MO for Santa Fe. • It took 2 months to cover the 800 miles but the sold their good for a huge profit

THE OREGON TRAIL • Longest and most famous trail • Independence, MO to Willamette Valley, OR—2,000 miles • Native Americans, Lewis & Clark, fur traders, mountain men all used all or part of the trail • Migrants first used the trail in the 1840s • Danger was everywhere • Treacherous geography, conflict with Native Americans, disease took the lives of some 20,000 by 1859 • Tens of thousands made it to OR • Oregon Territory (1848) & Statehood (1859—33rd)

THE MORMON TRAIL • 1830—Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in NY • By 1835 there were 8,000 followers • The Mormon policy of men taking multiple wives went against other Protestant Church beliefs • It caused hostility • Violent mobs forced the Mormons out of New York to Ohio to Missouri to Illinois • They built a community in Nauvoo, IL • A mob killed Joseph Smith and his brother

Brigham Young became the new leader • He decided to vacate Nauvoo and move farther west • 1847-1853—16,000 Mormons migrated to an area around the Great Salt Lake in Utah • 1,300 mile route became known as the Mormon Trail

THE GOLD RUSH • The largest migration west resulted from a hunger for gold • GOLD FEVER • 1848—carpenter found gold at John Sutter’s sawmill in northern CA • Sutter tried to keep it a secret • People from Asia, South America, and Europe heard about gold from American sailors • Many headed to CA dreaming of striking it rich

Dec. 5, 1848—President James K. Polk announced in his State of the Union speech that the gold mines in CA “are more extensive and valuable than was anticipated…” • Polk’s speech promoted “gold fever” • RUSH TO CALIFORNIA • Mass migration to CA called “gold rush” • The migrants who left for CA in 1849 were called forty-niners • Their numbers approached 80,000

80% of the people that came to CA were Americans • To reach CA, most people traveled along the CALIFORNIA TRAIL • Others booked passage on ships that sailed around the southern tip of South America • BOOMING CITIES • Many miners settled into mining camps and cities • San Francisco had a population of 800 in 1848 • 1849—25,000; 1860—60,000 • CA became the 31st state in 1850 with Sacramento its capital

MAJOR EFFECTS OF WESTWARD MIGRATION • Use of western trails declined sharply after 1869 when railroad tracks finally ran unbroken from east to west • More than 350,000 migrants had followed the overland trails (about 1.5% of the American population) • THE OREGON TREATY • Presidential candidate James K. Polk promised in 1844 to secure the region for the USA • Since 1818 the USA and Britain had jointly controlled Oregon

Polk’s slogan was Fifty-four Forty or Fight! • He was referring to the north latitude line the marked the border of Oregon Country • His statement pledged war against Great Britain if it refused to give all of Oregon to the USA • Polk won the presidency but retreated from his pledge • He concluded a treaty with Britain that set the boundary between the USA and British Canada at the 49th parallel. This boundary still exists today.

COMMUNICATION LINKS • Businesses and government needed a way to stay in contact between east and west • First type of communication was mail service • BUTTERFIELD TRAIL—major southern route that a private stage coach ran on • 1858-1860—passengers and mail ran on this trail between St. Louis and San Francisco • 1861—telegraph linked east and west • It made Pony Express obsolete because it was much faster

The greatest effect of the westward migration would be on the original inhabitants of the West: Native Americans. • Their lives would be forever changed. • The End

CH. 9 EXPANSION LEADS TO CONFLICT