Section 1 - Western Expansion (1800-1850)
I. Settling the Spanish Borders
A. New Mexico
1. Founded in 1598.
2. Oldest colony along New Spain’s frontier.
3. 1796 - population 9600.
a. Many didn’t move here due to attacks by Native Am.
b. Pueblo protected inhabitants against Apaches.
c. Pueblo population decreased due to disease.
4. El Paso & Santa Fe major towns.
5. 1821 – population 40,000.
a. Spanish paid Comanche & Navajo to attack Apache.
B. Texas
1. 1760 – population 1200.
2. Primarily in San Antonio.
C. California
1. Buffer zone in 1760s.
II. Americans Look West
A. Manifest Destiny
1. Belief it was the right of US to expand to Pacific Ocean & own all of N. Am…dictated by God.
2. Expansionist – people who favored territorial growth.
3. Wanted to settle NM, TX, CA for US.
B. Santa Fe Trail
1. Trade route between US & New Mexicans.
a. Exchanged US manufactured goods for horses, mules, furs and silver.
2. 1820s mariners expanded trade.
a. Sailed around S. Am to California.
b. Exchanged US goods for tallow and hides.
C. Mountain Men
1. Traveled Missouri River and into Rockies.
2. Trappers who hunted for beaver pelts.
D. Oregon Trail
1. Promise of rich land attracted people to area.
2. Travel was difficult, very harsh environment.
3. By 1845 nearly 5000 people had settled area.
E. Utah
1. Mormons moved here to avoid persecution.
2. 1846 – population nearly 2,000.
F. Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)
1. Bound Plains Indians to territories away from major trails.
2. Devastated tribe, needed mobility to pursue buffalo.
G. California
1. 1824 - majority of land occupied by Spanish.
2. Journey a gamble…
a. Hunger, exposure to elements, disease, poisoned streams.
b. Sierra Nevada 1/2 way point to CA, took about 3 months to reach.
- 1846 Donner Party caught in snow, had to resort to cannibalism to survive.
3. Gold Rush
a. January 24, 1848
- Gold discovered in CA by James Marshall.
- Originally harvested by hand, labor intense process.
b. By June thousands of Am head to CA.
c. Summer 1848 - $50,000 in gold found daily.
d. Forty Niners
- 1849 (61)ships w/ gold prospectors arrived to CA.
- In addition 80,000 Am came.
- Most did not get rich.
e. Boomtowns
- Mining camps that grew into towns.
- Abandoned when gold ran out.
f. Mining Camps
- Temporary tent cities.
- At 1st it was easy to find gold in Sacramento Valley.
- Mostly populated by men.
g. Mexican Citizens
- Saw migration of Am as a way to break free from Spain, get citizen rights, stable govt. - Am took land, were treated similar to Indians.
h. San Francisco
- Economic and social center.
- Started as a tent city w/in 4 years became cosmopolitan city.
- Rapid change indicative of “Gold Rush.”
- Turned to port city: all goods for CA shipped here.
i. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
- CA transferred from Mexico to US.
- W/ sudden rush of people due to gold, a stable govt was needed to control.
- Nov. 13th 1849 CA requested statehood.
- Sept. 9th 1850 Congress admitted, 31st state.
III. Texas and Mexican-American War
A. Texas Wins Independence
1. Am migrate to TX.
a. 1821 Sp govt. gave Moses Austin 1st land grant.
b. Free land drew settlers.
c. Impresario: person who received contract to bring settlers to TX in 1800s.
2. Mexico’s independence from Spain.
a. TX became a possession of Mexico 1821.
b. When TX possession changed Austin asked new govt. to uphold old govt.
c. Mx agreed if Am became Mx citizens.
- By 1825 nearly 30,000 Am lived in TX.
- Am agreed to become Mx, but held to their customs resulting in culture clash.
d. 1830 Mx govt. passed laws to stop Am immigration.
3. Stephen Austin
a. Moses Austin’s son.
b. Led convention 1832 in San Felipe.
- Wrote petition to allow TX to be state w/in MX.
- Officials denied request.
4. General Santa Anna
a. 1833 became Pres of Mx.
b. Texans wrote another statehood petition April 1833.
- Jan. 1834 Stephen Austin placed in jail.
- July 1835 Texans decide to fight for independence.
- Santa Anna determined to control TX.
5. Texans declare independence 1836.
- TX born…known as the Lone Star Republic.
- Sam Houston elected to lead TX army.
6. Battle at the Alamo
a. 1836 MX lost San Antonio.
b. Santa Anna sent troops to recover and put down rebellion.
c. Small Texan garrison set up at fort.
- Led by Colonel William Travis,
- Soldiers: Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett.
d. Fought off 1800 MX troops for 13 days.
- March 6, 1836 troops stormed Alamo killing 190 men, but spared women and children.
e. March 1836 Sam Houston gathered troops and headed East.
- Santa Anna followed.
- 2 armies met at Battle of San Jacinto.
- Texans defeated Mx army April 21, 1836.
- Santa Anna captured next day.
- He set TX free.
B. Election of 1844
1. Admission of TX as state debated from 1836-1845.
2. James Polk (Dem) won Pres election.
a. Devotedly believed in Manifest Destiny.
b. Supported annexation (addition) of TX.
- Also promised Oregon Territory would become part of US.
- These two pledges got him elected.
c. Dec. 1845 Congress admitted TX as 28th state.
- Slave holding state.
C. President James Polk
1. Oregon Compromise
a. Instead of grabbing all Br land compromised to Oregon Territory at 49th parallel.
b. US got future states OR, WA, ID.
c. Br kept Canadian province of Br Columbia.
d. Polk compromised because he felt the US could not afford 2 wars… 1 w/ Mx, 1 w/Br.
D. Mx-Am War
1. Border dispute between TX & Mx.
2. Polk sends in troops to Rio Grande area.
a. Led by General Zachary Taylor.
b. May 1846 Mx troops clash w/ Am troops, killing 11.
3. Dem supported war, Whigs did not.
a. Congress declares war May 13th.
b. US had advantage over Mx.
4. War ended w/ US victorious.
Section 2 - The Road to War (1846 –1861)
I. Questioning Slavery in West
A. Missouri Compromise 1821
1. State balance 11/11.
2. Missouri & Maine admitted to Union.
3. Mason Dixon Line
B. Southwest (TX, CA, NM)
1. TX admitted 1845 – slave holding.
2. Wilmot Proviso Bill 1846
a. Rep from PA called for ban to slavery in territories won from Mx (CA, NM).
b. Bill never passed.
C. Compromise of 1850
1. State balance 15/15 (1849).
2. CA applied for statehood.
3. Clay’s proposal:
a. CA admitted as free state.
b. Washington DC end slavery.
c. Popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico.
4. Fugitive Slave Act – private citizens required to assist w/ apprehending runaway slave.
* Forced North to be part of slave system.
* Lawbreakers – 1 month in jail & $1000 fine.
5. Popular sovereignty to decide issue of slavery in UT & NM.
6. Prevented war, but only for 10 years.
D. Free Soil Party
1. Slavery debate waged on.
2. Sectionalism increased.
3. Dem & Whig didn’t take strong stand on issue.
4. 1848 antislavery members of both parties formed new party.
E. Election of 1848 1. Candidates:
Whig – Zachary Taylor (won)
Dem – Lewis Case
Free Soil – Martin Van Buren
II. Deeper Divisions Over Slavery
A. Christiana Riot – 1851 (PA)
1. Armed protesters tried to protect fugitive slaves from master.
2. Scuffle, slave owner killed.
3. 30 people tried for conspiracy, none found guilty.
B. Underground Railroad
1. Harriet Tubman
a. Escaped 1849.
b. “Black Moses”
c. Made almost a dozen trips into South to help slaves to safety.
C. Uncle Tom’s Cabin - 1852
1. Writer-Harriet Beecher Stowe.
2. Characters: Uncle Tom (slave) & Simon Legree (owner).
3. Helped educate world on problems of slavery.
D. Personal Liberty Laws
1. Passed by Northern states after Compromise of 1850.
2. Nullified Fugitive Slave Acts.
3. Allowed state to arrest slave catchers for kidnapping.
E. Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
1. Repealed Missouri Compromise.
2. Allowed for popular sovereignty.
3. Slavery debated where previously outlawed.
F. “Bleeding Kansas” 1855-1856
1. Competition by Northern & Southern settlers to control votes in Kansas.
2. 1856 two sets of govt applied for statehood.
3. Violence erupted.
4. Popular sovereignty not solution to slavery.
5. Admitted free 1861, after Civil War started.
G. Dred Scott Case 1856
1. Scott taken to WI (free) by owner.
2. Scott sued in 1846 for freedom.
3. 1856 Supreme Court heard case.
4. 1857 Decision by Chief Justice Taney:
a. African Am not viewed as citizens, couldn’t file cases.
b. Constitution protected property, could take anywhere.
c. Stated Congress had no right to outlaw slavery in a territory (Missouri Compromise unconstitutional).
d. South happy, North fearful slavery would spread.
H. Sumner Brooks Affair 1856
1. Violence broke out in Senate over slavery.
2. Sumner (MA) gave speech denouncing slavery.
3. Brooks (SC) – Rep entered senate, beat Sumner.
4. Both became heroes for their cause.
5. Sumner recovered.
I. Harpers Ferry 1859
1. 1856 John Brown killed proslavery man in Kansas and fled to Virginia.
2. 1859 Brown organized group to steal ammunition stores at Harpers Ferry & give weapons to enslaved Africans to start an uprising.
3. US Marines led by Robert E Lee stopped raid.
4. Brown captured, tried for treason, and hanged.
III. Election of 1856
A. New Party 1854
1. Whigs & Free Soilers became Republicans.
2. Attracted people who wanted to stop expansion of slavery.
B. Candidates:
John Fremont – Rep
James Buchanan – Dem (won)
C. “Know Nothings”
1. Anti-immigration movement.
2. 1855 form American Party.
a. Group divided over issue of slavery and western territories.
IV. Election of 1860
A. Lincoln Douglas Debates
1. Douglas “Little Giant” (Dem) - Supported popular sovereignty.
2. Lincoln “ Honest Abe” (Rep) - Supported antislavery movement.
3. Douglas won debates by slim margin. - Lincoln won large following.
B. Candidates:
Abraham Lincoln – Rep (won)
JC Breckinridge – Southern Dem
John Bell – Constitutional Union
Stephen Douglas – Northern Dem
V. States Breakaway
A. Election of 1860
1. Following election South Carolina seceded Dec 1860.
2. Within 2 months more states left Union:
a. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas
B. Confederate States of America
1. Feb 1861 formed.
2. Govt modeled after US Constitution (executive, legislative, judicial branch).
3. President - Jefferson Davis.
C. President Lincoln
1. Took over position 1861.
2. Pledged that there would be no war, unless South started it.
3. April 12, 1861
a. Confederate forces opened fire on Union soldiers stationed at Fort Sumter (Charleston, SC).
b. The Civil War began.